June 2018 New Zealand has passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (we will call it the AML/CFT law). The purpose of the law reflects New Zealand's commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has on people and economies within the global community.… Read More.

March 2018 The search for your first home or investment property is an incredibly exciting but often daunting process. There are a number of factors to consider before finding the property that is right for you, and it pays to be as organised as possible to ensure that you can act quickly when the perfect… Read More.

March 2018 Succession planning is a vital task for the long term success of any family farming business, but it can be a daunting exercise. The following article considers four possible succession structures commonly used by farming families. 1.       Trusts Perhaps the most well-known option, placing farming property into a trust, provides the following benefits:… Read More.

March 2018 Our clients regularly present us with novel situations (the spice of life is always welcome!). Some of these involve the law around rapid advances in technology and the consumerism that follows. With such change, we find ourselves researching an ever-evolving range of laws that have been developed to meet the new world. Think… Read More.

March 2018 Many family assets in New Zealand are owned by a family trust. The trustees of such trusts must comply with a wide range of duties and obligations. This article considers one of those duties, the trustee duty of impartiality, and what this duty means in practice, particularly when trustees want to distribute trust… Read More.

March 2018 Legislation introduced by the Government at the end of last year and expected to be passed soon will tighten the rules around foreign ownership of residential property. In the main, only New Zealand citizens, Australian citizens or New Zealand permanent residents who satisfy certain conditions will have the right to buy a home… Read More.

November 2017 The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (‘HSWA’) came into effect on 4 April 2016. It took until 22 August 2017 for the first sentencing decision of the District Court to emerge, WorkSafe New Zealand v Budget Plastics (New Zealand) Ltd [2017] NZDC 17395. The second, WorkSafe New Zealand v Rangiora Carpets… Read More.

November 2017 When you’re considering entering into a long-term commitment it makes sense to consider at the start how you would like the assets you both bring to the partnership to be distributed should the relationship end. While most people have heard the term pre-nup, often used in stories about celebrities about to marry, it… Read More.