A must-attend for New Zealand family lawyers navigating complex relationship property matters. Gain practical, up-to-date insights into economic disparity claims, company valuations and managing assets across borders. Explore effective strategies for valuing shares, goodwill and business structures. Learn how to draft robust contracting out agreements that stand the test of time. Receive expert guidance on cross-jurisdictional challenges and current valuation trends shaping the legal landscape.

Presenters

Matt Kemp, Partner, Gerry Rea Partners
Matt has been with Gerry Rea Parters for 14 years, 12 as a Partner. Gerry Rea Partners is a chartered accountancy practice which specialises in the provision of insolvency and litigation support services including forensic accounting and valuation services. Insolvency services range from liquidation, creditors compromise, voluntary administration to receivership. Litigation support extends to forensic accounting, expert witness, share and business valuations. Matt specialises in litigation support, including undertaking forensic accounting and valuations. He is an experienced expert witness, having appeared in the Family Court, Employment Court, District Court, and High Court. Matt has also acted as an independent expert in mediations and settlements (including Judicial settlements) and has been appointed by the Family Court on several occasions to undertake economic disparity assessments, valuations and analysis work. Approximately two-thirds of Matt’s work is on relationship property matters, and they invariably include either preparing an economic disparity calculation or review and critiquing calculations prepared by others.


Belinda Young, Director, Moore Markhams
Belinda has extensive experience in business advisory services including accounting, taxation and audit and work with a wide range of clients in different industries including retail and manufacturing, professional services, residential property development and wholesale investment. Also have considerable experience in providing business valuation and litigation support, including forensic accounting analysis and reporting. This had led to specialised experience in legal firm valuations and calculating economic disparity for relationship property including delivery of expert evidence at the family court. She is a CA ANZ accredited business valuation specialist. She's currently acting as an effective virtual CFO supporting businesses on their journey to growth and consolidation, helping business owners realise their full potential.


Tara Grant, Partner, Martelli McKegg
Tara Grant is a partner at Martelli McKegg, specialising in relationship property, trust and estate law. Her legal career began shortly after the 2001 reforms to the Property (Relationships) Act came into force, an alignment that shaped the direction of her work from the outset. Studying the PRA under Mark Henaghan at Otago University sparked a lasting interest in the intersection of personal relationships and property law, and she has maintained a strong focus on this area ever since. Tara is Martelli McKegg’s principal advisor on these matters, with oversight of all such agreements prepared or reviewed across the practice. Tara remains actively involved in the work itself, with a particular interest in drafting well-considered, enduring clauses and navigating bespoke, complex agreements. She also advises on relationship property, estate and trust disputes and settlements, often involving layered asset structures and intersecting legal frameworks.  This has meant that over the course of her practice, Tara has seen section 21 agreements put into effect in a wide range of circumstances — as well as challenged in others — each experience providing valuable insight into how these agreements operate in real life and how they may be strengthened. Her approach is pragmatic and resolution-focused, informed by both technical experience and a strong understanding of the human dynamics involved.

Shelley Stevenson, Barrister, Kumutoto Chambers
Shelley is an experienced family lawyer based in Wellington, New Zealand. She specialises in all aspects of family law and has special interest in relationship property and cases involving Oranga Tamariki. She is regularly appointed by the Family Court to represent children in parenting disputes and child protection cases. Earlier in her career Shelley was a youth advocate, criminal defence lawyer and civil litigator and has worked in family law since 1995.

Jeremy Johnson, Barrister, Arbitrator, Bankside Chambers
Jeremy is an experienced litigator and dispute resolution specialist with a proven track record in advocacy. He has particular expertise in commercial, insolvency, relationship property and equity and trust law. He is frequently instructed to appear as counsel in the courts and before arbitral tribunals. Since 2013 Jeremy has been recognised as a leader in his field in leading global directories most recently in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020 and Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020 and Chambers Global 2020 legal guides. Jeremy is a Fellow of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand for Arbitration; he is the youngest person to have achieved this distinction. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Jeremy also received the Sir Ronald Davison Award for excellence in arbitral award writing. He is available to appear as counsel in arbitrations and to take appointments as an arbitrator. Jeremy was awarded the 2017 NZ Law Awards Artemis Executive Recruitment Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year (under 35). Being described as “a clear winner in this category”, the judges praised Jeremy for having an impressive career to date. Prior to joining the bar Jeremy was a partner at Wynn Williams where he led the Dispute Resolution team for eight years and was the senior litigation partner by the time he left.


Elise Rogers, Senior Solicitor, Martelli McKegg
Elise Rogers is a Senior Solicitor at Martelli McKegg, with a practice focused on relationship property, trusts, and estate planning. She regularly advises on agreements under sections 21 and 21A of the Property (Relationships) Act, and has experience guiding clients through the complexities that arise when considering contracting out. Elise also works on a wide range of private client matters, including trust structuring, succession planning, and contentious estate issues. She is known for her calm, considered approach and her ability to support clients through emotionally charged and often complex legal matters. Elise has a strong interest in the practical application of relationship property agreements and has seen first-hand how these agreements operate in practice, including in situations where they are later challenged. These experiences continue to inform her approach to drafting and advising, with a focus on clarity, durability, and anticipating future risk.