Family Trusts– Protecting Your Family and Assets
What is a Family Trust?
A family trust is a legal arrangement in which assets are held by a trustee for the benefit of designated beneficiaries, usually family members. It is a powerful tool for protecting assets, planning an estate, and ensuring your loved ones are provided for. They are commonly used in New Zealand to protect property, to plan succession, and to manage wealth flexibly.
Nolen Walters are experienced family trust lawyers based in Auckland, assisting clients across New Zealand to set up, review, and manage trusts correctly. They ensure your trust is structured properly from the start and updated as your family, assets, and financial circumstances change over time.
Whether you are creating a family trust, reviewing an existing arrangement, or planning for succession, professional trust guidance ensures your family’s wealth is secure.
Why Set Up a Family Trust?
There are several reasons families establish a family trust:
Protect assets for future generations – Safeguard homes, investments, and savings.
Plan for succession efficiently – Our succession planning trust services ensure smooth transfer of wealth.
Provide for children or dependents – Implementing a family protection trust helps secure your loved ones.
Minimise risks from divorce or creditors – Trusts can shield assets while maintaining flexibility.
Maintain privacy – Unlike wills, most family trusts in New Zealand are not public record.
Understanding your reasons for setting up a family trust is essential, so the structure matches your goals. Clear, upfront advice on family trust setup costs and ongoing expenses is also provided, helping you plan with confidence and avoid surprises.
How to Set Up a Family Trust
Setting up a family trust requires careful planning. We help clients navigate the process, including:
Define objectives – Decide whether the trust is for asset protection, succession, or providing for children.
Choose trustees – Appoint responsible individuals or consider professional trustee services NZ. We also advise on how to remove a trustee from a family trust NZ if necessary.
Draft the trust deed – Set clear rules for management, powers of trustees, and distribution to beneficiaries.
Transfer assets – Move property, cash, or investments into the trust.
Register and review – While most family trusts are not listed on any public register, they do require an IRD number and must meet tax and reporting obligations. We also provide family trust review services to ensure your trust remains compliant and continues to achieve your goals.
For those unsure of how to set up a family trust NZ or setting up a trust for a child, our trust lawyers provide step-by-step guidance that ensures legal compliance and asset protection.
Updating and Maintaining Your Family Trust
Family trusts are flexible but require ongoing review. When choosing Nolen Walters as your family trust lawyer, we’ll assist you with:
Changing trustees or names – Guidance on how to change a trustee of a family trust or how to change the name of a family trust.
Amending terms – Updating rules to reflect family changes or evolving legal requirements.
Succession planning – Maintaining intergenerational transfers through testamentary trusts and related structures.
Addressing family trust NZ changes – Ensuring your trust remains compliant and effective.
Contact Family Trust Lawyers
Establishing or managing a family trust is a critical step in protecting your family and assets. Nolen Walters provide guidance on family trust setup, administration, review, succession planning, and trustee changes.
Common Questions About Family Trusts in New Zealand
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A family trust is often recommended for people who want to protect key assets, control how wealth is passed on, and provide for children or other dependants in a structured way. It can be particularly useful if you own significant property, run a business, are in a second relationship, or want more certainty around future succession.
Nolen Walters can review your situation, explain the pros and cons, and advise whether a family trust is suitable or if another arrangement would work better for your goals
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A family trust may help reduce what is treated as relationship property in a separation, but it is not a guaranteed shield. Courts can look at when and why the trust was set up, how it has been used, and whether it was intended to defeat a partner’s rights, so early, tailored advice from an experienced trust and relationship property lawyer is essential.
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Most private family trusts in New Zealand are not recorded on a public register, so the trust deed and its terms are generally not available to the public. Trustees still have tax and reporting obligations, and beneficiaries have certain rights to information, but this is different from the publicity that can apply to wills or companies.
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Yes, many lenders will lend to a family trust if the trust deed allows borrowing and giving security, and if income, equity, and guarantor arrangements meet their criteria. A trust lawyer can coordinate with your bank or broker to make sure the loan, guarantees, and security documents are correctly structured for the trust.
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Trustees are usually changed by a formal deed that retires the outgoing trustee and appoints a new one, following the process in the trust deed and relevant law. Legal help from our family trust lawyers ensure the change is valid, properly signed, and communicated to banks, accountants, and others who rely on the trust records.
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A trust for children or inheritance is created by a trust deed (or through your will) that names the beneficiaries, appoints trustees, and sets rules for when and how funds can be used. A family trust lawyer can tailor these terms to your family situation, age and needs of children, and tax and asset-protection goals, so gifts are protected and managed responsibly.
If you have more questions about your rights, get in touch via our Contact Us page for confidential advice.
Disclaimer:
The information on this website is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for obtaining advice from a qualified lawyer in relation to your particular circumstances.
- Use of this website, or contacting us through this website, does not create a lawyer-client relationship. A lawyer-client relationship will only arise once we have confirmed acceptance of instructions in writing.
- While we take reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information on this website, we make no representations or warranties as to its completeness, accuracy, or currency and accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on it.