Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Contracts legislation - Minors’ contracts - Court directed trust for minor

109: Payment on minor reaching 18 years or marrying or entering into civil union or de facto relationship

You could also call this:

“Getting your money when you become an adult or start a serious relationship”

When money is held in trust for you as a minor, you can get it when you turn 18. You can also get it if you get married, enter a civil union, or start living with someone as a couple before you turn 18. This includes any money that has been earned from the original amount.

However, a court can decide that some or all of the money should stay in trust even after you turn 18 or have one of these life changes. If this happens, you won’t get that part of the money.

If someone has asked the court to keep the money in trust, the person looking after your money (the trustee) can’t give it to you until the court makes a decision. This is to make sure everything is done properly and fairly.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844233.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Marriage and partnerships Money and consumer rights > Banking and loans
Previous

108: Money or damages to be held on trust, or

"Money awarded to minors is kept safe by a trustee until they grow up"

Next

110: Sections 103 to 109 do not limit or affect certain other provisions, or

"Sections 103 to 109 work with other important laws without changing them"

Part 2 Contracts legislation
Minors’ contracts: Court directed trust for minor

109Payment on minor reaching 18 years or marrying or entering into civil union or de facto relationship

  1. The balance of an amount that is held on trust for a minor’s benefit under section 108 and of the income from that amount remaining in the hands of the trustee must be paid to the minor on the minor—

  2. reaching the age of 18 years; or
    1. marrying or entering into a civil union or a de facto relationship before reaching the age of 18 years.

      1. Subsection (1) applies except to the extent that the court may have ordered, before the payment is made, that the whole or any part of the amount must continue to be held on trust under section 108.

      2. Despite subsection (1), if the trustee has made an application, or received notice that an application has been made, to the court for an order referred to in subsection (2), the trustee must not make any payment under subsection (1) until the application has been disposed of.

      Compare