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A trust which is not a sham and is therefore valid cannot somehow be “illusory”. There is either a valid trust or there is not.

The rules for residential rental property deductions have changed - find out how they might affect you and your properties.

From the 2019-20 income year onward, new rules apply to deductions claimed for residential properties. Residential property deductions will now be ring-fenced, meaning that they can only be used to offset income from residential property.

In some cases residential land withholding tax (RLWT) will apply to your property sale if a sale amount is paid or payable on or after 1 July 2016, and the property sold is in New Zealand and defined as residential land.

The changes prevent certain overseas people from buying residential property in New Zealand. With some exceptions for Australian and Singaporean citizens, anyone who is not a New Zealand citizen or is not ‘ordinarily resident’ in New Zealand, is an overseas person and needs OIA consent to purchase a residential property in New Zealand..

The Trusts Act 2019 will come into effect on 30 January 2021. The Trusts Act 2019 will replace the Trustee Act 1956 and the Perpetuities Act 1964 to make trust law more accessible, clarify and simplify core trust principles and essential obligations for trustees, and preserve the flexibility of the common law to allow trust law to continue to evolve through the courts. It is essential that all trust deeds are updated.

A number of family court decisions in Australia and New Zealand have incorrectly created the impression that if a trust is the "alter ego" or "puppet" of the settlor it can be disregarded.