Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne / Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton
Lawyers and solicitors for Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton
Wills, powers of attorney and estates, buying and selling, small business and leases, and family law for Endeavour Hills, Hallam, Doveton and Eumemmerring clients, from our Frankston office about 30 to 35 minutes away.
How we help Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton clients
Endeavour Hills was named in 1970 after Captain Cook’s ship, and many of its streets carry the names of the ship’s company. It was built from the 1970s on land that rises into the foothills of the Lysterfield hills, close to the Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve and Churchill National Park. Doveton grew in the 1950s with housing for workers in the new factories near Dandenong, and Hallam, which grew from a store and hotel on the old Gippsland Road, has industry in its south-west and a new elevated station opened in 2022.
At the 2021 Census Endeavour Hills had the oldest population of the group, and 37% of its homes were owned outright. We act for long-term owners with wills, powers of attorney and estates, for buyers and sellers of houses and townhouses, for small businesses, and for families who are separating. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish, and we meet at our Frankston office or by video.
Local note
Doveton is named after F.C. Doveton, a goldfields commissioner and police magistrate who lived in the area before the suburb was built.
Wills, estates, property, business and family law in Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
Wills, enduring powers of attorney and medical treatment decision makers, reviewed as your family changes.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
- Medical treatment decision maker: the person who makes medical treatment decisions if you cannot, under the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Act 2016 (Vic).
- Superannuation: usually not covered by your will unless you have a valid binding death benefit nomination.
Probate and estate administration, family provision claims, and help when a parent can no longer manage.
- Executors: probate and administering the estate. Probate applications are filed online with the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- Time limit: a family provision application must be made within 6 months after the date of the grant. The court can extend the time, but an application to extend must be made before the estate is finally distributed.
- Executors: an executor who distributes within 6 months after the grant, or after learning that a family provision claim has been made, can be personally liable if the claim succeeds.
- A parent who can no longer manage: if they made an enduring power of attorney, the attorney can act under it. If not, an application to VCAT for an administration or guardianship order may be needed.
Houses from the 1970s and 1980s, townhouses in Hallam and Doveton, and moving to a smaller home.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. There is none at a publicly advertised auction.
- Owners corporations: units and townhouses with common property are managed by an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
- Selling: most sellers now need an Australian Taxation Office clearance certificate by settlement, whatever the price. Apply early, because it can take some weeks to issue.
Leases and contracts for small businesses and manufacturers in Hallam’s industrial area and the local shopping centres.
- Retail or not: the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) covers many shops and service businesses. Offices, warehouses and factories are often outside it, and then the lease itself governs.
- Disclosure: for a retail lease, the landlord must give the tenant the Small Business Commission’s information brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
- Terms of trade: credit terms, late payment interest, personal guarantors and retention of title clauses, which generally need registering on the Personal Property Securities Register.
- Unpaid invoices: start with a clear letter of demand. The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000, and VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
Separation, divorce, property settlement and parenting arrangements.
- Separation and divorce: are separate legal steps under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). You do not need to be divorced to settle property or parenting arrangements, and a divorce does not settle them for you.
- Time limits: married couples must apply to the court within 12 months after their divorce takes effect, and de facto couples within 2 years after the relationship ends.
- Consent orders: once you agree, the court can make your agreement into binding orders, usually without anyone attending court.
- Courts: the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has a registry at 53-55 Robinson Street, Dandenong.
Documents for Poland?
Casey has the second-largest Polish community of any Victorian council. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and is a notary public, and notarial appointments are held in person at our Frankston office.
Estates in Endeavour Hills
Administering an estate, step by step
What an executor does, from finding the will to distributing the estate. We explain each step as it comes, in English or in Polish.
01
Is a grant needed?
We find the original will and check whether a grant is needed. Property owned as joint tenants passes to the survivor without one.
02
Apply for probate
The intended application is advertised online through the Supreme Court’s RedCrest-Probate system, then filed with affidavits and a statement of assets and liabilities.
03
Assets and debts
Once the grant is made, the executor identifies and collects the assets, pays funeral expenses and debts, and keeps proper records and accounts.
04
Tax and notices
Final tax returns are lodged. The executor can publish a notice under section 33 of the Trustee Act 1958 (Vic), giving creditors and claimants at least two months to claim.
05
Distribution
A distribution properly made more than 6 months after the grant is protected, provided the executor has had no notice of a family provision claim. We prepare the estate accounts and transfer or sell property.
How we work
Visit us from Endeavour Hills and Hallam
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton
About 30 to 35 minutes by car via EastLink.
By phone or video
Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
Not always, but it is a good time to review it, together with your powers of attorney and superannuation nominations. Review your will after buying or selling significant assets, and otherwise every three to five years.
If they made an enduring power of attorney, the attorney can act under it. If not, and they have lost capacity, an application to VCAT for an administration or guardianship order may be needed.
A family provision claim must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration. Get advice early, because the time limit is strict.
A Magistrates’ Court matter generally goes to the court closest to where it arose or where the other party lives, which for Endeavour Hills, Hallam and Doveton is usually Dandenong. Objector appeals and appeals about permit conditions in Casey are usually heard at VCAT Frankston, near our office.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 30 to 35 minutes by car. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email, so you may only need to come in to sign documents.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
Estate and property insights
Updated 26 September 2026: the Bill has passed and is now the Consumer Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Vic) (Act No…
If you were in a serious accident tomorrow and could not speak for yourself, who would decide whether doctors could…
When someone dies without a valid will in Victoria, their estate does not automatically pass to their family. Before any…
Buying a home is one of the most significant financial decisions you will make. A conveyancing lawyer guides you through contracts, Section 32 statements, stamp duty, and settlement.
Separation is a difficult time. Understanding your legal rights early can help you make better decisions about property, children, and your financial future.
More than half of Australian adults do not have a valid will. If you die without one, Victorian law decides who receives your assets, not you.
Talk to us about your Endeavour Hills, Hallam or Doveton matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.