Relationship Property - some common questions
Esther Perel, an eminent writer and psychotherapist who has achieved huge popularity from her last two books and TED talks about relationships, had a few interesting observations to make when she went on a recent trip to Cuba. Cuba has one of the highest divorce rates in Latin America with 70% of marriages expected to end in divorce. It is a society where no one accrues wealth or owns property or things, so it’s much easier to separate – as there is no division of belongings and generally people don’t stay together because of the lifestyle or economic support that the relationship brings. In Cuba, marital relationships emphasise emotional fulfillment and minimal economic reliance. “If one is not met emotionally, why be married?” said one of the local female psychologists.
Overseas Investment Act and Forestry
Changes to the Overseas Investment Act 2005 will come into force on 22 October 2018. The amendments have implications for overseas persons looking to purchase residential land, and also forestry and horticulture land. This article will focus on interesting changes for the overseas purchase of forestry land.
When There's a Will There's a Way
This is a classic example of why wills should be prepared by lawyers, who can give proper legal advice and independent oversight.
A deceased woman’s so called ‘interim will’ was recently ruled invalid by the High Court. The document was prepared by her church in an effort to secure her assets for itself, with no regard to her adopted children.
Kiwi DIY
Many of us have done our own renovation work to our property. One of the main ways onto the property ladder is still to purchase a dated property and do some renovation work to make it fresh and new again.
However when looking to do renovation work you need to consider the extent of the works you are contemplating and whether you will need building consent.
Family Services - Have Your Say
As part of the Government’s wider commitment to ensuring New Zealand courts became modern, accessible and responsive to children and vulnerable people, the family justice system was radically reformed in 2014. The intent of the reforms was aimed at the Family Court being used as a last resort for the most serious and complex cases, with other disputes involving the new Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) service (an independent mediation service). Disputes involving the risk of violence were intended to be fast-tracked and without notice to the other party utilising family lawyers. In this article, we focus on a couple of areas of interest regarding FDR.
