Lucas and Lucas Lawyers Dunedin

OUR INSIGHTS

Why is ‘trust and confidence’ with your lawyer important?

There are three key requirements: The first requirement is know-how. We will bring our knowledge and research capabilities to the table.

How you can ‘know’ – a perspective on research

If you are wondering how to gain a measure of confidence about your legal position, read on.

Mortgagee Sales

Roger had purchased his own home about three ago, with the assistance of a bank loan – a loan which was secured by a mortgage...

Finding your positive motivation in a dispute

This reflects the fact that many people get into disputes because of base reasons like anger, irrationality, and desperation.

‘Do it yourself’ Will kits

The drafting of a Will that accommodates the circumstances and serve the needs of a given individual, combines technical expertise with

How much does a free Will really cost?

In exchange for preparing your free Will, these entities appoint themselves as the executor of your estate.

When a claim on an estate comes out of the blue

We helped them to understand the comparative strengths and weaknesses of their case

Wills are undervalued

Having a Will that you feel good about, that makes sense to you, and that will not likely lead to the implosion or explosion of your family,

The importance of having current ID

Maintaining a current form of Government-issued photo ID has a number of obvious benefits...

Relationship Property – Protecting your property

If you want to protect your assets from a potential future relationship property claim, enter into a Contracting Out Agreement...

Building off the Plans

Many of us know a story about someone buying a house off the plans at a supposedly fixed price……only to have their costs blow out, and

Caring for Dependent Adult Children

As parents, we all hope that – if nothing else – our children will grow up to be able to look after and provide for themselves.

Why a letter demanding what you want isn’t enough.

We have all seen or heard about letters from lawyers like this. It’s what we call a wish list.

Are trusts still relevant?

As numerous as trusts are in NZ, changes over the past 10-15 years in regards to case law, legislation and government practice (particularly

Our approach

Here are the three points that come up every time we help a client who wants to resolve a dispute.

Leverage and why you need it

If you are in a dispute, chances are that you already know what the other party ‘should’ do. Most likely, you feel frustrated because

How the court system works

If you have a dispute, there are two key things you need to appreciate about our court system.

When you feel something isn’t quite right.

Your father, your mother, or perhaps another relative set up a trust. You had a close relationship with this person before he or she passed

Trust disputes, in a nutshell

Most trust disputes involve a tug of war between two very basic ideas.

When beneficiaries are told that they have no rights

Each beneficiary has the right to be considered from time to time.

Information matters in trust cases

You are interested in how a trust has been run. The first thing to do is to look carefully at the information that is already available.

When you have raised a question and it didn’t go well

What happens when you raise a question and the trustees’ reaction seems unreasonable?

Joint Tenants vs Tenants in Common – Part 3

Jack and Jill were together for 10 years. They each had two adult children from their previous relationships. They owned the family home..

Declaratory judgments – and why they matter in trust disputes

The first thing you will notice about the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908 is its age. This is law has been around now for more than a century