Selwyn_Times: April 12, 2023

Selwyn Times Wednesday April 12 2023
10
NEWS
Legal Matters
Inheritance – What’s
Mine is Not Yours
If you are in a qualifying
relationship and inherit assets
(whether those assets be physical
items or cash) the law does
not require you to share your
inheritance with your partner,
and therefore these assets will
initially be regarded as separate
property. This means the
inheritance remains the property
of the party that inherited –
hence, what’s mine is not yours!
If, however, you intermingle the
inheritance with joint assets it
becomes relationship property.
An example of intermingling
inheritance would be the transfer
of inherited money into a joint
bank account with your partner.
If you were to inherit a motor
vehicle and proceed to use it for
the benefit of your relationship
then there is a high chance this
asset would become relationship
property.
To obtain certainty around
the status of inherited assets,
we recommend entering into
a Contracting Out Agreement
under s21 of the Property
(Relationships) Act 1976. This
Agreement can cover just the
inherited assets to protect their
status as separate property, or
it can cover other items brought
to the relationship where it is
agreed these assets should not
be divided equally in the event
of separation. The Contracting
Out Agreement could state
that the party who inherited
the money would be paid out
the amount of their inheritance
before the relationship property
is divided. Or, if the inheritance
were invested into real estate
(the Property), for example, the
contribution could be agreed to
reflect a percentage of the value
of the Property and therefore
in the event of Separation the
percentage share of the Property
would be paid back – although
with this option can come a risk
of capital loss.
We often provide independent
estate advice, relationship
property advice, and can of
course assist with property
investment.
If you wish to keep your
inheritance yours, get in contact.
Please contact us to make an appointment
in one of the four convenient office locations
Darfield • Ashburton • Rolleston • Christchurch
Kate Warren (Senior Associate)
Mobile: 0273843054
Email: kate.warren@tp.co.nz
Rolleston & Darfield office: 03 317 9099
Christchurch office: 03 374 9999
Ashburton office: 03 308 4188
Rural and Agricultural Law, Conveyancing, refinancing, leasing & property transactions,
Land acquisitions, boundary adjustment and subdivision, Insurance Law, Occupation Right Agreements
and Estate and Succession Planning, including Enduring Powers of Attorney, Trusts, and Wills.
ROADBLOCK: Perymans Rd residents Vicki Black and John Ryan want the
road sealed but not closed at the intersection with State Highway 75.
PHOTO: SUSAN SANDYS
Battle to tarseal
road could lead
to dead end
• By Daniel Alvey
FOR MORE THAN 10 years John Ryan
has been calling for the final 500m of
Perymans Rd in Tai Tapu to be sealed –
but now a plan to do so could see the road
become a dead end.
The district council is proposing to
seal the remaining gravel section before
July but close the intersection with State
Highway 75 for safety reasons, ending
Perymans Rd where it crosses the Halswell
River.
Ryan uses the road to access his fields
and was among 47 submitters who
provided feedback to the district council
on the closure.
“It is a key access for everyone on
Perymans Rd,” Ryan said.
He believes closing the intersection will
not improve safety.
“The SH75, Lincoln Tai Tapu Rd
intersection is marginal on several fronts
– narrow bridge, poor visibility, wayward
pedestrians, no pedestrian way over the
bridge.”
Ryan said residents in the area have been
calling for the road to be sealed for years
because of the dust which gets kicked up
over summer.
“The road must be sealed for health and
safety purposes for the residents of a good
portion of Tai Tapu township.”
Ryan spoke to district councillors about
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you
think the Perymans Rd/SH75
intersection should be closed?
Email your views in 200 words or
less to daniel.alvey@starmedia.kiwi
the ongoing issue at Annual Plan public
meetings in 2013, 2015 and 2022. The
district council and Waka Kotahi New
Zealand Transport Agency sought to close
the intersection in 2003 and 2013.
Ryan got an engineering report done
in 2013, which concluded closing the
intersection would not resolve the safety
concerns.
Perymans Rd currently has an 80km/h
speed limit, but Ryan said he would be
happy to see it lowered or speed bumps
added to slow traffic if the intersection was
to remain open.
The district council said if the
intersection remained open, the road
would need to be widened and the
intersection redesigned to ensure it was
safe. This would come with a significant
increase in costs and time to design and
complete the work.
The district council has put $330,000
aside to complete the project, but an exact
price may be decided when the transport
committee meets on May 10 to consider
the various options including potential
costs and road layouts.
ENTRY:
The district
council
may
close the
Perrymans
Rd/SH75
intersection
for safety
reasons.