The rewards of company directorship come with a caution: the duties and responsibilities imposed on you by the Companies Act need constant management. Drop the ball on that and you could face some seriously negative consequences.

We’ll discuss one of those risks – the career-threatening risk of being declared a “delinquent” director – in the context of two recent court judgments which involved large amounts of money, seriously disaffected stakeholders, and 7-year bans from holding any position at director or senior management level. 

We’ll end by sharing some thoughts on how you can manage those risks. 

Unpaid levies can leave body corporates out of pocket and out of patience. When conventional debt recovery feels too slow, sequestration may seem like the obvious next step. 

But a recent High Court judgment is a reminder that sequestration is not a debt-collection shortcut. The court refused an application by a body corporate that had failed to meet the strict statutory requirements. Before reaching for the nuclear option, body corporates should understand what the law actually requires.

Your will must always lie at the heart of your estate planning. But don’t concentrate solely on the financial wellbeing of your family after you are gone.

The personal legacy you leave them is also important. It focuses on your family’s values, history and heritage, supporting your heirs in living their lives to the fullest while preserving and enjoying the material wealth they inherit from you. But how do you create a personal legacy that will last for generations, and how does this fit into your overall estate planning? We share some practical suggestions on how to get started...

“Director”

It’s tempting to think that a “director” must be formally appointed to that position, but the Companies Act provides a much wider definition. “‘Director’ means a member of the board of a company … or an alternate director of a company and includes any person occupying the position of a director or alternate director, by whatever name designated.”

When it comes to deciding who is and isn’t a “director”, it’s the substance of the person’s position that counts, not their designation. “A rose by any other name,” as Shakespeare might put it, although not necessarily smelling quite as sweet. Consider, for example, a delinquent director trying to hide their (unlawful) high-level participation in a company by adopting an inoffensive title like “Liaison Officer” or “Floor Supervisor”. It just won’t wash.