Blackwood Montagna

22/10/2026

The things that matter most in life and in business rarely sit neatly in one area, so having the full range under one roof means you can bring us the whole situation rather than just part of it.

Our team works across conveyancing and property law, retirement village conveyancing, wills, powers of attorney and estates, trusts and asset planning, relationship property, commercial and company law, litigation and dispute resolution, family law, employment law, and medico-legal and ACC.

Whatever you're dealing with, you'll be talking to a lawyer who takes the time to understand it properly and explains your options in language that makes sense.

Call us on 09 283 8432, email [email protected], or drop into 7 Paerata Road, Pukekohe.

19/10/2026

Franklin is growing, and we're growing with it. We've welcomed several new lawyers to the team so we can keep up with the needs of the area, and we've brought in smart technology to serve our clients better.⁠
⁠
Visit our website https://bmlegal.co.nz/ to find out more about how we can help. It's full of free guides and articles covering everything from buying your first home to employment law.

15/10/2026

We were joined by 40 people recently to talk about succession planning and what happens to everything we’ve built when we’re no longer here to look after it.

Our solicitor Violeta Mills led the conversation and there were three questions that came up consistently: who actually needs a will, what makes one legally binding, and whether an ex-partner can still make a claim.

A will is one of the simplest and most important things you can do for the people you care about, and it is far easier to put in place now than to leave unfinished. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to Violeta for sharing her expertise.

Until 1 December, we are drafting wills for a fixed fee of $399+GST for one person, or $649+GST for a couple.

Get yours started now at https://bmlegal.co.nz/online-forms/wills/

12/10/2026

A will kit can ask you who you'd like to leave things to. What it can't tell you is whether the law will let that happen the way you've written it, which is the part that matters once the will is actually needed.

Swipe through three situations where the answer is less obvious than it looks: a partner's rights to relationship property, children from more than one relationship, and the question of who would raise your kids.

None of them is unusual, and none of them tends to feel like a legal issue until it becomes one.

Between now and 1 December we're drafting wills for a fixed $399+GST, or $649+GST for a couple, so the checking is done for close to the price of doing it yourself.

Get your lawyer-drafted fixed-fee will done in four weeks. Start here: https://bmlegal.co.nz/online-forms/wills/

10/10/2026

Any will at Blackwood Montagna is read through by a lawyer before we ask you to sign it, and until 1 December it costs close to the price of doing it yourself. ⁠
⁠
We're drafting wills for a fixed $399+GST, or $649+GST for a couple, for new instructions received by 1 December.⁠
⁠
Any will at Blackwood Montagna is read through by a lawyer before we ask you to sign it, and until 1 December it costs close to the price of doing it yourself. ⁠
⁠
We're drafting wills for a fixed $399+GST, or $649+GST for a couple, for new instructions received by 1 December.⁠
⁠
Get your lawyer-drafted fixed-fee will done in four weeks. Start here: https://bmlegal.co.nz/online-forms/wills/
⁠

05/10/2026

There's a common assumption that having a lawyer draft your will costs several times what an online kit does, and it's a large part of why so many people either put the job off or do it themselves.⁠
⁠
Until 1 December, we are drafting wills for a fixed fee of $399+GST for one person, or $649+GST for a couple, with no admin fee added on top. For that you get a lawyer who takes your instructions, drafts the will around your actual circumstances and checks it with you before you sign, with the whole process done in around four weeks.⁠
⁠
The price sits close to what people expect to pay for doing it themselves. The difference is that someone qualified has looked at it, for the same reason you'd want a professional eye on a contract or a tax return.⁠
⁠
Get your lawyer-drafted fixed-fee will done in four weeks. Start here:

This online questionnaire is designed to allow you to send us information we need to prepare your Will. if you are completing this on behalf of the person

03/10/2026

Will AI replace your lawyer? It is a fair question and clients are starting to ask it. Artificial intelligence can draft, summarise and search faster than any person, and a firm that pretends otherwise is not being straight with you.⁠
⁠
What it cannot do is know what you have not told it, notice the detail in your circumstances that changes the answer, or stand behind the advice when it matters. That part is the job. In this reel Peter talks about where AI fits at Blackwood Montagna, where it does not, and why the firm's view is that the technology should make good lawyers more available to you rather than less.⁠
⁠
For the business side of the same question, Ashley Smith's article on AI in business is on our website.

30/09/2026

AI is now writing product descriptions, answering customers and drafting documents for businesses across New Zealand, often more widely than the people running those businesses realise. That is the starting point of Peter's latest article, and it comes with a fact worth sitting with: under the Fair Trading Act, if AI-generated content misleads a customer, the liability sits with your business and not with the software provider.

Peter sets out the three legal pressure points every business using AI needs to understand, from consumer law to offshore terms of service to the Privacy Act 2020, and three practical steps to take now.

Read the full article: https://bmlegal.co.nz/ai-in-business-opportunity-risk-andwhat-nz-companies-must-get-right-now/

26/09/2026

We've built this firm around the Franklin community because we're part of it. Our team lives here, works here, and understands the businesses and families we act for, which means the advice you get is grounded in a real understanding of what you're dealing with rather than a generic answer pulled off a shelf.

Property, business, employment, family, wills and estates. Whatever brings you through the door, you'll find a team that listens properly, explains things plainly, and gets on with it.

Protecting what you've built. Powering what comes next.

21/09/2026

Most personal grievances in New Zealand must be raised with your employer within 90 days of the incident. Miss that window and, in most cases, the door closes however strong the complaint. The exception is sexual harassment, where the period is twelve months for conduct after 13 June 2023.⁠
⁠
A personal grievance is the formal way an employee raises unfair or unlawful treatment: an unjustified dismissal, being disadvantaged in your role, discrimination, harassment, or being penalised for exercising your rights. The process runs from raising it in writing with your employer, to mediation through MBIE, to the Employment Relations Authority if it is still unresolved.⁠
⁠
The first step is knowing the clock is running. Our employment team can tell you quickly whether you have grounds and what to do next. Find out more: https://bmlegal.co.nz/personal-grievances-in-new-zealand/