GRA Blogs

So you have set up a trust and you are a trustee, and you wonder, “what are my obligations as a trustee?” To answer that question we turn to the Trusts Act. Under this Act there are two classes of trustee duties, being mandatory and default...

30 July 2019 was an important milestone in the land of trusts. That was the date the Trust Act 2019 became law in New Zealand.  One of the objectives of this new law is to provide for greater transparency and accountability by trustees to beneficiaries. This..

Trusts hail from medieval times and one can be forgiven for thinking current trust law has been on our statute books since that time too.  A combination of legislation, common law judgements and equity maxims result in the law being antiquated and complex. This frequently..

Property contracts, including sale and purchase agreements and building contracts, sometimes include clauses that can be harmful to the unwary. And by unwary, I simply mean people who are not used to dealing with such legal documentation.  One of the advantages of using a professional..

A new bill is making its way through Parliament which is going to see changes made to the current Trustee Act. All those with an existing trust should be aware of the implications imposed and the opportunities this new bill will bring when it becomes..

It is a common misconception that you have to live with someone for three years or more, and they have to make a direct contribution to the assets acquired during the relationship, before they're entitled to bring a relationship property claim. Possibly this mistaken belief..

Every parent wants their children to have an equally good if not better life than what they've lived. To achieve that objective, parents tend to work hard to build up assets so they have something to leave their children when they die. This is done with..

We all know trust law is a moving beast. The Court of Appeal recently demonstrated this when it released a judgement that had professional trustees using their little grey cells and thinking hard about their clients.  The case involved a fairly traditional marriage, of reasonably..

Most people are aware that from 1 October 2015, residential property (with some exceptions) that is bought and sold within a two-year period will attract tax payable on capital gains made.  This rule will apply to equally to individuals, companies and trusts.  If a property..