Rochelle Crossman, Family Law Barrister
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The BEST family lawyer in Dunedin

14/6/2016

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When you're dealing with stressful issues concerning your family and property, of course you want to hire the BEST lawyer in town to represent your interests and fight for your corner. And so you should! But many clients are surprised when to learn that this doesn't mean they should hope their ex has the worst lawyer. Not at all. If your ex has a "bad" lawyer, such as one who doesn't know the law, who pursues un-winnable arguments, is unnecessarily aggressive or adversarial or even one who just never gets back to your ex, it will end up costing you - in frustration, time and money. 

So, not only do you want to have an specialist family lawyer yourself, in most cases you'll find that your lawyer can achieve a more favourable outcome if your ex also has an experienced family lawyer acting for them. Unfortunately though, you will rarely be able to have a say about who your ex's lawyer is.

The upshot? By all means hire the best specialist family lawyer in town, but don't be too worried if your ex hires the second-best!
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Family mediation

26/5/2016

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On 31 March 2014 the new Family Justice System began. This was the biggest change to the Family Court system in New Zealand since the Family Court was set up in the 1980s.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the new system will enable more separated parents to reach agreement about their children's care arrangements without the need for Court action or lawyers.

The Ministry's website about the system can be found here.

While the goal of enabling parents to reach their own agreements about their children's care is an admirable one, you should still obtain some legal advice as to your rights and responsibilities as a parent or guardian. This will ensure that the decisions you reach are the most appropriate for your children and that your important role as your children's parent and guardian is recognised.

Low income clients are likely to be eligible for free legal advice about the new system under the Family Legal Advice Service. Look for a Family Law specialist who can offer this service in Dunedin.

For urgent matters where a child's safety is at risk and/or where there has been domestic violence, clients are still able to make an application to the Family Court and to access legal aid (if otherwise eligible).

Note that the new Family Justice System does not affect other applications to the Court such as Domestic Violence, Relationship Property, Paternity or Adoption. It is recommended you obtain legal advice before embarking on Court action in respect of any of these matters.
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Why would you need a specialist Family Lawyer?

9/5/2016

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If you've just separated, you will be feeling anxious and worried about the care arrangements for your children. You may be concerned about the financial and property implications arising from your separation. You may have been separated for quite some time, but care arrangements are no longer working as well as they were. 

Grandparents, caregivers and adoptive parents have other issues they want to resolve as quickly and efficiently as possible. Perhaps you have been stuck in an abusive relationship that you can't see the way out of, or CYF have been knocking at your door.

If your problem involves any aspect of Family Law, you need an experienced, specialist Family Lawyer. Don't be tempted to hire the lawyer who did your conveyancing or set up your business; they will be specialised in those areas and are unlikely to have the expertise that you will need to guide you, successfully, through the Family Law minefield.
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​Why might I need a Family Lawyer?

28/1/2016

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We are all a member of a family. A specialist Family Lawyer can assist you with the many legal issues that might arise out of your family relationships.
 
Family Law isn’t limited to issues that arise when people separate. You may need a Family Lawyer for these matters concerning children:
 
• Proceedings involving grandparents and other family/whanau members
• Acting for parents when Child, Youth and Family (CYF) are involved
• Obtaining parenting orders for CYF caregivers ("Home For Life")
• Paternity applications
• Applications by fathers or grandparents for guardianship of a child
• Adoption applications
 
A significant proportion of a specialist Family Lawyer’s work is to do with property, such as:
• “Pre-nuptial” property sharing agreements
• Overturning unfair relationship property settlement agreements. 
• Challenging wills of deceased relatives
• Protection of Personal and Property Rights proceedings and Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Applications to review decisions by the Commissioner for Inland Revenue concerning child support
 
In the above situations, you will almost certainly benefit from a specialist family lawyer’s advice.
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DIY Divorce online NZ

4/11/2015

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Type “divorce” into Google and somewhere near the top of the searches there will likely be a link to a .com site suggesting you should start arranging your divorce with their help. Be careful of using such sites. Typically it will be a site registered outside of New Zealand. Typically you won’t be able to get far into the site until after you’ve paid your money. And certainly, all the site will do is give you access to documents already available FOR FREE from any District Court/Family Court or online from the Ministry of Justice. 

In New Zealand, divorce is legally called “dissolution of marriage.” This is a separate process to sorting out care of children or dividing relationship property. You will need a lawyer for settling relationship property, you may not need a lawyer for negotiating care of children and you certainly don’t need a lawyer for the dissolution of your marriage.

A helpful, easy to use application pack is available from any Family Court or online from the Ministry of Justice. Most people are quite capable of filling out the forms themselves, for their DIY divorce. Save your money and don’t give it to off-shore internet companies. If you do need some legal advice, seek professional advice from a NZ-based specialist family lawyer, or a community law centre.
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But a pre-nup is so expensive!

20/10/2015

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Yes, a good contracting out agreement will cost you (probably over $1,000 each and maybe more) but this is not somewhere to skimp and save. Coming back to my insurance analogy from an earlier post – you probably pay in excess of $700 on house insurance each year. Not because you intend or know that your house will burn down this year, but just in case it does. And the chance of that happening in any one year is minuscule! Over 20 years of home ownership you may spend $14,000 on insurance and never make a claim.

Contrast that to the 100% likelihood that your relationship will eventually end (either by separation or death) and a one-off cost of, say, $3,000 suddenly doesn't seem so exorbitant. 

And be warned about looking for the cheapest pre-nup around: a poorly drafted agreement will cost you an awful lot more in the long-run. Unless the agreement is well drafted in accordance with the law, based on full disclosure and written specifically for your individual circumstances, it will be left wide open to challenge in the future. Not only will the agreement not be worth the paper it is written on, but you could be out of pocket by many thousands of dollars in legal fees before you realise it.
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It’s so unromantic to talk about a pre-nup!

7/10/2015

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Sure, it isn’t a discussion you probably want to have while on a special date night, but it is a conversation every couple should have at some time, and certainly within the first year or so of a relationship. 

Of course you don’t want or plan for your relationship to end, but hey, you don’t plan for your house to burn down or for your car to be stolen either, but you insure them, just in case. And in the same way you need to insure your precious and valuable assets against being halved when your relationship inevitably ends. 

Hang on? Inevitably!? That's a very unromantic attitude! Well, yes, but sorry, every relationship ends eventually – either by separation or by the death of one of you. And with a well-drafted pre-nuptial (aka contracting out) agreement (and of course a will), you can be confident that what you and your partner intend to happen to your assets, will happen. 

Having a pre-nup is especially important if you have children from an earlier relationship, or if you are bringing significantly more assets into the relationship than your partner is.

And don’t leave it too long – once you’ve been together for three years, the Property (Relationships) Act has taken hold, and the discussion will be a much more difficult one! Contact a specialist Family Lawyer now to discuss insuring your assets.
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