The Trusts Act 2019 ( Act)
comes into effect in January 2021, providing the first major reform
to trust law in over 70 years. Although the Act implements
significant changes, the over-arching purpose of the new
legislation is to re-state the existing law in a more accessible
format, so that it can better assist beneficiaries in holding
trustees to account.
By - 31 Aug 2020
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The pressure on couples living together 24/7 in their
household 'bubbles' has led to a rise in separations during
lockdown. Couples have been forced to spend more time together
while trying to work from home, fulfilling their usual household
duties, paying their bills on time and (where children are
involved) attending to their daily needs as well.
By Dharsh Nanayakkara - 24 Aug 2020
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This month we welcomed John back to the firm. During
John's absence he was a flight instructor at Ardmore and then spent
seven years flying for PNG Air, eventually captaining ATR72-600s in
Papua New Guinea.
By Melissa Higham - 24 Jul 2020
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Consumers are increasingly basing their purchasing
decisions on the environmental impact of the product or service. As
a result, environmental claims made by businesses about their goods
or services are becoming more common in advertising.
By Andrew Skinner - 19 Jul 2020
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It is generally well understood that if your relationship comes
to an end your relationship property must be shared 50/50 pursuant
to the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (PRA).
But, some people believe that if they transfer their assets to a
Trust, then those assets will be protected. This is rarely
true.
By Tara Grant - 14 Jul 2020
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Employers who were unable to access their premises during
level 4 lockdown had to grapple with their obligations to employees
who were unable to work from home. Many sought advice on this
either directly from legal professionals or from the flurry of
information that was flooding the online employment sphere at the
time.
By Aimee Elia - 9 Jul 2020
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The Privacy Bill passed its third reading in parliament
and will come into force on 1 December 2020, repealing and
replacing the Privacy Act 1993.
By Mike Worsnop and Tom Swindells - 6 Jul 2020
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If the executor of your Will or administrator of your estate is
an overseas person, they must apply to the Overseas Investment
Office for an exemption for any residential property to be
transmitted to them. Changes made in October 2018 to the Overseas
Investment Act 2005 (OIA) mean that an estate with an overseas
executor/administrator is likely to be affected by the regime.
By Steven Lee and Rika Louw - 15 Jun 2020
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Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July
2020. The changes will be particularly important for building
product suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are
summarised here.
Following on from last year's round of consultation, the
Government has recently introduced the proposed changes to the
Building Act. The Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular
Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill has had its first
reading in Parliament and has now been sent to the Environment
Select Committee with submissions due by Friday 10 July 2020. The
changes will be particularly important for building product
suppliers and manufacturers and the key changes are summarised
below.
By Andrew Skinner - 8 Jun 2020
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There has been much debate regarding what a fair rental
reduction is under commercial leases where businesses have been
affected by COVID-19. The Government had previously done nothing to
assist either Landlords or Tenants in this situation.
This morning Government have announced a compulsory
rent dispute process where the Landlord and Tenant have been unable
to agree on a fair rent reduction during COVID-19 lockdown, which
requires compulsory arbitration with Government subsidising the
arbitration by about 75%.
By Melissa Higham - 3 Jun 2020
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