The High Court recently removed a beneficiary's stepmother and
solicitor as trustees of a trust. The removal was on the
grounds that they failed to act impartially and/or failed to take
into account the interest of all the beneficiaries. The recent
High Court decision of Thurston v Thurston reaffirms the
requirement of trustees to act impartially and in the interest of
all beneficiaries.
By Tony Johnson - 5 Sep 2013
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The practice of a couple gifting $27,000 per annum each to a
trust ($54,000 per couple) has existed for many years. This
was the limit that could be gifted before gift duty tax was imposed
prior to the abolition of gift duty on 1 October 2011. Gifting
the maximum allowed before the imposition of gift duty also ensured
that assets were transferred to a trust as efficiently as possible
to give best effect to asset protection and estate planning
schemes.
By Tara Grant - 23 Aug 2013 - 1 comment
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International re-insurers have been feeling the pinch from the
fallout of the Christchurch earthquake. They now see New Zealand as
a riskier bet and want to more accurately assess their future
liability in the event of further natural disasters. So, gone is
the golden era of open ended replacement insurance and in are the
days of Sum Insured policies. Replacement policies are based on the
size of the property. Sum Insured policies are for a specific
sum.
By Kay Keam - 7 Aug 2013 - 1 comment
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Some fairly grandiose claims have been made about the potential
effect of new technologies such as 3D printing on traditional
manufacturing industries, but based on the rapid developments in
this area some of those claims are not nearly as overblown as they
might first appear. And as things stand, current intellectual
property (IP) laws are unlikely to provide much in the way of
protection for manufacturers and other IP owners.
By Mike Worsnop - 30 Jul 2013
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Well not quite. But the last few years have seen the rise
of a number of alternative sources of funding to challenge the
traditional banking model. One such source of funding is known
as crowd funding.
By Mike Worsnop - 19 Jul 2013
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Succession Planning is a critical issue facing many
SMEs. And when you stop to consider that something like 97% of
businesses fall into that category (based on figures published by
Statistics NZ), it's a critical issue for the New Zealand
economy.
By Mike Worsnop - 12 Jul 2013
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It's a question we regularly get asked by clients. And for good
reason - legal services is one of those bellwether industries.
By Mike Worsnop - 8 Jul 2013
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The role of trustees is becoming progressively more time
consuming and complex - and sometimes mistakes happen. So,
what happens if you, as trustee, have slipped up?
By Tony Johnson - 28 Jun 2013
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The UK Supreme Court recently considered an appeal from
proceedings following a divorce. The Court's decision in Prest
v Petrodel Resources Ltd & Ors is likely to affect New
Zealand company, insolvency, trust and relationship property
law.
By Tony Johnson - 21 Jun 2013
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The recent High Court
judgment in Hampson v Registrar of Companies has
reaffirmed that in some circumstances a creditor of a company in
liquidation may have a direct right of action against a director of
that company.
By Tony Johnson - 17 Jun 2013
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