At the time of writing this article there are over 15,000 lawyers in New Zealand and almost 7,000 are registered with the Auckland Law Society branch alone. So, how can you choose a law firm in Auckland with this much choice?
 
Well, luckily, it’s a lot easier than it may first appear.
 
Firstly, what is ASCO Legal? What do we do?
 
Were an Auckland law firm consisting of five solicitors, two legal executives and three supporting staff (at the date of writing this). We are a full-service firm with specialisations in commercial law and property, and franchising. A ‘full-service firm’ means that we have many practice areas, including business and commercial law, family trusts and estates, Wills, commercial leasing, conveyancing, and other areas too! Unlike many Auckland law firms we are part of a small number of firms that also have a special interest and skills in franchising.
 
In our practice we have adopted the mantra of approaching the law and the practice of law with a “fresh perspective” in comparison to many other New Zealand law firms. What this means is that we believe that law and lawyers should be accessible to our clients. We do not need to have briefcases and wigs anymore; and we hope those days are gone. We believe in your comfort and wellbeing and hope that you want to drop in to see us when you’re in the area. We love having a chat and a coffee and we keep up with law and make it easy, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Read more about how to choose a law firm below...

Certain provisions of the Fair Trading Amendment Act, 2021, amending the Fair Trading Act, 1986 are to come into effect on 16 August 2022. One of the amendments which has potentially far reaching effects is the power given to Courts to find terms in a “standard form small trade contracts” as unfair. If a term is found to be unfair, it prevents the inclusion of the term and it cannot be applied, enforced or relied on.

​Read on to find out what this all means, and how it might impact you and your business...

A huge number of New Zealanders set up family trusts, usually with a gifting programme in favour of their trust so as to transfer assets. We have seen estimates as high as 400,000 New Zealanders who have done so. By these means, assets are transferred into their trust, which cares for them during their own lifetime and their surviving spouse or partner thereafter, and then has funds to provide for family members.
 
Trusts are used for a variety of asset planning purposes. One of their key benefits and a purpose for which they are widely used for is protection against creditors, to ring-fence and protect personal assets if a business or individual is liquidated or declared insolvent and family reasons. Protection of trust assets from a residential care subsidy perspective is the focus of this article.
 
The manner in which your trust has acquired assets is the crucial question in ensuring protection against creditors from a residential care perspective. While certain recent or otherwise fraudulent disposals made to the prejudice of creditors may be set aside, good faith disposals to your trust may not be affording you the protection you think that they are if your disposal and asset transfer has been structured on a gifting basis.
 
A structured gifting programme of assets to your trust may result in your assets remaining within your current or future creditors grasp. It’s important to bear in mind that creditors aren’t just your current lenders, you may incur substantial claims, liabilities or debt in the future which may not currently be foreseen...

The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2021-22, GST, and Remedial Matters) Act was given Royal Assent on 30 March 2022. The Act came into force on the day on which it received Royal assent save for provisions which are specified to come into force on a specified date.
 
The Act amends the Income Tax Act 2007 in relation to the bright-line test for residential land and the main home exclusion for disposal within 10 years. The bright-line property rule provides that if you sell a residential property that you have owned for less than 10 years (or 5 years for qualifying new builds) you may have to pay income tax on any gain on the sale.
 
The change eagerly awaited, is the change to when the acquisition date for the bright-line test for certain family trusts will deem a property to have been acquired. The effect of the change is a rollover of the acquisition date from the original owner of the land to the new owner when calculating the bright-line period for transfers of residential land to and from qualifying family trusts...

In the beautiful suburbs of Auckland and with the views they provide, it is inevitable that several homes will have retaining walls. With retaining walls, the frequently asked question is what consents are required for the construction or alteration of a retaining wall.
 
The simple answer is that it is based on the amount of ground that the retaining wall supports...