Legal publications & articles

For centuries, trust law in New Zealand has been taken from many sources, including the Trustee Act 1956, and court decisions. But 2021 will bring trust law reform, whereby trust law will be contained in one statute, the Trusts Act 2019 (“the Act”). The Act, which...

March 2020 saw most New Zealanders locked down by a global pandemic, but the rural industry was still very much “business as usual”. During the lockdown period, there were some big changes to the Healthy Rivers Proposed Plan Change 1 (“PC1”), but one overarching factor...

Since the Covid-19 Level 4 Lockdown, many people have been taking part in the Government’s Wage Subsidy Scheme.

The end of 2019 marked some interesting changes to the widely used sale and purchase agreement, with the new document minimising the opportunity for purchasers to back out of agreements by reason of ‘failure to obtain finance’. The new sale and purchase agreement (“tenth edition”), which...

BlackmanSpargo is adhering to the government’s instructions yesterday on Covid-19 for businesses to close their doors and for staff to work from home. We will hold meetings at a distance, either by telephone, Zoom, Skype or FaceTime. Please continue to contact us by telephone or email,...

MyMilk is a wholly owned company of Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (“Fonterra”). It was set up to secure the supply of milk and does not require the supplier to purchase Fonterra shares. MyMilk is a great opportunity for suppliers to supply Fonterra without incurring the cost...

September is Wills month and we're supporting the Geyser Community Foundation. If you'd like to make a simple change to an existing Will, to include a gift to the local community through the Geyser Community Foundation (at no charge) please contact us...

It has been nearly eight years since I first published my book Keeping Farming in the Family - a guide to farm succession. I wrote the book for the farming community because there was a lack of information in the sector regarding this important topic...

The farming industry and its advisors are concerned about the impact of M. bovis on their farming operation, livestock and livelihood, irrespective of the amount of compensation that may be available from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). While the industry is endeavouring to work towards...

New Zealand has passed a law called the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (we will call it the AML/CFT law). The purpose of the law reflects New Zealand’s commitment to the international initiative to counter the impact that criminal activity has...

It is an opportune time to share with you, potential issues farmers need to consider when buying and selling dairy farms that supply Fonterra....

Rachel, Chris & Sandy attended the NZ Law Awards last night at the Cordis, Auckland and were delighted to win the Regional/Suburban Law Firm of the Year award for the third year running...

We’re proud to announce we are finalists in this year’s NZ Law Awards in two categories: Regional/Suburban Law Firm of the Year and Employer of Choice for under 50 employees...

We are proud to again sponsor this year’s NZ Dairy Industry Awards for the Auckland/Hauraki, Waikato, Central Plateau and Bay of Plenty districts. What a great few nights we’ve had at the award evenings...

Congratulations to this year’s sports scholarship winners Holly & Luke Gardner and Jordan Berry...

There has been a large amount of publicity on the Waikato Regional Council’s Plan Change 1 for the Healthy Rivers On-Farm Project. This is commonly referred to as Healthy Rivers...

A very proud moment for the BlackmanSpargo team when we scooped this year’s Regional/Suburban Law Firm of the Year award in Auckland...

The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 is legislation which regulates the rights of couples to property owned by them and especially property acquired by each of them during their relationship. The legislation is extensive and deals with all relationships that are generally considered to be a marriage...

A very interesting article by S.AG Private & Co. on investing and what the future holds: artificial intelligence, self-driving cars and veal produced in a petri dish! The Exponential Age S.AG Private & Co. Limited is an Independent Investment Advisory Firm. It provides a highly customised and...

We all realise that there has been significant change in the way we now communicate. The use of the mobile telephone and the computer allows people to communicate in writing 24/7. The nature of the communication can range from the social all the way through to...

A recent decision of the High Court about the danger of burning fires on lifestyle blocks is relevant to farmers. The danger is not only the loss of property, but also the financial liability for putting the fire out. In the New Zealand Fire Service Commission...

Ian Blackman’s article in the Coast & Country regarding planning for the future...

One of our clients has recently been recognised as a driving force behind irrigation development in the wider south Canterbury region. Glenavy dairy farmer, Robin Murphy was one of two recipients of the biennial Ron Cocks Memorial Award at Irrigation New Zealand’s conference dinner in Oamaru...

The Inland Revenue is offering tax relief to farmers in response to the dairy price downturn. If the drop in the dairy price is having a significant impact on your financial position and you have made deposits into the income equalisation scheme, you should talk to...

Although the primary industry is the backbone of our economy, it has one of the highest percentages of injuries and deaths. This may be in part due to the physical nature of the work undertaken. But also it is not until someone close is seriously...

Rotorua Lakes Council has responded to the difficult economic condition many dairy farmers are experiencing from the downturn in dairy prices. The council is offering dairy farming category ratepayers the opportunity to defer their first 2015/16 year rates payment, without penalty, until 20th October 2015. This payment...

A recent topical issue that we are coming across more and more is that of meth-tainted homes. We have heard of situations where people move in to a home and then suffer health consequences. When investigating further, they find that the house has been contaminated...

Have you thought about what would happen to your farm business and family if you die or become incapacitated? Would the farming operation be sustainable without you? Would the business need to be sold to repay your debts? Would there be adequate income to support...

The government is introducing two significant reforms that will affect property transactions and rental properties, including those owned by trusts. IRD numbers and capital gains Currently, anyone who buys a property with the intention of selling it for a gain is liable for tax on any gain...

BlackmanSpargo Rural Law Limited welcomes both Sandy Van Den Heuvel and Rachel Petterson to the firm as Directors and shareholders. Both Sandy and Rachel have been with BlackmanSpargo since its inception in 2003. They specialise in all aspects of rural law with their co-Directors Ian Blackman...

The Geyser Community Foundation exists for the purpose of ensuring charitable gifts in the Rotorua and Taupo districts are managed as originally intended. People can leave money for the benefit of the Rotorua and Taupo communities generally, or set up their own named endowment fund and...

A topical issue for many farmers is the common industry practice of averaging wages for employees over the season. There are many reasons why averaging of hours is preferred. It is difficult to anticipate the hours that an employee will spend working because of the seasonal...

It is becoming increasingly common for lenders (usually banks) to require third parties to give guarantees for the obligations of a borrower. Where the borrower is associated with other entities the bank wants to ensure that securities given to the bank by the other entities...

Jumping the fence -Growing up Sandy Van Den Heuvel never considered one day she would go to university. “It wasn’t encouraged, it wasn’t something my family had done,” she says. So, when, after two decades as a legal executive Ms Van Den Heuvel decided to embark on a...

The Environment With the economic downturn and many businesses still struggling to make ends meet, inevitably some businesses are still at risk of failing. In this environment, it is important for farmers to understand the risks associated with paying large deposits for goods or services. The Rationale So...

Ian Blackman and Chris Spargo were invited to present a paper on succession planning to the Beef and Lamb seminar at Te Kuiti. Over 50 people attended. As a result, the media has picked up the success of this seminar and reported on it. The article can...

Chris and Ian are delighted that long-time employees Sandy Van Den Heuvel and Rachel Petterson have been admitted to the bar and are now practising solicitors with the firm. Sandy and Rachel have spent the last four years commuting to Hamilton whilst working for BlackmanSpargo...