Have you and your partner entered into a Relationship Property Agreement? You might be surprised to find that your separate property may not be as secure from your partner as you think. In a recent High Court case, the Court concluded that a Relationship Property Agreement does not protect one’s assets from a Family Protection…
The recent case of The Estate of Thomas Winston Hodgson highlights changes under the new Trusts Act and what the Court will deem ‘reasonable measures’ when trying to find missing beneficiaries. In this article we explore your responsibilities under the Trusts Act 2019 when a beneficiary cannot be found. Brief history – Thomas Winston Hodgson…
On 24 May 2021, the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Act 2021 (“the Act”) received the Royal Assent. It comes into force on 24 July 2021. What does this mean? Effect of Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Act 2021 From 24 July 2021: The minimum entitlement to paid sick leave in New Zealand will increase…
Employers need to be aware of what changes are here and what lies ahead, particularly in relation to employees’ leave and the report of the Holidays Act Working Group. Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Employees will now have the right to take up to three days’ paid bereavement leave if they or their partner…
Many Tauranga residents have recently received a letter from Tauranga City Council informing them of Plan Change 27 and advising that their property is one impacted by the proposed Plan Change. Below, we break down what Plan Change 27 is, why it’s being implemented, what it means for you and what you can do about…
The Labour government has signalled that we should expect to see some of the campaign promises to reform employment law implemented during this term. So, what were these promises, and will you be impacted? We outline the seven proposed changes below: Increasing sick leave entitlements: Labour pledged to increase the minimum entitlement of paid sick…
With the current economic climate of Covid-19, company Directors may question their business solvency and whether to continue trading in such circumstances. The recent Supreme Court decision of Madsen-Ries v Cooper regarding the liquidation of Debut Homes Ltd should be at the forefront of any Director questioning the solvency of their business and tempted to…
The swift advancements in the information technology space in the last couple of decades have rendered the Privacy Act 1993 outdated and not fit to effectively regulate the current ways in which we gather, store and use information. To address this, New Zealand has a new Privacy Act on the way. What are the key…
Why do we need a will? In basic terms, to document who you wish to provide for upon your death and how you’d like your assets to be distributed. Wills also allow you to specify someone you would like to look after your children or to leave special gifts and meaningful things to people or…
Employment mediations that had been scheduled to take place in March, April and May of this year, during Alert levels 4 and 3 were conducted by phone, rather than in person. This is because while the rest of us adapted to meeting online using software such as MS Teams or Zoom, the Ministry of Business…