Your lifetime saving could be stripped out from underneath you
Auckland
Did you know in New Zealand, even though you have made a Will, your wishes can be contested by your children? This may mean that children from a first marriage could kick you out of your family home in order to receive money.
You make a Will to record what you want to happen on your death, yet in New Zealand it is reality that you aren’t free at all to leave your estate to who you want.
My story.
My step grandfather was a great man. Very humble and quiet, he worked all his life, saved his money and served for New Zealand. He loved New Zealand. He spent close to 40 years married to my grandmother. He had 5 children from his first marriage and one child with my grandmother. My grandmother had 3 children from her first marriage. Both of their first spouses had passed away.
On my step grandfathers death, in his Will he wanted everything to go to my grandmother, which naturally you would after being married to someone for this long. Once she died it was to be divided amongst the children who had been in their lives, helped them and who they thought financially needed it most.
Many months after his death, 1 of his children challenged his Will. Then later 3 of the children joined in with him. My grandmother was left no option and forced to pay them out. Court costs to fight this would've exceeded the payout. The result of this is that now she is left with her home, but has been stripped of her savings.
How did this happen?
Under New Zealand law financially independent adult children are ‘entitled’ to inherit when a parent dies under the 1955 Family Protection Act. This Act was introduced in 1900 to protect widows and young children from being left penniless. Since that time, it has been used by disgruntled financially independent adult children to go against their parents last wishes.
The law says parents must provide for the “proper maintenance and support” of their offspring, even when they are adults, a clause that courts have since interpreted as “moral duty” and as a precedent will usually award 10% to adult children of the deceased even if the child is estranged or neglectful.
New Zealand is an outlier – in most countries, to challenge a will you have to show financial need.
Why this is important
It is too late for my grandmother. Time and legal fees already have been horrendous.
If you are in a relationship or remarry, your children from your first relationship/marriage could take your partner/spouse of your second marriage to Court and demand money from your late partner/spouse’s estate. This could mean you’re kicked out of your own home. It doesn't make a difference if your home is owned as joint tenants.
The Court fees to fight this will exceed what you have to pay them out. The Courts receive around 300 applications a year and there are many more than this that are settled out of Court before it gets to this stage.
As blended families are now on the rise, it’s time for the New Zealand public to be made aware of this issue and the New Zealand Government to review the Family Protection Act, so that no family has to endure the heartache.
This is not a new issue, many families have faced this.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/92972957/where-theres-a-will-theres-a-way-to-challenge-it
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1955/0088/latest/whole.html
The money will be spent on printing costs and providing the public with informative brochures about this matter, if we exceed the running costs (like advertisement, website hosting, domain name, etc.) for this then can establish a group to help families who have to deal with the cost of Court cases
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