News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

In the last installment of our Law for Lunch seminars, Claire Coe, a lawyer with Rainey Collins, focuses on assisting clients with Property, Trusts, Asset Protection, Wills and Estates.

In this presentation, Claire draws on experience to give us some useful and cost effective tips:

• Find out how to make a Will or a Trust, and what makes a Will legal
• Get accurate and up to date information about Living Wills and,
• Understand how Power of Attorney works if you decide to set out your wishes for medical care
• Learn about The Family Protection Act

Get the best out of legal advice during this mini-seminar taking place on:

Wednesday 26 October 2011, from 12 noon to 1:00pm, at the Ground Floor of the Central Library.

All welcome!

Presented by Kahureremoa Aki, WCLC Rōia Hapori / Community Lawyer.

Kahureremoa is a Community Lawyer working for the Wellington Community Law Centre’s newly established Kaupapa Māori. This is a tikanga Māori discussion space offering free legal drop-in sessions with the aim to make Māori feel more comfortable, when discussing any legal issues. Sessions offered at the Community Law Centre (WCLC) are based around Māori concepts of community, family and spirituality.

Kahureremoa’s presentation at this week’s seminar will be focusing on the following issues:

• What is Māori Land and how the Māori Land Court defines it?
• Succession and entitlement to Māori Land
• How to find title and ownership information of Māori Land.
• How to file an application to the Māori Land Court.

Manawa mai te mauri nuku!

This mini-seminar will take place from 12noon to 1:00pm, on Wednesday, 19 October 2011 at the ground floor of the Central Library. All welcome!

With Hannah Northover, Community lawyer at the Wellington Community Law Centre.

The second talk of the Law for Lunch series covers the current New Zealand electoral system, MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) and the Referendum which will be held alongside the November 2011 Elections.

Issues related to the current electoral system and various preferential system options will be addressed by Hannah Northover during this week’s mini-seminar.

Hannah is a community lawyer whose areas of practice include Government Law. She regularly advises community groups about Government legal issues.

Some of the issues Hannah will be focussing on are:

• How does the current Electoral System work?
• What does your vote determine?
• How are candidate seats allocated?
• Do Māori seats have their own special electoral roll?

It will be a perfect opportunity to ask questions and get the information you need to make your decision easier.

This mini-seminar will take place on Wednesday, 12 October 2011, from 12noon to 1pm, on the Ground Floor of the Central Library. All welcome!

Come along to a Law for Lunch talk next Wednesday at the Central Library with Robyne Gardner, Barrister and Solicitor, on the topic of ‘Neighbours at War’.

Problems with your neighbours can take various forms, ranging from tall trees, falling fences or barking dogs to more serious cases which will require the Disputes Tribunal.

Robyne’s presentation will be focusing on:

• The Fencing Act
• The Dog Control Act and the Animal Welfare Act
• Using the Disputes Tribunal

Do you need answers to such questions as:

• What can I do when my neighbour’s trees are blocking my view? or,
• Does my neighbour have to contribute to the cost of a new fence?

Robyne will have the answers for you during this week’s mini seminar.

Robyne is a Barrister and Solicitor with extensive experience in Property Law. She runs a personalised Law Practice in Lower Hutt.

This mini-seminar will take place on Wednesday, 5 October 2011, from 12noon to 1pm, on the Ground Floor of the Central Library. All welcome.

Law for Lunch is back in October with an range of free lunchtime seminars from 12 noon – 1pm starting on Wednesday, 5 October.

Come along to a series of talks with guest speakers on a range of law topics presented at the Central Library in partnership with the Community Law Centre.

Talks include:

with
Raewyn Fox, CEO, New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

What actions can you take when you can’t pay your debts? Are there any legal options? How is personal insolvency administered in New Zealand?

All these questions and more will be answered by Raewyn during this week’s mini –seminar.

Raewyn is the CEO of the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services. Budgeting Services operate throughout New Zealand and have extensive experience working through insolvency issues with clients. Raewyn’s presentation will be focusing on:

• What happens when you can’t pay your debts on time or you owe more than you own?
• “No assets procedure” verses “bankruptcy”
• Get rid of your debts: how long will it take? What do I need to do? What if something goes wrong?
• How much money can you keep for yourself?

This mini-seminar will take place from 12noon to 1:00pm, on Wednesday, 23 March 2011 at the ground floor of the Central Library. All welcome

What are tenants’ and landlords’ rights and responsibilities and how to avoid problems?
“When good flatmates go bad and bad landlords get worse”: the new Tenancy Act and flatmate agreements is the theme of this week’s Law for Lunch, with Hannah Northover, Community Lawyer at the Wellington Community Law Centre.

Hannah is a community lawyer whose areas of practice include tenancy law. She regularly advises tenants about issues with their landlords and their flatmates.

In this presentation Hannah will be addressing the following issues:

• Tenants: your rights and responsibilities
• Problems with flatmates
• The new 2010 Tenancy Amendment Act: changes for boarding house tenants

If you are a tenant, a landlord or a property manager this will be the perfect opportunity to ask your questions about any issues and get legal advice from an expert.

This mini-seminar will take place from 12noon to 1:00pm, on Wednesday, 16 March 2011 at the ground floor of the Central Library. All welcome!

Pregnant teenagers? What’s the law got to do with it? with Leona McWilliam, Partner, McWilliam Rennie Lawyers.

LEONA graduated from Otago University in 2000. She worked initially in general practice in the Wairarapa, before travelling to the United Kingdom to work in the area of child protection. She returned to New Zealand in 2005 and has practised in both Criminal and Family Law in the Wellington region since then.

Her presentation this week will be focussing on the following issues:

• Teenage pregnancy
• Mother’s rights, father’s rights
• Domestic violence
• Foster care, whangai, adoption, abortion
• Benefits and child support

This mini-seminar coincides with the celebrations of the International Women’s Day – 8 March 2011. It will take place from 12noon to 1:00pm, on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, at the ground floor of the Central Library. All welcome.

Stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions: just how far can schools really go is the theme of this week’s Law for Lunch, with Felicity McNeill, Community Lawyer at the Wellington Community Law Centre.

Felicity supervises the legal team who operate the Parents Legal Information Line – 0800 499 488. PLINFO is a national freephone helpline for parents, caregivers and students seeking information and assistance on issues about children and young people at school. Felicity is also responsible for the companion publication Schools and the Right to Discipline.

Felicity will talk about the following points:

• Truancy, uniforms, behaviour management and more: students’ and parents’ rights and responsibilities
• Legal and illegal punishments at school
• Problems at school? Where to next?

This mini-seminar will take place from 12noon to 1:00pm, on Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at the ground floor of the Central Library. All welcome.

Every year during March, Wellington City Libraries, in partnership with the Community Law Centre, hold a series of free weekly lunchtime talks, with guest speakers on a range of law topics.

The program of seminars for March 2011 will include the following:

Wednesday 2 March, Stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions: just how far can schools really go? By Felicity McNeill, Lawyer at the Wellington Community Law Centre.

Wednesday 9 March, Young and Pregnant? What’s the law got to do with it?
By Leona McWilliam, Partner, McWilliam Rennie Lawyers.

Wednesday 16 March, When good flatmates go bad and bad landlords get worse: the new Tenancy Act and flatmate agreements. By Hannah Northover, Lawyer at the Wellington Community Law Centre.

Wednesday 23 March, Broke? How can insolvency law help? By Raewyn Fox, CEO, New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services.

For more information, please check our online Event Calendar.