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Trusts Act 2019

Court powers and dispute resolution - Jurisdiction of Family Court

141: Jurisdiction of Family Court

You could also call this:

"What the Family Court can and can't decide in family cases"

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

The Family Court has the power to make decisions in certain cases, as stated in section 11 of the Family Court Act 1980. You can think of the Family Court like a special court that helps families resolve issues. The Family Court can make orders or give directions to protect property or interests while a case is being decided.

The Family Court can also make orders to help resolve issues that are closely related to the case, if all parties agree. However, there are some limits to the Family Court's power, such as not being able to appoint a receiver to administer a trust under section 138.

If you are involved in a case in the Family Court, you should know that there are no financial limits on the value of property or interests that the court can deal with. In some cases, the High Court or Family Court can order that a case be transferred to the High Court, if a party to the case asks for this to happen.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7383073.

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Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpFamily and relationships > Children and parenting
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Part 7Court powers and dispute resolution
Jurisdiction of Family Court

141Jurisdiction of Family Court

  1. This section applies where the Family Court has jurisdiction under section 11 of the Family Court Act 1980 to hear and determine a proceeding.

  2. The Family Court may during the proceeding make any order or give any direction available under this Act if the Family Court considers the order or direction is necessary—

  3. to protect or preserve any property or interest until the proceeding before the Family Court can be properly resolved; or
    1. to give proper effect to any determination of the proceeding.

      1. If the parties to the proceeding consent, the Family Court may make any order available under this Act to resolve an issue or a dispute between the parties that is closely related to the proceeding (but only if the Family Court considers that making the order is necessary or desirable to assist the resolution of the proceeding).

      2. Despite subsections (2) and (3), the Family Court does not have jurisdiction to appoint a receiver to administer a trust under section 138.

      3. To avoid doubt, an exercise by the Family Court of jurisdiction under this section is not subject to financial limits in relation to the value of any property or interest.

      4. In any case to which this section applies, the High Court or Family Court may order, on the application of a party to the proceedings, that the proceedings be transferred to the High Court.