Hi IM's
Have I just crushed a dream or saved my DS from bankruptcy or jail? My DS is 22 years old & has worked for 6 months with my BIL in his chosen industry. My BIL is well known for his drinking problem, bad work practices & bad management of money, continuously being broke & his ABN has been cancelled for some time, despite still working & not having lodged his tax return in years for a business that runs through several hundred thousand dollars a year. He once told my husband & I that he had been given $200 by a business friend of his to give us for a trip we were making for surgeries due to our two youngest children having a very rare disease. We never saw this money.
My DS signed paperwork 2 days ago to be a director in a company that my BIL has set up, although my son's name is the only one attached to this company. My son's only research as suggested to him by my BIL - 1 hour with a Lawyer!
On top of this my SIL (his partner) requires a working visa to stay in the country & my BIL has not been able to apply for a partner visa for her due to not having lodged his tax returns for a number of years.
It seems that my DS will be sponsoring her so that she can stay in the country.
They think this is a great opportunity for my DS & cannot see all of the issues I can see. I have let them know that we will be shutting this down straight away & my BIL's response? I am ruining a great opportunity for my DS.
Please tell me what you think?
6 Replies
I hope you can shut it down and get your son out of it. Sounds like they have taken advantage of your son.
On the face of it, it sounds like a great opportunity for THEM. Good idea to be careful, especially given track record.
He already sunk himself why on earth would your son hand over your clean details and let him use those.
especially when the main objective of this business is a visa sponsorship for his missus (which by the way is a massive commitment, he's financially responsible for any debt or fine she racks up and even for supporting her with enough living expenses to stay while she can't work). It's a full on thing for a partner to sign for, let alone a third party, it's definitely not a missed opportunity!!
Myself and partner run our own business and have sponsored a longtime employee to become a resident in Australia. And I can tell you for sure it's not as simple as he will get away with just changing the names of who "owns" the business on paper they look into so much more and also ask you to supply documents to prove you can sustain this person with a solid income. Which means tax returns from the business. I would keep your son out of this as much as possible their trying to take him for a ride.
Please talk to your DS, being a director is a big thing legally and he can become liable for debts of the company if they aren't paid. He needs to understand exactly what the financial position of the company and their compliance with the ATO. One example of being personally liable is PAYGW which is the tax withheld from salaries. If the company does not pay it and does not have the capacity to pay (which seems likely) they will go after DS for the money as he is the only director.
Find a really good accountant now and talk to them. Most know about these things. Ok so here is a few things I have learnt about being the director of a company - being a director it is best not to own a house in your own name as unfortuetly if anything happens and there is any debt (phones, rent, tax) they will sell your home to pay for it (sorry I personally think this can be really sucky if you have a family), any other assets again debts get taken out of that (think cars ect). If something happens and they go belly up guess who is liable and who has the black spot - your son. If something happens and they get used, after your son. Any legal action anything he is in strife. Now as for the visa issue sorry I have no idea about that but I know it can be extremely hard and can have a lot of hoops to jump through.
This sounds like a great opportunity for your bil, sounds like the worst thing for your son. If you don't want him struggling at 30 when he could possibly have a family to support crush this and give him the opportunity to actually succeed (even if it takes a few more years). You sound like you have your head screwed on, now you just have to explain things properly to your son.
It sounds like a lot of responsibility for a 22 year old with only 6 months experience and his associate doesn't sound trustworthy with that history. Go with your gut feeling - your son needs more legal advice and a good accountant of his own!