South Auckland Lawyer for Relationship Property Agreements
The Relationship Property Act is applicable to civil unions, married couples, and de-facto for three years in New Zealand. If there is a separation, the two parties would have equal claims on the total assets of the pair. One partner bringing a house or legacy to the relationship which they deem to be their own personal asset, if you do not want this, can lead to the partners entering into an opting-out agreement. This is referred to as a Relationship Property Agreement. If this is the case, then you will need a south Auckland relationship property lawyer.
Explaining A Relationship Property Agreements
A relationship property agreement is a contract before marriage that is also known as an RPA or contracting out agreement and also a pre-nup. Both parties to the relationship agree to split their assets in accordance with the terms of the RPS. A south Auckland relationship property lawyer has the experience to draft a relationship property agreement.
New Zealand law entitles both parties to equal share of the assets in a divorce. In the event that the partnership is dissolved, assets acquired will be divided equally. In the past, the woman had to argue for a share of the assets.
Assets were not allocated equally on many occasions. The father would often leave the woman with little or nothing. Conversely, the father could be left with a small asset base after providing a home for the children. Both of these situations were not fair.
The Property (Relationships) Act of 1976 gave equal shares of the assets from the union to both parties.
A Key Issue To Note
It is important to remember that the assets during the union are referred to.
In case either of the parties owned a home before the relationship, and it became the home for that marriage. it could be classed as the marital home. When they split, the second partner wouldn’t be due a half share of the current market value. The PRA lets the initial owner to take away the value at the beginning of the union from the value at the time of the separation. This is the increase in value during the time of the union and both sides are entitled to half of that gain.
A pre-nup will say that the person who brought the house to the relationship remains the sole owner after the relationship is over.
See A South Auckland Relationship Property Lawyer For Advice
If it were proposed the person bringing the house into the relationship would retain sole ownership, the other party would not like it. It might not be, probably isn’t. They need to turn to a lawyer with experience with relationship property agreements who can give them advice on pre-nups.
There Are Other Situations Where A Relationship Property Agreement Is Used
A pre-nup can refer to asset allocation after one of the partners dies. It is common if one or more of the partners has children from a previous relationship.
The prior assets might be left to the natural children of the old relationship rather than being shared between the children in the new relationship.
Conclusion
If you are going into a relationship, it is wise to get advice from a trusted source such as a south Auckland relationship property lawyer. A lawyer will be able to give advice regarding how you handle any existing assets and your previous children, and how to deal with asset allocation with children of the new relationship.
For people in the south Auckland area, McVeagh Fleming is one such law firm. They have lawyers who can help.
www.mcveaghfleming.co.nz