Selwyn Times: February 01, 2023
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22 <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Wednesday <strong>February</strong> 1 <strong>2023</strong><br />
BACKYARD CRITTERS<br />
Legal Matters<br />
It’s a matter<br />
of Minutes vs<br />
Resolutions<br />
Mike Bowie is an ecologist who specialises in entomology<br />
(insects and other invertebrates). Each week he introduces<br />
a new species found in his backyard at Lincoln. His<br />
column aims to raise public awareness of biodiversity, the<br />
variety of living things around us. Check out the full list<br />
of invertebrates found at www.inaturalist.org/projects/<br />
backyard-biodiversity-bugs-in-my-lincoln-section<br />
Larvae of the<br />
large Bityla<br />
defigurata moth<br />
have been<br />
feeding on the<br />
Muehlenbeckia<br />
complexa vine,<br />
planted to<br />
attract copper<br />
butterflies.<br />
While some see a subtle semantic<br />
difference, others see the<br />
important distinction between<br />
minutes and resolutions. Accurate<br />
resolutions are essential in<br />
demonstrating appropriate<br />
standards of trust management<br />
and therefore where a resolution<br />
is inaccurate, the trustees’ position<br />
can be compromised.<br />
In the context of Trusts, the term<br />
minutes and resolutions are often<br />
used interchangeably. However,<br />
there is a difference that trustees<br />
should be aware of:<br />
Minutes, more commonly referred<br />
to in the context of companies,<br />
generally provide a formal<br />
record of the meeting, including<br />
the attendees, the documents<br />
presented, and what was decided.<br />
In comparison, resolutions are<br />
a record of the decision that the<br />
trustees have made regardless of<br />
whether the decision was made at<br />
a formal meeting.<br />
It is likely that at the time your<br />
Trust was established, the lawyer<br />
acting for you recommended that<br />
the Trustees of the Trust hold<br />
an annual trustee meeting. The<br />
minutes of this meeting should be<br />
recorded, and any decisions made<br />
at the annual trustee meeting<br />
should be recorded in Trustee<br />
resolutions. These resolutions may<br />
be useful evidence if the Trust’s<br />
validity is ever questioned.<br />
With a growing number of<br />
challenges brought against trusts,<br />
and the Trusts Act 2<strong>01</strong>9 bringing<br />
increased responsibility for<br />
trustees, the need to demonstrate<br />
proper decision making is<br />
increasingly valuable.<br />
Where our specialist Trust<br />
Management company, TP<br />
Trustees, is working with you, you<br />
have nothing to worry about in that<br />
we will be in contact regarding an<br />
annual trustee meeting, and will<br />
prepare all required documents<br />
for you. If TP Trustees is not a<br />
trustee of your Trust, we can<br />
still help run the annual trustee<br />
meeting, prepare the required<br />
documentation, provide advice,<br />
and assist with any other Trust<br />
related matter that arises.<br />
We provide critical support to<br />
trustees, enabling them to perform<br />
their duties confidently to best<br />
practice standards. We are always<br />
able to answer your ongoing<br />
questions and offer additional<br />
services as required. Get in<br />
contact with us for a no-obligation<br />
consultation<br />
Like a moth to the vine<br />
I LIKE growing native plants in my<br />
backyard because most native plants<br />
attract one or more species of native moth<br />
or butterfly that rely on them for food.<br />
I have been growing a few specimens of<br />
Muehlenbeckia complexa, an attractive<br />
small creeping vine that can be observed<br />
growing outside the Lincoln Library on<br />
Gerald St, to attract the beautiful copper<br />
butterfly.<br />
Unfortunately, I have not observed a<br />
single specimen of the copper butterfly<br />
at home yet, but have seen several on the<br />
outskirts of Lincoln.<br />
The good news is that I have attracted a<br />
large moth called Bityla defigurata whose<br />
larvae also feed on the vine. This is an<br />
endemic moth found throughout New<br />
Zealand where Muehlenbeckia complexa<br />
or Muehlenbeckia australis grows.<br />
The moth is 20mm long, brown with<br />
darker brown head, long mane-like hair<br />
on the thorax and usually striped legs.<br />
So, plant some Muehlenbeckia<br />
complexa and you may be luckier than<br />
me in attracting copper butterflies, but<br />
you will be creating a stepping stone to get<br />
them into our gardens.<br />
A reminder that the Murawai O Whata<br />
Bioblitz on 18 <strong>February</strong> is almost upon us.<br />
Check out events@ecan.govt.nz for details<br />
of this exciting event.<br />
Please contact us to make an appointment<br />
in one of the four convenient office locations<br />
Darfield • Ashburton • Rolleston • Christchurch<br />
Kate Warren (Senior Associate)<br />
Mobile: 0273843054<br />
Email: kate.warren@tp.co.nz<br />
Rolleston & Darfield office: 03 317 9099<br />
Christchurch office: 03 374 9999<br />
Ashburton office: 03 308 4188<br />
Rural and Agricultural Law, Conveyancing, refinancing, leasing & property transactions,<br />
Land acquisitions, boundary adjustment and subdivision, Insurance Law, Occupation Right Agreements<br />
and Estate and Succession Planning, including Enduring Powers of Attorney, Trusts, and Wills.<br />
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