FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions.

There are many things to take into consideration when thinking about this. Firstly, both natural parents must agree on the appointment, and you can only appoint one new partner in this way for your child. To find out more about the process and what needs to be taken into consideration, please visit the Family Justice website.

A family trust, in essence, protects your personal, financial, and business assets for you and your family and generations to come. Click here to read more about family trusts.

A family trust cannot last longer than 80 years and an end date must be set when the trust is established – also known as the date of distribution.

Although this might seem like a tough time for you, it is important that you are honest with your children from the beginning. There is also a range of legal issues that need to be taken into consideration:

  • Guardianship
  • Care of children
  • Contact with children
  • Moving away

For more information on what you need to be aware of during a separation, please click here.

Family violence exists in many forms:

  • Physical: hitting, slapping, punching, kicking, biting, using a weapon, or physically hurting a victim in any other way
  • Sexual: any form of unwanted sexual contact, or purposefully hurting someone during sex, without their consent
  • Psychological: intimidation, harassment, damage to property and pet, threats, humiliation

If you are experiencing, or have been witness to any of the above forms of violence, it is important you seek help immediately.

A protection order is a legally binding document put in place by a Family Court judge to protect a person from family violence. Protection orders contain Non-violence conditions (the respondent must not use physical violence) and Non-contact conditions (the respondent must not make ANY contact with the protected person). Click here to read more about family violence and protection orders.

If you believe your side of the story hasn’t been heard, you can go to the Family Court to defend the order. You should contact a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure you’re case has the best chance.

If you choose to do nothing, the temporary protection order will become a final protection order after three months.

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Ministry of Justice - Guidance for Managing Shared Care
https://www.justice.govt.nz/about/news-and-media/covid-19-news/guidance-for-managing-shared-custody/...

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