Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the implications of the Sutton v Bell decision for de facto relationships and property rights
- Identify how Contracting Out Agreements can provide certainty post-separation
Chair
Stuart Cummings SC, Surrey Chambers
*Original Content was created in June 2024
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD hour
* This interactive online recording includes questions and quizzes requiring critical thinking about the topics, so you have no annual limits to the number of points/hours you can claim with this format of learning. Please verify with your CPD rules
Navigating Uncertainty: Opting to Contract Out Post Sutton v Bell
Address how to deal with de facto relationships and whether ‘Contracting Out Agreements’ might provide some certainty in the event of a relationship breakdown post the Sutton v Bell decision.
Presented by Lauren Aspin, Lawyer, Morgan Coakle
Presenters
Stuart Cummings SC, Surrey ChambersStuart Cummings commenced practising law in 1979 as an old-fashioned "law clerk" while completing his law degree. He was admitted in May 1982 and has practised, in the earlier days, in a number of jurisdictions before specialising in Family Law in the late 1980s. Over the past 30+ years that family law focus has further narrowed to a predominance of work in the relationship property area, including trusts, companies and complex disputes. Stuart has practiced as a Barrister sole since 1990, spent some years as a contributing author for Brookers Family Law on family property and is convenor of the Auckland District Law Society Family Law Committee and Chair of the Family Courts Association, Auckland.
Lauren Aspin, Lawyer, Morgan Coakle
Lauren is a solicitor in the litigation and family law teams at Morgan Coakle in Auckland. Lauren practises across all areas of family law with a particular interest in complex relationship property and trust disputes, parenting matters and advising clients regarding asset protection. She represents clients before the Family Court and High Court, at mediation, and in Collaborative Resolution processes. Lauren was recognised by Doyles Guide as a Family & Relationship Property Law Rising Star.
