Kemp Barristers & Solicitors of Kumeu

16/12/2025

17/06/2025

When trustees face difficult decisions, understanding their obligations is key. Dive into real-world scenarios in our latest blog post. Read more here: https://wix.to/Yh61lVL

Sometimes trustees of a trust could find themselves in a difficult position where practical necessity requires that they act in a way that may conflict with their trustee duties under the Trusts Act 2019. This could happen where, for example: • a house must be sold but a weak property market means...

19/11/2023

Do you have a Trust? Did you know that Trustees now have a clear obligation to tell beneficiaries about the assets and investments contained within a trust? Read more here :

Since coming into effect on 30 January 2021, the Trusts Act 2019 has impacted trustees and beneficiaries of trusts. The new Act provides for greater accessibility and offers trustees improved guidance to achieve this. Moreover, beneficiaries now have a better ability to hold trustees to account by e...

23/10/2023

Do you know about GST when it comes to purchasing a property?

Read our latest article below :

When purchasing a property, the parties to the sale and purchase agreement elect whether the purchase price includes GST or not. A vendor such as a developer may be GST registered. Accordingly, the purchaser will liable for GST on the purchase price (unless the price is agreed to be GST inclusive).....

05/10/2023

Read our latest article on signing agreements with Title issues and land covenants :

Do you know about Titles and Land Covenants? Most land agents will tell you to get legal advice before you sign an agreement. This is good advice because it gives you and your lawyer a chance to look at a title to see if there are things that limit your future use and enjoyment of the property that....

16/07/2023

Due to a Chorus outage, our phone lines and emails are down. We apologise for the inconvenience.

16/06/2023

Does your will do what you want? Kemp Barristers & Solicitors of Kumeu

If a person dies leaving behind a valid will but it does not properly dispose of all their assets, then the remaining assets will be distributed intestate under the Administration Act 1969 (“Act”). This could happen if the deceased forgets to deal with an asset in his or her will or if a beneficiary no longer exists when the deceased dies. The estate will then be divided among the surviving spouse, children, parents, and other next of kin, depending on the circumstances.

For example, Mr A decides to leave his assets to his family trust to look after the next generation. A few years after signing his will Mr A and the other trustees of the family trust decide to wind up the trust. Unfortunately, Mr A forgets to update his will which still has the family trust as the beneficiary of his estate – but it no longer exists. Mr A’s estate will now be distributed pursuant to the intestacy laws under the Act.

In many situations this may not be a problem as the people who end up inheriting under the Act may be the same as if the family trust inherited the estate. However, sometimes this may not be the case and the estate is distributed in a way that the deceased never intended.

This is why it is good practice to regularly check your will to make sure it properly disposes of your assets. If you are uncertain about the distribution of your assets upon your death or need to update your will, you can contact Kemp Barristers & Solicitors at [email protected] or 09 412 6000.

07/06/2023

https://www.kempsolicitors.co.nz/post/your-title-what-s-your-blog-about

Do you know what a due diligence clause is? Are you aware of Title approval clauses when it comes to Sale and Purchase agreements?

Do you know what a due diligence clause is? Title approval clauses, due diligence, sale and purchase agreements A due diligence clause usually maximises your protection as a purchaser because it provides for you withdrawing from an agreement on almost any basis. However, in the absence of a broad du...

21/10/2021

Do you know about the Bright-line Property Rule?

Bright-line Property Rule - In 2015 the Government introduced the bright-line test. This requires income tax to be paid on gains from the sale of residential property under certain circumstances. If the property is not your main home and you sell it after 27 March 2021, the sale will attract capital...

30/09/2021

Moving under times of Covid-19

As we learn to live life in and out of lockdowns, we are learning how to adapt legal issues to deal with our lockdowns. One of the issues that arises is moving house during different lockdown levels. This is particularly relevant to purchase and sale settlements. If the property being purchased is a...

13/11/2020

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) allows you to appoint someone to act as your attorney in certain circumstances and endures beyond any loss of mental capacity. There are two sorts of EPAs under New Zealand law.

To read more, please click on the below post that will take you to our website and for more information :

https://www.kempsolicitors.co.nz/post/enduring-powers-of-attorney