Newsletter - February 2024
Love is in the air this month with February bringing us Valentine’s day (love it or otherwise) and cause to celebrate relationships in all their shapes and sizes.
To keep with the theme of the month, February’s newsletter is all about love and relationships - whether you are taking the big leap forward with your new significant other, but are not sure how to approach the somewhat delicate side of protecting your personal assets, or perhaps you are coming to the end of your relationship and need some guidance on what steps to take (legally). In either scenario, our team has you covered.
For those of you who have found love in another country, New Zealand has a variety of options for your partner to be able to call New Zealand home - our immigration team highlights a few of the key things to consider when tackling the relationship side of the New Zealand immigration process.
Our work also wouldn’t be achievable without the tireless efforts of our support staff and so this month we show some love and shine a spotlight on the fantastic work our support team do, that impacts on so many of the successful outcomes we achieve for our clients.
Love Is In The Air
Relationships & The Law
Whether you are at the start of your new life together or coming to the end of a relationship, knowing your way through the legal complexities is something our team have extensive experience with.
Relationships are as unique as the people within them, and for many couple’s entering into a partnership with the assets they have built up over time, having “that” conversation or even knowing where to start can be a challenging process. While organising a “contracting out agreement” (or even knowing what that is) might not be the most romantic of ideas, it can offer security and a lot of certainty to couples as they plan their futures together.
For most couples, this does involve considering a contracting out agreement which essentially means creating an agreement together that exempts you from certain provisions of the Property Relationships Act (PRA). The PRA specifies how relationship property is handled in the event that a relationship ends. In many cases, couples may want specific assets or property that they have accumulated before the relationship commenced, to be handled differently to the way the PRA might consider them.
Some of the other reasons you might consider this arrangement could be…
Safeguard the initial deposits each party makes to a joint property so that in the event of separation each party takes back a percentage equivalent to their initial contribution (instead of 50/50).
To classify income as their separate property.
To classify income as separate property, until the birth of their first child upon which they agree to share all income.
To determine how their property will be divided if they separate or one party dies. E.g., who will stay in the house and for how long after separation or death?
To safeguard an interest in a family trust.
While it might seem like a very tricky subject to tackle with your significant other, we see it as an opportunity to have a frank conversation with your partner about how you want your finances to be dealt with and to further strengthen your relationship. The best way to start the process is to engage with a legal professional to identify the options, and potential benefits that this process can offer.
Of course, not all relationships stand the test of time and when things do fall apart, it pays to know what your legal rights are as quickly as possible. Obviously, a contracting out agreement will help to establish and clarify a lot of these issues if your relationship ends, but even then, having good legal representation as you unwind your life with another person can be incredibly helpful.
Beth Jones, one of our Senior Solicitors working within the family law team, mentions several things that couples should consider as they approach this very difficult process.
Remain calm and collected - a good way to do that is to get good legal advice as early as possible.
Consider the impacts on your children, lifestyle and income - going from a combined income to living independently can have significant impacts on the life you have been accustomed to.
Think about your future living arrangements, particularly where children are involved.
No one wants their relationship to end, but if it does, you want it to end as amicably and as efficiently as possible, leaving you, your ex-partner and any children that might be involved in the best potential position (not just financially). Having someone available to assist in the legal complexities of the end of a relationship can bring some much-needed common sense to the equation as well as allowing you to exit the partnership in the best interests of all parties.
Our family law team, have a wealth of experience in dealing with these issues and the ability to provide some clear and well considered guidance to couples at the beginning of their journey or if their time together has come to an end.
Partnership Visas
Love & Immigration
New Zealand offers various pathways for those looking to bring their partner in to the country, however the rules can be confusing and proving your relationship exists is never as easy as it sounds.
It happens a lot more than you might think and as a lot of New Zealander’s head overseas either to explore the world or to gain some experience, in many cases they return with a significant other, from another part of the world. New Zealanders love to travel but equally they know where home is and so when they come back, with a partner in tow, they inevitably have to tackle the process of securing that partner the right to live, work and study in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s immigration policy, when it comes to partnership, has been incredibly consistent, providing various temporary and Resident visa options for foreign nationals, looking to settle down here with their New Zealand citizen or Resident partner. However those rules are under review and we may see a tightening up of this process in the near future. There is also the potential for Visa charges (Government application fees) to increase for partners as well.
In most cases, and owing largely to the fact that Residence will take at least four to six months to approve, the process to bring in a partner consists of both a temporary Visa and then later, an application for Residence. In some cases, where a couple haven’t yet been able to live in the same location, or have only been able to spend short periods of time together, we need to add in a further step to bring them here as a visitor.
INZ takes a two step approach to relationships, first assessing whether the relationship is genuine and stable, then looking at the period of time spent living together. While these two factors often overlap, they also come with different evidentiary requirements. You can have a lot of official documentation to support your cohabitation, which still won’t satisfy your INZ case officer that the relationship meets the first test for being genuine and stable.
Often, people place too great an emphasis on the more circumstantial evidence such as photos and letters from friends and family - both of which are useful, but not the only evidence you need to supply. Getting the mix right is really important and also understanding the boxes that INZ case officers need to tick, helps you to prepare the right documentation, first time around.
There are also some interesting clauses, particularly for the NZ partner, who might have supported an applicant for a Visa before - we have a five year stand-down rule as well as a maximum of two partners that any NZ Resident or citizen can sponsor over their lifetime.
For some partners, who have been living together overseas for five years or more and are looking to relocate back to New Zealand, the foreign national partner can apply for and be granted Permanent Residence directly (skipping the initial two years of Residence that most applicant’s secure).
No matter what your situation, relationships are unique and the immigration process involved will be equally as unique for every couple. Our immigration team (Turner Hopkins Immigration Specialists), have decades of experience in assisting couples to traverse this very complex process and their first step is to establish the right visa options, the level of evidence required and to lay out a clear path forward.
Our Support Staff
Our Unsung Heroes
Behind the scenes we have a team of dedicated and experienced administrators, and support staff - all helping to make the magic happen.
Most of our clients tend to engage directly with the lawyer or lawyers assisting with their legal issue, however behind them operates a highly experienced and committed team of support staff, all working to assist the partners, principals and solicitors within the business to deliver the service our clients expect.
The work the support staff do is also incredibly varied, and can be directly involved in a simple or highly complex legal issue, or as part of the business more generally, providing a great working environment and keeping the admin wheels turning.
This often means that our support team wear more than just one hat, and can be moving from one task to another. The work they do is often unseen, yet absolutely crucial, so we asked two of our longer-standing support staff to offer their perspectives on working in their roles within Turner Hopkins.
“16 years at Turner Hopkins, how have I lasted so long?
I’ve already retired three times, but this is where I belong. “ - Carol
Carol Ross, who works directly with the family law team, has been with Turner Hopkins for nearly 16 years, and has officially retired three times, but just can’t seem to stay away.
In fact when we asked her to provide some feedback on her time with the TH family, she couldn’t help but come up with a rhyme.
For Carol, the variety of work, the people she works with and the sense of “work family” she can find within the team and her colleagues are all reasons for her to keep coming back (three times and counting!).
“I work with an incredible team – Partners, Authors and PA’s - who are very understanding. Turner Hopkins really do believe in work and personal life balance.” - Penny
Penny Toi works as a Personal Assistant in our Trusts, Wills & Estates team.
Penny has been with Turner Hopkins for eight years and not only enjoys the work but the flexibility that she has been given in balancing her work life, with her personal life.
Providing a good team culture, a supportive environment and the flexibility for staff to achieve a realistic work/life balance, are fundamentals within the firm. It also helps that we have fantastic new offices, located in such a stunning part of Auckland, only minutes from Takapuna beach. We encourage anyone considering a move into the legal sector or perhaps a move within the industry to get in touch via our careers page.
That wraps up our newsletter for February and another month almost over in 2024. In our March update, we will be looking at more property matters, particularly as the debate over interest rates continues as well as an article from our Trusts, Wills and Estates team. We will also be introducing (over the next month or two), the ability for you to select the topics (areas of law) that you are most interested in, so we can provide more targeted newsletters - stay tuned.
The Team - Turner Hopkins
