Property Relationships Act 1976 Archives

Contracting out agreements for relationships late in life

August 22, 2024

A wise move as financial affairs are more complex

You may think that a ‘pre nup’ is most commonly used when a young couple begins a relationship and there is a significant difference in their financial position. However, these agreements, formally known as contracting out agreements (COAs), can be entered into at any time during a relationship. They are particularly useful for couples entering into a de facto relationship, or marrying later in life, as both parties are more likely to come to the relationship with more complex financial affairs.

Why have a COA?

One of the couple may have been through a previous separation or the loss of a spouse. They may have children – dependent or adult. They may also have trust or company structures that make their overall asset profile less straightforward from a relationship property perspective than younger couples who are just getting started with their lives together.

In these cases, a COA can give both parties (and their families) clarity about what will happen to their assets if one of them dies, or if they decide to separate.

A COA is a way of opting out of the default rules as to how the division of property is dealt with under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA). Without a COA, the default approach would apply; this generally means that relationship property assets are divided 50:50. An equal split, however, is not always appropriate. In complex cases, parties can end up in protracted court cases trying to figure out how the PRA applies to their particular situation.

While the default rules are a helpful fallback position where people cannot agree how property will be divided, the PRA does not necessarily reflect what all couples would regard as ‘fairness.’ The legislation also does not take account of fact-specific or unusual cases. COAs allow couples to set in place clear and bespoke rules that apply to their particular circumstances, and their specific assets, in the event their relationship or marriage breaks down.

Opens up discussion

One of the benefits of considering a COA is that it opens up the discussion between a couple as to what they would like to happen to their property, or what they might consider fair, in the event that one of them dies or they separate. Often we find that couples have never had this conversation, but have made assumptions about what will happen or what their partner thinks should happen.

In particular, these assumptions can be harshly tested and shown to be wrong when a partner dies unexpectedly. The surviving partner may find that they have radically different expectations about what will happen compared with the deceased partner’s children and any other parties involved in such an estate.

The same issue can arise if a couple separates. Efforts to resolve relationship property issues may be made in circumstances where the partners’ perceptions of fairness have changed over time. There may have been unequal financial contributions made during the relationship or owing to events, such as infidelity, that have occurred during or which ended the relationship.

Complex finances

Where a couple has a complex financial situation, including trust and company structures, a COA should be supported by documents between the parties and the trusts or companies, so that no assets fall through the cracks or fail to be taken into consideration. It is important for couples to seek independent advice about the types of documents required, and their effect.

Review a COA regularly

It is also critical that couples review their COA as life changes. When properties are bought and sold, home improvements funded or other big changes happen, the COA may become out of date and difficult to apply. A new agreement, or an amendment to an existing agreement, can ensure that everyone has clarity about what the changes mean and what their effect will be if there is a death or separation.

A COA can only be enforced if both parties have received independent legal advice and both lawyers certify the agreement. This requirement ensures that both parties are fully informed about the effect of the agreement.

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Trust eSpeaking is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Trust eSpeaking may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022. Editor: Adrienne Olsen. E-mail: [email protected]. Ph: 029 286 3650

Over the fence

December 13, 2023

Amanda Leahy

Property, Relationships, Rural, Your Own Business

Family home v homestead: implications for relationship property

When a relationship breaks down, it is always difficult dividing up your joint assets. It is important when deciding the division of relationship property under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA) following a separation, or when forming a contracting out agreement, to accurately classify the home in which you and your partner/spouse live. The overall structure of the property will define whether your home is classified as the ‘family home’ or a ‘homestead.’

Family home: The PRA defines the family home as a property, including all land, buildings and improvements, which a couple generally, or primarily, reside in as their family residence. The property within the whole title must be used for the benefit of the relationship to be classified as the family home. In this case, all land under that title must be shared equally in a separation situation unless you as a couple have a contracting out agreement specifying the division of the property.

Homestead: Where only part of the property within the whole title is used for the benefit of the relationship, the portion attributable to the relationship may be considered the ‘homestead’ instead of the ‘family home.’ In this case, the remainder of the property may not be subject to the PRA principles of equal sharing, particularly if it is owned by a third party such as parents of one of the parties.

A family home will be considered a homestead if a portion of the property within the title is used by a couple as their general, or primary, family residence but the remainder of the title is used for the overall economic gain of another entity. This is more common in the rural context where couples reside on the farm but only a portion of the overall title contains the family home and the remainder is used for the economic gain of their rural business.

In this case, only the portion of the title considered to be the homestead would be considered in the division of relationship property, with the remaining property possibly not subject to the equal sharing principles of the PRA.

Road user charges and when to pay them?

The government imposes taxes on fuel through a road user charge (RUC) to collect funds for the maintenance and development of our roads. For most people, this tax is included in the petrol price.

Some vehicle owners, however, must pay the RUC and their fuel separately. If you own a vehicle weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, or a vehicle weighing less than 3.5 tonnes that runs on untaxed diesel, you must pay the RUC.

Your RUC licence is paid in advance to allow you to travel the distance purchased – usually in blocks of 1,000 kilometres.

You must always display the appropriate RUC licence on the inside of the passenger’s side of the front windscreen of your vehicle. Once your vehicle has travelled the distance covered by the RUC licence, you must renew your licence.

Owners must keep records of their vehicle use and have a hub odometer installed to accurately measure the distance it travels. Most vehicles that are subject to RUCs are sold with a hub odometer pre-installed.

Electric cars (EVs) do not currently incur RUCs. The new government, however, has indicated that EVs will pay the RUC from 1 April 2024 onwards.

Casual employees v seasonal workers

Seasonal workers are employed in certain sectors (particularly agricultural and horticultural areas) with the exclusive purpose of doing seasonal work, usually to assist with an increase in seasonal production requirements. Although seasonal work is temporary by nature, employers must be aware of the minimum entitlements for seasonal workers. There is a distinction between ‘casual’ workers and ‘seasonal workers’ in general. The Employment Relations Act 2000 requires specific clauses in employment agreements for these workers.

Casual employment: a casual worker is employed to work on shifts that are offered and accepted. There is no requirement for them to accept work you offer. In between periods of work, this worker is not considered to be employed by you.

Seasonal work: generally speaking, a seasonal worker is employed to work the entire season. These people are permanent employees on a fixed-term basis who are likely to be employed under a fixed-term agreement[1]. It is important that your seasonal worker’s employment agreement is drafted according to the specifics of the job.

If you need help with employing this summer’s casual and seasonal workers, please don’t hesitate to contact us. It’s vital to get these employment agreements correct – both for you and your employees.

[1] Section 66, Employment Relations Act 2000.

DISCLAIMER: All the information published in Rural eSpeaking is true and accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge. It should not be a substitute for legal advice. No liability is assumed by the authors or publisher for losses suffered by any person or organisation relying directly or indirectly on this newsletter. Views expressed are those of individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Edmonds Judd. Articles appearing in Rural eSpeaking may be reproduced with prior approval from the editor and credit given to the source.
Copyright, NZ LAW Limited, 2022. Editor: Adrienne Olsen. E-mail: [email protected]. Ph: 029 286 3650

Polyamorous relationships

September 11, 2023

Amanda Leahy

Property, Relationships

Supreme Court confirms that the Property (Relationships) Act can apply

In a split decision, the Supreme Court recently confirmed by 3:2 that polyamorous relationships (that is, relationships between three or more people) can be subdivided into two or more qualifying relationships, to which the provisions of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (which applies to relationships between two people) can apply.

Background

Brett and Lilach Paul married in 1993. In about 1999, Brett and Lilach met Fiona. The three formed a triangular relationship in 2002.

During their 15-year relationship, all three lived on a farm at Kumeu that was registered in Fiona’s name. Lilach separated from Fiona and Brett in 2017. Fiona and Brett separated a few months later in 2018.

Family Court

In 2019, Lilach brought an application in the Family Court, in which she sought orders determining the parties’ respective shares in relationship property, including the Kumeu farm.

Fiona objected to the court’s jurisdiction, on the basis that the parties were not in a qualifying relationship for the purposes of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA).

The Family Court sought guidance from the High Court about its jurisdiction to hear the case.

High Court

In the High Court, Justice Hinton held that the Family Court did not have the jurisdiction to determine the property rights of three people in a polyamorous relationship, because the requirement, under section 2D of the PRA that the parties be living together as a couple, excluded a scenario where all three people are participating in a multi-partner relationship. Lilach appealed and the case went to the Court of Appeal.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court’s framing of the question put to it and found that jurisdiction could exist in the case of a polyamorous relationship.

The court agreed that the PRA was concerned with relationships between two people, meaning that polyamorous or multi-partner relationships are not qualifying relationships under the PRA. The court noted, however, that sections 52A and 52B of the PRA specifically provide for claims where a person is in multiple contemporaneous qualifying relationships. It found that the PRA does not require exclusive coupledom.

Within that context, the court held that the relationship between the parties could be viewed as three separate, but contemporaneous, qualifying relationships – a marriage between Brett and Lilach, a de facto relationship between Brett and Fiona and a de facto relationship between Lilach and Fiona.

Fiona appealed to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court decision in June

In a decision released in June 2023,^[1] the Supreme Court (by a 3:2 majority) dismissed the appeal and confirmed that the PRA could apply to polyamorous relationships.

Specifically, the court held that:

A triangular (three-party) relationship cannot itself be a qualifying relationship, but
A triangular relationship can be subdivided into two or more qualifying relationships.

In reaching this conclusion, the three Supreme Court judges who were in the majority noted that it was not contentious that the PRA applied to what it referred to as ‘vee’ relationships. A vee relationship is one where party A is married to party B, and A is also in a consecutive or concurrent de facto relationship with C, but where parties B and C may not know about each other, and may or may not live in the same residence.

The question was then whether the ‘triangularity’ of the relationship (ie: the existence of a relationship between parties B and C) makes any difference to the analysis. The majority held that it did not.

As noted, the Supreme Court decision was spilt 3:2, with the minority indicating that they would have allowed the appeal.

Practical implications

Following this decision, there may be increased interest by parties in polyamorous relationships in having contracting out agreements put in place. There are also likely to be claims under the PRA following the breakdown of a relationship, or on the death of a party to the relationship.

As all the decisions to this point have dealt only with the question of jurisdiction, no decisions have been made yet about the division of property between Lilach, Fiona and Brett. That issue will be sent back to the Family Court.

^[1] Mead v Paul [2023] NZSC 70.