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Wills - Dying without a Will

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What happens if you die without a will?

If a person dies without making a will, he or she is said to have died  "intestate".          

Since there is no will, the deceased person’s property is distributed according to rules laid down in the ADMINISTRATION ACT 1969.

Please note that the old British Wills Act 1837 which governed a lot of the law in New Zealand for 180 years has now been replaced with the new Wills Act 2007.  It is 47 sections long and should be read.

Intestacy - When There Is No Will 

 

When this happens, your property is distributed to your family members according to the rules contained in the Administration Act 1969 (see below). These rules set out the order of who will receive your property, and in what proportion.

 

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Feedback/Reviews/Blogs
"Can the Family Protection Act help 2 kids 11 and 13 to some provision from their fathers estate when there is no will. They live with their mother (divorced from late father) and now his defacto (no children involved) is claiming everything and not willing to make any provision for these children. House and furniture gone to her as purchsed jointly but there is still balance of insurance, super ann. ute, boat and personal effects that could be dispersed to them. At present all they have is hte ACC weekly payment that replaces the child support thir father paid.
Is there anything fathers family can do to get something for his boys? Any thoughts or othe similar experiences??

Netlaw replies: YES. A claim can be made if there is no will. It sounds as if they have a very dtrong case. See a lawyer immediately.

"

"Dear Netlaw,
Our father had a will which was invalidated by a 3-day form of marriage. The woman in question got divorced 1-month before and married our father when he was in a semi-coma and he died 3-days later. The supposed spouse is now applying to be Administrator under the Administration Act and after $121,000 + 1/3 share of remaining property. Could you please advise, do the children (there are 4 of us) have any remedies? Your expertise will be gratefully received and is very much appreciated, thank you.

Netlaw replies: Yes. Children can file a claim under the Family Protection Act 1955 asking the Family Court to provide "further provision" from the will. Our special topic "Family Protection Act 1955" covers the principles.

But in this case, you might also be able to challenge the validity of the new will on the basis of your father's medical condition and possibly on the basis that he signed under pressure."

"Hi
I have a mother who is 80 years old with dementia. We (6 children) don't think she has a will and no EPOA. She has no real assets except $8000 in the bank which is intended for her funeral. Are we likely to run into any problems or major costs if no will exists at her death. Is there anything we could do now to make life easier in the event of her death. I'm guessing if she doesn't have a will now, its probably too late.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Netlaw replies - It is too late unfortunately. See a lawyer."

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Acts Of Parliament
"can i make a complaint if a barrister acting for an applicant for child custody completely and utterly overrides and ignores sworn affidavits by the respondent bulldozes her ignorance through the family court and is so negilent she gets away with it we are at a loss how this can happen how can we have our allegations investigated??"
"Hi Netlaw, I am not sure if this is the right place to ask the following but here goes:

My brother is looking for the best possible family court/criminal lawyer/solicitor that legal aid can buy. He’s looking for a lawyer who will go ‘all out’ for him, advocate strongly on his (and his children’s)behalf and provide desperately needed advice/counsel. This lawyer must also be willing, eager and able to take up a challenge and defend my brother against a breach of a protection order.

A big ask we know (especially since legal aid is mentioned), but we are hoping that some of you gentlemen may know of such lawyers? Or someone who knows someone who might? Is there a contact list, website etc of such lawyers/solicitors that you could direct us to please? We live in Wellington but will canvass New Zealand to find such a person.

We are is running out of time, hence this urgent plea to you all. We would be truly grateful if you can find the time to reply or point us in the right direction.

Many thanks in advance
"

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Acts Of Parliament
"Great. See the other topics on Statement of Claim -Some Examples - Graeme - Tauranga"
Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Acts Of Parliament
"Dear Net Law,
I am perplexed on a matter concerning challenging a will. My father is a very elderly man living in New Zealand, my mother passed away some 35 years ago; I have 6 siblings – 5 males - 1 female all well over the age of 18 years. My father has verbally informed me I shall not be a beneficiary, and/or at best in a minor way. I am not an executor of my fathers will nor have I have seen its contents. My father’s verbal communication has various versions dependent upon his mood. As I understand the situation from your website I can get a copy of my fathers will once probate has been granted and the will is in the public domain, hence one can then get a full understanding of the contents of the will. However how does one challenge a will once probate has been granted?

Netlaw advises: You must advise the executor of the will within 6 months that you intend making a claim and you have 12 months from probate being granted to lodge the claim. But do so as soon as you can.

Netlaw
"

"Dear Netlaw,
I have just found out that i have been left out of my grandparents will. I am 1 of 4 grandchildren and the others are named in the will. How successful might i be in contesting and what is the first step in this process - i am not sure at this point wether it is financially viable to contest as i may end up spending more money contesting through lawyers - your thoughts?
Thanks.

Netlaw replies: You are able to contest a will of a grandparent. Equal sharing is NOT one of the legal principles but the Family Court would want to know why you were left out. We have all the law and procedure on Netlaw but try a good look at the New Zealand Family Court website and look for headings under the Family Protection Act 1955 or "Contesting a Will". There is some good stuff on that website. You could do it yourself if you are prepared to spend a bit of time. There is a section on the Family Court website on representing yourself.

Hope this helps . . . Richard at Netlaw"

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Acts Of Parliament
"Very helpful . . . McBreen"
"Now that I understand the principles it has made it easier for me to prepare and make final decisions. thank you. Kirsten."
"Great coverage to have it all laid out. Could you try and give us some uncomplicated documents. yours are useful but are there any simpler docs? Keep up the good work. A really helpful website. Graeme H. Wellington - May 2007"
"I have made good use of this topic and the other topics on Wills. Well done. Jim H (retired) - Devonport - May 2007"
"Bloody Hell! You provide us with the documentation as well! This is great stuff. I will still use a lawyer but I now have enough information to make some informed decisions myself.
Kevin M - Hamilton"

"Hi Netlaw...i have found your site very helpful to me in applying for a parent order. Anexcellent site with the right information, easy to use steps.

Thanks so much :)))"

"HI, posted yesterday trying to find application boilerplate for challenging will due to unsound mind (with medical evidence). Thanks"
Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Acts Of Parliament
"My husband and I liked all this information. Keep it up please! Well worth the $45. We have spent so much on lawyers, blast them. I suppose they are necessary but when we see these concepts set out simply by you in Netlaw we wonder what all the secrecy and fuss was about in other matters. "
"I have heard that through the Will I am able to gift up to $27 500.00 of my property per year to some one that I want to inherit without paying gifting fees where do I find a template for this

Netlaw answers: Good morning,

You posted a blog on Netlaw this morning. We reply as follows.

Gift duty is not payable on money or assets which pass under your will. Therefore, you can leave $1,000,000 to someone in your will and it is not classified as a gift.
However, if you wanted to give someone $1 million during your lifetime then that would attract gift duty at 40 cents in the dollar (subject to a more specific calculation about a lesser amount of gift duty in some bands above $27,000) for any amount gifted over $27,000 per year. This is why gift programmes over a number of years have to be set up during the course of your lifetime to avoid or minimise paying gift duty.
But we repeat - money or assets left under a will are not treated as gifts for gift duty purposes. Nor are death duties payable any more. They were abolished well over 10 years ago.

Cheers . . . . Netlaw"

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