TE PIRINGA FACULTY OF LAW Property Issues in Family Law: LAWS 472-15B Paper Outline 1. Identification of Paper Paper: LAWS 472-15B This paper carries 10 points 2. Staffing Steve Macbeth (Convenor) Phone: 027 2295160 Room: LG 33 Email: samacb@waikato.ac.nz Availability: by arrangement during the day lectures are delivered or by appointment. 3. Description and Structure of Paper This paper focuses on the division of relationship property on the breakdown of relationships. The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 is examined. The presumption of equal sharing and exceptions to the general presumption will be examined including provision for lump sum spousal maintenance and child support and adjustments for economic disparity, sustaining separate property and post separation contributions. (b) Structure of the Paper This is a B semester paper. The teaching takes place in one two-hour lecture period per week. The whole class must attend these lectures. Attendance at lectures is essential for success in the assignment and the final examination. The lecture hours are Thursday 10.00-12.00 LG 04 (c) Attendance Te Piringa Faculty of Law places great emphasis on providing students with opportunities for high achievement in law papers. Attendance at lectures is essential for success in the assignment and the final examination. 4. Learning outcomes A student who has completed the course successfully will be able to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of the law in respect to the division of property on the breakdown of a relationship. That includes an appreciation of the relevant statutory provisions and the policy underlying them. Further, a student who has completed the course successfully will be able to demonstrate an ability to prepare proceedings under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. 1 5. Workload Students should expect to spend 100 hours in total on this paper. In addition to lecture attendance, significant time will need to be spent on background and complementary reading. Students should allow for periods of more-focused research time in the preparation of assignments. 6. Required and Recommended Reading All law students are required to purchase, for use in all law papers, a copy of McLay, Murray & Orpin, New Zealand Law Style Guide, 2nd edition, Thomson Reuters (2011). This is available from Bennetts, at an approximate price of $37 incl GST and Henaghan, Atkin, Clarkson & Caldwell (Butterworths) Family Law in New Zealand 16th edition, LexisNexis (2013). This is available from Bennetts, at an approximate price of $130.00 incl GST (note this text was required for Family Law 408, and is available online through LexisNexis family law service). In addition to the texts identified above, the Faculty of Law requires students purchase the course materials book(s) for this paper. These are available from Waikato Print. The contents of the course materials book(s) will be required reading. As well, students will be expected to have any relevant family law statutes dealt with in the course (e.g.the Property (Relationships) Act 1976, Family Proceedings Act 1980). The following recommended books are on Desk Reserve in the Library: The New Zealand Family Law Journal Henaghan, Atkin, Clarkson & Caldwell (Butterworths) Family Law in New Zealand 16th edition, LexisNexis (2013). Atkin, Bill, Caldwell, John, Harrison, Geoff, Hicks, David, Patterson, Bill, Swadling, Kirsty Relationship Dissolution 2nd edition, LexisNexis (2014). Lyne, Brenda and von Keisenberg, Robyn Valuation and Expert Financial Evidence in Relationship Property Matters NZLS Seminar (April 2011). Atkin, Bill Life After the Split – post-separation events NZLS Seminar (May 2013). Watkins, Andrew and Weil Simon The Property Lawyers Dilemma – has the Property (Relationships) Act undermined trusts? NZLS Seminar (June 2014). Peart, Nicola Children’s Interests Under the PRA & s182 FPA NZLS Seminar (May 2013). Bruton, Vanessa and Hikaka, Isaac Trusts and Relationship Property for Family Lawyers NZLS Seminar (May 2013). The New Zealand Family Law Reports are found on the lexisNexis web-site. The Family Reports of NZ are found on the Westlaw NZ web-site along with a large number of unreported Family Court cases (listed by month and year). Further material may be provided on the paper site on Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz), the University of Waikato’s online learning system. Any such material is provided on the following terms: 2 University of Waikato owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this site, or has acquired the necessary licenses to display the material on the site. As a student of the Te Piringa Faculty of Law, you are granted a limited license to use (access, display or print a single copy) the material from the papers in which you are enrolled for the purposes of participating in the paper only, provided the information is not modified. Materials may not under any circumstances be copied, stored, distributed or provided in any form or method whatsoever to any third party. Any other use of the material is prohibited. None of the material may be otherwise reproduced, reformatted, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form without the prior written consent of University of Waikato. To obtain such consent, please contact the Te Piringa Faculty of Law. 7. Online support Online support for this paper is provided via Moodle. 8. Assessment a) Requirements for assessed work Te Piringa Faculty of Law procedures for the presentation, submission and referencing of course work are set out in the Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook @ p.33 which is available from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate. Assignment resources are available online at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/student/ b) Coursework: Final Examination Ratio: 50:50 c) Assessment Components Students will be assessed in two ways: 1. An assignment due on Tuesday the 22 September by 11.55am. The assignment will contribute to the development of legal research skills in the family law area and the practical application of those skills to factual situations. The assignment has two components, firstly an opinion worth 40% and secondly, applications for orders and directions and a supporting memorandum worth 10%. The opinion will address the legal issues which arise from a factual scenario, the relevant law including reference to case authorities. The opinion shall not exceed 2000 words. The applications for orders and directions and a supporting memorandum is the practical application of the law to the factual scenario provided. The memorandum shall not exceed 500 words. 2. A formal 2 hour open book examination at the end of the semester. There are no restrictions on the materials that you can bring into the examination with you. The assignment will contribute to the development of legal research skills in the family law area and the practical application of that knowledge. It will allow students to appreciate current issues within family law practice and discuss the statutes, academic literature and important case law relevant to those issues. 3 The Final Examination (50%) will test students’ knowledge of the subject matter of the course. It will test skills involving essay writing and case and fact situation analyses. d) Handing in, marking time and collection All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle (http://elearn.waikato.ac.nz). See Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook, available at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate. It is the policy of Te Piringa Faculty of Law to return marked work to students within five weeks of submission. If you require assistance with Moodle, or encounter any problems, please contact the Help Desk. You can send a message to Help Desk by using the instant message service in your paper (from the participants list within the People block). Alternatively, you can email them directly at help@waikato.ac.nz or call 838 4008. e) Measurement of Achievement Achievement in examinations and tests will be measured primarily in terms of levels of understanding and knowledge gained. Achievement in assignments will be measured also in terms of fluency and accuracy of expression and referencing. Major deficiencies in structure, style, grammar and spelling will result in lower marks. f) Management of assessment deadlines, process for requesting extensions and special consideration, and for appeals (i) Extensions Students are required to complete and submit all internal assessments by specified dates. The meeting of deadlines is a mark of professionalism and its enforcement is essential for fairness to all students taking the paper. Handing in course work on or before the due date also facilitates the timely return of marked work by academic staff. Students should meet requirements as to time deadlines for course work, or make a request for an extension or special consideration in appropriate circumstances (see Undergraduate Programmes Manual available from the School of Law Undergraduate website http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/). Failure to comply with requirements as to the time deadlines for internal assessment without having successfully applied either for an extension or special consideration with supporting evidence before the due date will result in deduction of 2.5 marks for each day the work is late. Lateness of more than a week may result in the work not being marked. No deadlines may be extended beyond two weeks after the last teaching day of the semester(s) in which the paper is taught as final grades must go to the Board of Examiners at this time. Unless an extension in writing has been granted, a lecturer may refuse to accept a piece of work which is submitted after the specified date, and automatically award it no mark, or may lower the mark as a penalty for lateness. Applications for extension, on the form obtainable from the Law Reception, must be submitted to the Chief Examiner or nominee. Students should not submit the extension form to the lecturer, nor should students seek extensions from the lecturer via other forms of communication. Extensions will be granted only on evidence of illness, family bereavement, or serious personal accidents or circumstances. Please note that too many assignments due at the same time is NOT 4 an acceptable reason, neither are claims that computers and/or printers have crashed. Account will be taken of the time in which the student has had to complete the internal assessment before the intervening event occurred. It will be important to consider if the grant of the extension will give the student in question an unfair advantage over other students. A maximum period of 14 days will be given as an extension unless there are exceptional circumstances. In determining applications the Chief Examiner or nominee may consult with the Convenor or lecturer of the relevant paper. When the Chief Examiner or nominee has made a decision on the application for extension, the nominated Administrative Assistant will advise the student of the decision by email. Following this, the extension form will be given to the relevant lecturer who will retain it until after the assignment is marked and returned to students. The form will then be placed on the student’s file. It should be noted that if an extension of longer than 14 days is granted, the assignment will not be automatically printed out and delivered to the lecturer, therefore the lecturer is responsible for ensuring the assignment is printed. In appropriate cases, when a student’s application for extension is declined the Chief Examiner or nominee will inform the student of the process for applying for special consideration. ii) Special Consideration The Assessment Regulations 2005 as set out in the University Calendar 2015 list in detail the university-wide policies and procedures, which apply concerning missed examinations, impaired performance or impaired preparation time for an examination, and missed or impaired course work. Students are responsible for ensuring that they comply with these regulations. Application forms for special consideration for internal assessment are available from law reception. iii) Appeals (University Calendar 2015, Assessment Regulations 2005, Reg. 24) A student may appeal against any decision taken under these regulations. An appeal, comprising a written statement of the circumstances of the appeal, together with supporting evidence if available, must be submitted by the student in writing to the Head of Student & Academic Services not more than seven days after the date on which notification of the relevant decision is received. Appeals under this section are considered and decided by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor by delegated authority of the Education Committee. A decision by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor is notified in writing, and is final. iv) No electronic devices are allowed in any internal tests or exams. v) If you wish to submit your Internal Assessment in Māori, you need to obtain an application form from the Law Reception at least 14 days before the assessment is due. vi) If you wish to apply to write your official exams in Māori, you need to complete the official application form from the University’s Assessment Office. (refer to the Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment in the University Calendar) 5 9. University Calendar Regulations and Policies Your attention is drawn to the following regulations and policies, which are published in the University Calendar 2015: Assessment Regulations 2005 Student Discipline Regulations 2014 Computer Systems Regulations 2005 Policy on the Use of Māori for Assessment Student Research Regulations 2008 Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations 2008. 10. Fees Refer to http://calendar.waikato.ac.nz/admission/tableoffeesandcharges.html. 11. (a) (b) (c) Referencing guidelines and caution against plagiarism Referencing must be in accordance with the New Zealand Law Style Guide (2nd Ed) Thomson Reuters 2011. All written work submitted for the purposes of assessment must be your own work. Copying or paraphrasing all or part of another person’s work, be it published or unpublished, without clear attribution, is plagiarism. Plagiarism is misconduct and is dealt with under the disciplinary procedures of the University as outlined in the Student Discipline Regulations 2014 in the University Calendar. “Plagiarism means presenting as one’s own work the work of another, and includes the copying or paraphrasing of another person’s work in an assessment item without acknowledging it as the other person’s work through full and accurate referencing; it applies to assessment presented through a written, spoken, electronic, broadcasting, visual, performance or other medium.” See section 3, Assessment Regulations (2015 Calendar) The Te Piringa Faculty of Law’s policy regarding plagiarism is Te Piringa Faculty of Law Undergraduate Programmes Manual, available from: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/law/undergraduate/. 12. Health and safety The Law School’s Health and Safety representative is to be appointed, please report incidents to the Law Reception - Room Law G.44 or call ext 4167. 13. Class representation Contact details for the Student Representation Coordinator, Academic Services Division, are as follows: Jeanie Richards, Student Services, ext. 8221, email: student.reps@waikato.ac.nz. 14. Complaints procedures The brochure Student Concerns and Complaints Policy provides details of the University’s process for handling concerns and complaints and is available from Faculty and School Offices, The Gateway and Student Services Division and is contained in the Calendar 2015. See also the document Student Support Structure at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, available from law reception. 6 Lecture Schedule B semester Week Commencing Programme of lecture topics 13 July (Semester B Starts) Introduction to the Property (Relationships) Act 1989/Concepts 20 July Classification of relationship property, separate property debts and division of relationship property 27 July Continued, and proceedings procedure 3 August Valuation expert evidence 10 August Post separation adjustments 17 August Compensation adjustments – economic disparity and future earnings 24 August Teaching Recess 31 August Teaching Recess 7 September Continued 14 September (17 September Kingitanga Day) No class 21 September Lump sum adjustments maintenance contributions for Assignment due 22 September 28 September Cont and lump sum child support 5 October S 21 Agreements 12 October Trusts discussion exam prep 19 October Study Week 26 October (26 October Labour Day) Examinations 2 November Examinations 7 and spousal