Insights & Articles

A separation doesn't have to be fraught with conflict, including when Lawyers are involved. If you have recently separated and need some assistance with resolving a dispute involving property and/or children you may want to consider doing so under the framework of Collaborative Advocacy.

Feeling stressed or anxious about how Covid-19 (coronavirus) and New Zealand entering alert level 4 with nationwide lockdowns will affect you and your family members? Times of crisis can result in a push-and-pull effect with our personal relationships. They bring people together – only those in your household! - but difficult times can also lead to difficulties arising in our relationships with our, quite literally, nearest and dearest.

Section 21 of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 ("the Act") allows for parties to essentially 'contract out' of the Act and determine how the relationship property would be divided on the off-chance that you and your partner separate.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Right Honourable Helen Winkelmann, has assured the legal profession and members of the public that the Courts will be operational during all Covid-19 alert levels, including lockdown during alert level 4: "Courts are an essential service. New Zealand courts must continue to uphold the rule of law and to ensure that fair trial rights, the right to natural justice and rights under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act are upheld."

Stocking up on food items, school, restaurant, cinema and non-essential business closures, and plenty of hand-sanitising. The Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and the Government’s measures to flatten the curve are affecting our behaviour, and our relationships. Staying at home with our families during this period of nationwide self-isolation can cause issues to arise.

Amidst the Covid-19 lockdowns initiated by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday 23 March 2020, many Kiwis are feeling stressed and uncertain about their current situation. When issues arise, especially at an unprecedented time like this, it’s often best to talk them out and work together to find positive solutions. If parenting, child welfare and other family issues arise that you need to discuss, we are here to assist.

Due to the recent presence of the highly contagious Covid-19 Delta variant within communities throughout New Zealand, the country has been placed into an Alert Level 4 Lockdown. The stringent lockdown restrictions may have implications for parents who have shared care arrangements, Parenting Orders, or who are involved in Family Court proceedings. This can create an added level of stress and anxiety as parents try to navigate both lockdown rules and day-to-day care of their children.

From 1 July 2019, changes are being made to all Protection Orders, including those made before this date. The Family Violence Act 2018 repeals and replaces the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and modifies the Care of Children Act 2004 as part of ongoing efforts to tackle domestic violence issues in New Zealand with the aim of providing faster, more effective protection for protected persons and increasing accountability and compliance by respondents.

It is common knowledge that when a married couple in New Zealand gets divorced, they, generally speaking, get half each of all the property owned by the parties. In New Zealand this asset division also extends to de facto relationships of more than three years, but what is a de facto relationship? A marriage is easy to identify: there is a wedding, someone cuts the cake, there is usually an adorable child in charge of the rings and most importantly, a legal document; a marriage certificate which says you are married. However, de facto relationships are not so easy to identify.