This article explores the Trusts Act and its relationship with existing New Zealand trust law. Many of the changes restate or codify the existing law. Other concepts are new. Now is the time for those with involvement in New Zealand trusts to review their deeds and their practices to ensure they will be fit for purpose when the Trusts Act comes into force.

Some of the most wide-reaching changes to the law brought by the Trusts Act 2019 are the new provisions on appointment and discharge of trustees and vesting of trust property (Part 5: ss 92-120). The new provisions are longer and more prescriptive than the existing provisions in Part 4 of the Trustee Act 1956. Law firms will need to consider their precedents in light of the new rules.

This article describes the new requirements in the Trusts Act 2019 for trustees to retain and disclose information, together with some ideas about how the new rules are likely to affect legal practice.

Advising on agreements that contract out of the equal sharing regime of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 is a core part of general practice.

The Trusts Act 2019, which comes into force on 30 January 2021, is the first major trust law reform in New Zealand in 70 years.

Two recent High Court cases provide examples of two different methods of removing trustees. In both cases, the trustees were failing to, or refusing to, administer a trust. In both cases, the trustees were not represented by lawyers in court, and were removed by the court with costs ordered against them.

The role that a trust plays in a family’s day-to-day life may be an important factor if the trust is challenged in relationship property proceedings.