Property (Relationships) Act 1976
| Property (Relationships) Act 1976 | |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Parliament | |
| |
| Commenced | 1 February 1977 |
| Legislative history | |
| Passed | 1976 |
| Amended by | |
| The short title of this Act was amended, as from 1 February 2002, by s 5(2) of the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 5) by substituting the words "Property (Relationships)" for the words "Matrimonial Property". The Act is therefore confused by some as actually having been passed in 2001. In actuality the Matrimonial Property Act 1976 was renamed the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 as part of the 2001 amendments. | |
| Related legislation | |
| Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 5); Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 19) | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 is a New Zealand statute which primarily deals with the division of property of married couples, de facto couples and civil union couples when they separate or when one of them dies. In general, the couple's property is to be divided equally between them.
The Act was previously called the Matrimonial Property Act 1976 but amendments in 2001 changed the scheme of the Act considerably hence "Matrimonial Property" was replaced with "Property (Relationships)" in the short title. The 2001 amendments extended the property division regime in the Act to include heterosexual and homosexual de facto partners, making it one of the first New Zealand statutes to acknowledge same-sex relationships. In 2005 the Act was amended again to include civil union partners following commencement of the Civil Union Act 2004.