Well tractor parking isn’t a problem so long as your tractor is very small! Have a great Fielddays everyone.
For many of us, buying a home is the largest purchase we will ever make. That’s why spending a few hundred dollars on a pre-purchase building report is so important as it can save you hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars in years to come. The report is one of the final hurdles in purchasing a property, so it’s important to know the process and your rights as a purchaser and also as a vendor.
Accretion vs avulsion
When you bought your land, your lawyer will have sent you a search copy of the title to your property as recorded on the register at Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). The LINZ register is generally regarded as being conclusive evidence that you own the land and how much land is included in your title. However, it isn’t always the case – and it wasn’t the situation for the Eldridges when they purchased their farm.
Many trusts may require registration with the United States’ IRS under the FATCA regime
The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been in force in New Zealand since June 2014. FATCA is a complex piece of legislation established to prevent tax evasion by requiring foreign financial institutions to register and report to the IRS in relation to any accounts held on behalf of US citizens.
All New Zealand entities considered to be ‘foreign financial institutions’ under the FATCA regime should have been registered on the IRS website by 31 December 2014. Continue reading
Often people agree to accept the appointment as an attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) without really understanding what’s involved and what will be expected of them.
An attorney under an EPA is similar to a trustee or an executor. The person giving you power of attorney is placing trust in you to do the right thing. The law expects you to act selflessly in the interests of the person whose property or welfare you are looking after.
Ten years ago the idea of protecting your digital assets after your death, or if you lost mental capacity, would have been regarded as absurd. Many of us now regard this as critical. However, there’s very little guidance available on how best to ensure these assets are identified and dealt with in these situations. Protection of digital assets does not fit neatly into traditional asset planning concepts or inheritance plans.
The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed what happens to a Kiwisaver account when a person is made bankrupt. The short answer is the bankrupt gets to keep their money.
Since the introduction of the Kiwisaver legislation there has been confusion and uncertainty around what happens to a person’s Kiwisaver account once they are made bankrupt. This uncertainty is caused by two seemingly incompatible provisions contained within two different Acts. On one hand the Insolvency Act says that all the bankrupt’s property belongs to the Official Assignee (the government employee who manages bankruptcies), Kiwisaver funds are property so those funds would belong to the Official Assignee. However, on the other hand the Kiwisaver Act says that unless a law ‘specifically’ requires the withdrawal of Kiwisaver funds then it is not possible to withdraw the funds unless the person is suffering financial hardship.
In April the family justice system underwent a number of changes that acknowledged the Family Court is not always the best place to help families resolve family disputes.
Robert Frost wrote ‘Good fences make good neighbours’ which is a great maxim by which you should farm. Issues and accidents arising from wandering, escaped and uncontrolled stock result in many disputes, accidents and deaths in rural New Zealand.
With 40% of business owners looking to retire in the next five years and the average age of New Zealand business owners still rising, many business owners face the challenge of deciding what will happen to their business after they have retired. What is needed is a formal business succession plan.