Estate Administration

When a person dies, their assets and property are known as their “estate”.  This could include bank accounts, life insurance policies, superannuation schemes, KiwiSaver, investments/shares, property and vehicles as well as personal and household items. If the deceased person is known to hold a Will, then the original copy of the Will is likely to be held by the law firm who assisted in preparing the Will.  A Will specifies the wishes of the deceased, at the time they wrote it. The...

Kiwis returning home - International Arrivals

Return of the Brains Trust

First published in The Profit. Written by Christine Symes. If there is a silver lining when talking about the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has to be the return to our shores of thousands of highly skilled Kiwis. For years, New Zealand has been a casualty of what has been termed ‘brain drain’, as highly qualified New Zealanders left in search of opportunities aboard. Recent figures show that over 50,000 expats have already returned home, with predictions that as many as 500,000 are likely...

Bramwell Bate Lawyers Is Pleased To Announce Their Newest Director

Following a year as an Associate, Bramwell Bate Lawyers is pleased to announce Christine Symes as their newest Director. Christine joins current Directors Kevin Osborne, Roger Phillip, Edward Bostock and Leah McHardy. Born and raised on a farm in Southland, Christine attended the University of Otago in the late 90s before moving to Hawke’s Bay with her husband Ben, a born and raised local. After working as an in-house lawyer for StockCo, a livestock finance company, Christine returned to working...