Australian Journal of Family Law, 2020, 33(3):

The 'Aotearoa New Zealand Family Violence Act 2018' includes in its definition of family violence that financial abuse is a form of psychological abuse. Violence is defined as behaviour that is coercive or controlling and abuse is defined as either a single act or number of acts that form a pattern. This article shows how, what would otherwise be relationship property and shared equally by the partners to the relationship, once it is put in a settlor controlled trust, extensive litigation is required to get access to that property. This article provides examples of how this form of coercive control over the claimant partner and assets which they are entitled to, is permitted by the Aotearoa New Zealand legal system. Whilst the legal system has made some concessions for the claimant partner, it has not gone nearly far enough to stamp out this form of financial abuse. This article proposes that the legal system re-prioritise the interest at stake by giving clear priority to relationship property interests and simple and inexpensive access to relationship property whether it be in a trust or any other form of legal fiction such as a company. (Authors' abstract). Record #8388