Specialist Auckland-based legal firm
Our capabilities cross a diverse range of legal specialties, making us your preferred legal partner for a wide range of legal issues. We celebrate women coming together to share a bond, chat, laugh, and console one another, all while binding harakeke in order to make a harakeke putiputi. A flower. The gift. An offering of manaakitanga.
R E L A T I O N S H I P P R O P E R T Y L A W
Protect Your Family & Assets
Whether you are entering a relationship or are going through a separation, knowing your rights is important to make sure you protect what matters most. We help you navigate through all stages of Relationship Property Law. Our team can assist with Contracting Out Agreements, Separation Agreements and the division of assets and liabilities.
Tips & Advice
Take Steps To Protect Your Assets Early
While you can sign a Contracting Out Agreement at any time during your relationship, it is generally easier to complete this early before you have intermingled finances so much so that unravelling them becomes less complicated.
M Ā O R I L E G A L I S S U E S
Mana of the people is equal to any authority
Taame Iti
Kia Whakatōmuri Te Haere Ki Mua
“Walk confidently forward into the future by looking to the past for guidance”
With expertise across the full range of hapū and iwi governance issues, we provide advice in relation to all aspects of te Tiriti o Waitangi claims, Māori Land Law and Post-Settlement Governance. Our team represents claimants before the Waitangi Tribunal in historical Inquiries, Urgency Inquiries and Kaupapa Inquiries. We can help you transfer ownership of Māori land, advise on management structures to assist with Māori Land Court applications, help with Partition or Occupation Orders, licenses, leases or title improvements, rates and Māori land.
How Can We Help?
We tailor expert innovative solutions to help you achieve successful, mutually beneficial outcomes.
Drafting A Will
Preparing a Will ensures your wishes are carried out when you die.
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Protecting Your Assets
Trusts are a popular and effective way to protect property and manage assets.
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Services In Practice
Our capabilities cross a diverse range of legal specialties, making us your preferred legal partner for a wide range of legal issues.
Maori Legal Issues
We provide advice in relation to all aspects of te Tiriti o Waitangi claims, Māori Land Law and Post-Settlement Governance. We represent claimants before the Māori Land Court as well as the Waitangi Tribunal in historical Inquiries, Urgent Inquiries and Kaupapa Inquiries.
Family Law
We assist with any aspects relating to children, including childcare and parenting arrangements, relocation, guardianship, and adoption. We advise on child support, care of children, and provide support with Family Dispute Resolution. We also assist in domestic violence cases and can help you obtain protection orders to protect you and your children.
Trusts
Family trusts are an excellent way to protect your assets for the long term so that you and your family can have peace of mind over your financial security now and in the future.
Relationship Property
We draft and advise on Contracting Out Agreements if you are considering entering a de facto relationship, getting married, entering a civil union or want to protect your assets. In the event of separation or divorce, we help with Separation and Relationship Property Agreements, spousal and child maintenance and court proceedings.
Estate Planning
Planning for the future may include preparing a Will, Powers of Attorney, and restructuring your asset ownership. When a loved one dies, you may need to apply to administer their estate, or may need representation in relation to the same.
Employment Law
We advise on employer obligations, provide guidelines on hiring staff, assist with employee performance issues, restructures, personal grievances and disputes. We help organisations meet their health and safety obligations.
Property Law
We can help you through the lifecycle of property ownership. From buying and selling property to completing loan arrangements, forming trusts, advising you on the implications of property ownership in relationships, completing powers of attorney, and dealing with your property in the event of death.
Environmental & Planning Law
We assist where legislation or planning documents impact on what you can or cannot do with your land, business, home, or resources. We advise on new resource management legislation. We help with urban planning, infrastructure development and environmental issues.
Refugee & Human Rights Law
It is not straightforward to obtain refugee and protected-person status and there are several key criteria that you must fit to receive asylum. Our team are passionate about helping refugees find asylum in New Zealand.
Tips & Advice
Our team of legal experts are ready to
give advice and assist you.
Who We Help?
We tailor our approach to suit your needs, delivering expert innovative solutions.
Emerging Businesses Needing To Establish A Board
We help Companies and Trusts to get the right documentation in place to set you up for future success; helping you stay compliant and function efficiently. If you are establishing a new Board, you will learn how important a well-thought out Shareholders Agreement / Trust Deed and/or Constitution is as your business progresses. We are experts in helping you build the right legal structure so that you can fulfill your obligations to your new Board and business stakeholders.
Property Investors
Buying and selling investment properties, subdividing property or funding a property development, is a very different engagement than the purchase of your family home. Learning how best to structure your next property purchase is important to ensure the assets you have worked hard to accumulate are protected. We can work with you to set up Trusts, perform conveyancing and due diligence, advise on building contracts, developments and subdivisions, as well as prepare Property Sharing Agreements.
M A N A A K I T A N G A
About Us
The path forward should be mutually beneficial.
Led by partners Kelly Dixon and Amy Chesnutt, our team is made up of passionate wāhine who are dedicated to ensuring you know your rights and how to protect yourself during a time that can be highly stressful, emotional and confusing. Based in Auckland, our clientele span across Aotearoa, New Zealand. We relay complex legal issues in a way that is easy to understand and seek to find the best solution for our clients to enable them to move forward.
C A S E S T U D Y
Gaining Refugee Status In New Zealand
Lucy Tothill, an experienced Refugee Lawyer from Dixon & Co Lawyers, successfully won an appeal against the Crown in the High Court granting a Nigerian Christian convert refugee status in New Zealand.
Dixon & Co Lawyers helped with BA Nigerian’s third application in the High Court where the Crown sought to appeal the Tribunal’s decision to grant refugee status to the asylum seeker.
Testimonials
A C A D E M Y
Knowledge Is Power
With great knowledge comes great power and responsibility. We aim to demystify legal jargon and ensure you understand your rights and responsibilities so that you can protect what is important to you. Learn from the best law practitioners in Aotearoa, and visit our Academy to learn more.
R E S O U R C E S
Useful Material
Here are some useful resources and links to help you understand the legal framework in New Zealand and get you started in resolving your legal concerns.
Articles
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