Michelle Bruce

Qualifications

LLB, BA, University of Otago 2024
Admitted to the Bar in New Zealand 2025

Contact

DDI: +64 7 928 7092
M: +64 27 325 024
E: michelle.bruce@hobec.co.nz

Michelle is a Solicitor in our family law team.

Michelle joined Holland Beckett as a summer law clerk in 2023/2024 and has returned as a graduate after completing her studies at the University of Otago. She is excited to assist in Family and Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution Matters.

Outside of work Michelle enjoys painting and swimming.

Michelle Bruce's Expertise

Family Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Michelle Bruce's News & Resources

What to do if we can’t agree on the holidays?

Parenting after separation can be hard. What do you do if you cannot agree on care arrangements for the holidays? What do I do if we cannot agree? There are several options available to parents who cannot agree on care arrangements. Parenting Through Separation Course This is a free course provided by the Ministry of Justice to help people parent well through separation. It will run over key areas of conflict, run through scenarios and provide you with practical advice to deal with disagreements. The parenting through separation course is often a pre-requisite of applying to the court. Family Dispute Resolution The first option is a Family Dispute Resolution (sometimes referred to as FDR conferences). A Family Dispute Resolution is a specialist form of mediation. The mediator is not a Judge, but will attempt to assist you both to come to an agreement. You are not forced to come to an agreement but the mediator is a professional who will give you both the time to share your perspectives, concerns and desired outcomes. Family Dispute Resolution is also a common pre-requisite of applying to the court. Applying to the Court for a Parenting Order If you have been unsuccessful at coming to an agreement with a parenting through separation course and Family Dispute Resolution, you can apply to the court for a parenting order. A parenting order will set out the care arrangements for the children in a legally binding agreement. You will both have the opportunity to file documents requesting your preferred care arrangements and a lawyer is appointed to represent your children. The Judge will ultimately make a decision at a final court hearing. This is not a quick process though and it is important to understand this. The advantage is that the Judge’s decision will be binding and any variations will have to be consented to by the other parent. What if I already have a parenting order? If you already have a parenting order you can apply to the Court to have those orders changed. However, this process can take a long time, so it is necessary to begin proceedings a significant amount of time before the holiday in question. If a parenting order is already in place, it is an offence to break the terms of the order. This means that even if where the kids are during the holidays is not specified in the order, you cannot change the normal arrangement without the other parent’s consent. What can I do if the other parent breaches the parenting order? It is an offence for either of you to breach the terms of the parenting order. If the other parent refuses to give you the agreed care, you can qpply to the court for a warrant to enforce the terms of the parenting order. This will give the Police or your social worker the authority to take the children and return them to your care when the other parent is breaching the terms of the parenting order. If you would like to discuss next steps with a lawyer, our specialist Family Law team is here to help. We have the experience and the know how to help you through your separation and care of children needs.

Contracting Out Agreements – A valuable estate planning tool

Contracting Out Agreements (often referred to as prenuptial agreements) are often viewed quite negatively. They can be seen as having one foot out of the door in a relationship. However, Contracting Out Agreements can be powerful tools to help you and your partner cement your intentions for how your property is dealt with when you die thus preventing a future argument between families. A Contracting Out Agreement is not just for separating couples - it can assist to ensure your wishes are upheld upon death. When you pass away with a Will, your partner has two options; they can chose to follow the terms of your Will pursuant to the Administration Act 1969 (“Administration Act”) or they can make an election under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (“PRA”) to have their share of relationship property determined. Why does this matter? This matters because modern relationships are complex. For a multitude of reasons you may not intend to leave your partner 50% of your property upon death. For many of our clients in second relationships, they want to provide for their partner, but they want the majority of their estate to go to their children from their first relationship. The option for partners to elect whether or not to follow your Will, can take control of your property out of your hands leaving what you may see as an unfairness to your children. This is why a Contracting Out Agreement can be such a powerful tool. With a Contracting Out Agreement in place, even if your partner elects a determination for a division of your estate in line with the PRA, they are bound by the terms of the Contracting Out Agreement which determines which assets are in the pool for division and which are out. What does a Contracting Out Agreement do? Under the PRA there is a presumption that upon death or separation your partner is entitled to an equal share of the relationship property. This legislation will apply to you unless you elect to “opt out” by entering into a Contracting Out agreement whereby you and your partner reach your own agreement on what property will be determined separate property and what will be relationship property. Without a Contracting Out agreement relationship property includes: The family home; The household chattels; Vehicles used for family purposes; That share of Kiwisaver or other superannuation policies accrued during the relationship; Your income; and Anything else acquired during the relationship or used for your shared life together. A Contracting Out Agreement is capable in most circumstances of mirroring the terms of your Will. It has the capacity to be very specific. Not only can you dictate which property belongs to which partner and their estate, you can also make special provisions for your partner upon separation or death. An example of this is in circumstances where you want the family home to pass to your children or some other third party upon death, you can still provide your partner with a qualified life interest in the home. You may decide, for example, that you wish for your partner to continue living in the home for a specific period of time (or the rest of their life) but as soon as they move out, start a new relationship, or die, the home will pass to your beneficiaries in accordance with your Will. A Contracting Out Agreement is a flexible tool capable of reflecting your Will. How do we make a Contracting Out Agreement? A Contracting Out Agreement is a binding legal document. Like most legal documents, there are specific procedures that must be followed to make sure your document is enforceable. For your Contracting Out Agreement to be valid and legally enforceable you will need to: Record the agreements reached in writing; Receive independent legal advice; and Have your signing witnessed by a lawyer. You and your partner will need different lawyers. Once you have engaged a lawyer, you can share your intentions for how you want your relationship property to be divided and any specifications for what you want to happen upon death. Lawyers can assist you and your partner to make sure you are both adequately provided for. If you have concerns about how your estate will be distributed when you die, we recommend that you discuss matters with your partner and get some advice. Furthermore if you already have a Will or a Contracting Out Agreement, we recommend that you review the terms of these documents regularly to ensure they still reflect your intentions and your circumstances.Talk to the Holland Beckett Family or Succession and Estates team for more information. This article was first published for First Mortgage Trust newsletter, April 2025.