Not seeing eye-to-eye with your neighbours? Got a stalker who will not leave you alone? Or maybe someone from the community won’t stop harassing you? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you might need a restraining order. What is a restraining order? If you are being harassed by a [...]
In today’s property market, people often purchase townhouses, units or apartments off the plans as part of a development. These purchases involve signing a contract to purchase the property, at a time when the property has not been fully constructed. In many cases, construction of the property has not even [...]
What is Residential Land Withholding Tax and does it apply to you? Residential Land Withholding Tax (RLWT) is a tax deducted from residential property sales if the following applies: The property being sold is residential land in NZ. The sale amount is payable or paid after 1 July 2016. The seller: Bought [...]
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods are alternatives to going directly to court. Using an ADR method is usually more cost effective for all the parties involved, takes less time to resolve the dispute, and relieves the court of cases that can be resolved between the parties. This article will focus [...]
A trust is an arrangement where a person (Settlor) transfers assets to selected persons (Trustees) to be held for the benefit of persons named by the Settlor (Beneficiaries). A trust is usually established by way of a trust deed but can be created by less formal means. Once the trust [...]
The Media love reporting on scandalous details of employment disputes that are before the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and Employment Court. They trumpet headlines like “Sacked worker who took worthless magazine gets $9,000”. However, many employers and employees choose to avoid the glare of publicity by resolving employment disputes with [...]
Changes to the Building Act 2004 came into effect from 1 January 2015. The changes are designed to better protect clients and ensure they are informed. All builders completing new work worth more than $30,000.00 (including GST and materials) must now have a written contract with their client and it [...]
The Ministry of Justice has introduced new processes for parents when they are resolving disputes about their children. Before parents can apply to the court regarding a dispute about care, or contact arrangements, or guardianship matters; parents must first complete two out-of-court processes. They are: 1. Attend a 'parenting through [...]
Family disputes over Wills and inheritances can quickly become expensive, time consuming and stressful. In some cases they can even destroy relationships forever. At ARL Lawyers our Dispute Resolution Team has experienced solicitors who will conduct negotiations to arrive at practical, common sense solutions for all the parties. Our focus [...]
Changes to the student loan system were announced in this years’ budget. The Government stated that new initiatives were necessary to raise the level of repayments made by overseas-based borrowers and to target those who default by introducing penalties. As a result of the announcement, the Student Loan Scheme Amendment [...]
