Personal and business law
Your big moments.
You are probably here for one of these.
Pick what is going on, and see in plain English what happens, what I do, and what to be ready for.
Buying or selling a home
The agreement you sign is the whole deal, so the best money you spend is getting it checked before you sign. From there the work is conditions, finance, title and settlement, with your dates watched so nothing is missed.
What happens
- You agree a deal and sign an agreement that genuinely works for you. This one moment decides everything, so it is the one to get checked first.
- You work through the conditions: finance, the LIM, a builder’s report and insurance if you are buying, or the buyer’s conditions if you are selling, until the deal can go unconditional with confidence.
- You get the money side lined up: your loan and deposit if you are buying, or your mortgage discharge and the balance to you if you are selling.
- Settlement day comes: the money moves, the title changes hands, and the keys go with it.
What I do
- Read the key documents and tell you what actually matters.
- Flag the risks in plain English, so you can make an informed call on whether to go ahead, and at what price.
- Be reachable at the moments that count, especially the ones involving deadlines.
What to be ready for
Most people do this only a handful of times in their life, so it can feel like a hailstorm of contracts, agents, banks and lawyers all at once. I do this every day. I have read that agreement a thousand times and run hundreds of conditions across every kind of sale and purchase. It does not make it easy, because it is not, but you will not be going through it on your own.
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial, logistical and emotional steps you take in a normal life. I do not take that for granted. I am on your side, and I am here to help.
Start with a quick message →Commercial property and leasing
Commercial property is a broad area, and every property and every deal is different. Whether you are taking space, letting it, buying it as an investment or developing it, there are well-understood starting points, and the real work is knowing where your situation should depart from the standard. Here is where I usually come in.
Leasing as a tenant
You have found premises and you are working towards a deal, but you are not locked in yet. The document to get right is the agreement to lease, before it hardens into the deed.
What matters: that the terms, the timing and the conditions actually work for you, and that you understand now what the eventual deed of lease will hold you to.
Leasing as a landlord
You have space to let, and you want it filled well and on terms that protect your income over the term.
What matters: finding the right tenant, one who is prepared to back their business, on security that holds up.
Buying or selling commercial property
You are buying or selling commercial property, often with tenants in place, so you are dealing in an income stream as much as a building. The work is the diligence on the leases and the tenants, a clean title, and an agreement that deals properly with the bonds, the rent and the guarantees.
What matters: confirming the income is real and secure before you are committed.
Development and subdivision
You are developing or subdividing land, or selling to a developer while keeping rights you still need. Every property and every development is different.
What matters: there are general starting points we know well, and the work is working with you to know where to depart from “market”.
Buying or selling a business
Getting the deal and the agreement right at the start, while you still have the leverage and the goodwill, is everything. This is the work I am, honestly, best at.
What happens
- You work out what you are really buying or selling, and how it should be owned and structured.
- You get the deal onto paper: the agreement and the terms that hold it together and protect you.
- You work through due diligence and the conditions, so you know exactly what you are getting.
- You complete, and the business changes hands.
What I do
- Get to first principles and find the cleanest way through.
- Read the other side, so I can tell you what they are likely to do.
- Push where it is unreasonable, concede what does not matter.
What to be ready for
You will be at the centre of lawyers, banks, agents, accountants, valuers and a lot of paperwork, with plenty of moving parts and opinions. It helps to remember the party on the other side is usually in the same boat, and with luck is getting the same decent advice.
You might do this once or twice in your life. I do it regularly, so you have someone in your corner who knows how these play out.
Start with a quick message →Your business
There are a hundred things a business might need a lawyer for, and they are all a bit different. But they fall into a few buckets, and you have probably come here because something consequential is happening, something that is a real part of what you do. Here is where that usually lands.
Setting up and structuring
Going into business: setting up the company, the ownership, and the ground rules for how it will run.
What matters: the awkward questions are cheap to ask now, while everyone is friendly, and expensive later.
Shareholders coming and going
Bringing someone in, buying someone out, or working through a relationship between owners that has changed.
What matters: the agreement is what protects the relationship and your investment when something changes. And something always changes.
Borrowing and lending
Taking on a bank facility, giving a guarantee, putting up security, and understanding what you are actually signing up to.
What matters: the covenants, not the interest rate, are where your freedom gets constrained, and a guarantee usually reaches further than people expect.
Supply and standard-terms contracts
The contracts you use again and again, your terms and conditions, or the one big supplier or customer relationship that has to be right.
What matters: get the standard right once, and it pays off every time you use it.
Disputes
When something goes wrong: a contract or a shareholder dispute that needs sorting.
What matters: keeping it commercial, so it gets resolved rather than dragged out.
Making a will
A will says what happens when you die. An enduring power of attorney says who acts for you if you cannot, and it only works if it is set up before you need it. The first step is a straight conversation about what you actually need.
What happens
- A conversation about your family, your assets and what you want.
- A clear recommendation, in plain language, including when the simple option is the right one.
- The documents drafted and signed properly, so they will stand.
What I do
- Ask the questions people forget: blended families, the bach, the business.
- Write it so your family will not argue about what you meant.
- Keep your will, your property and anything you have set up working together.
What to be ready for
You do not need it all worked out before you come in. A rough picture of your family, your property and the people you trust is plenty to start with. Most wills and enduring powers of attorney are done within a week or two of the first conversation.
Getting this sorted is one of the kindest things you can do for the people you love.
Start with a quick message →Trusts
A trust is the right answer for some families and an expensive habit for others. Whether you are setting one up, reviewing one, changing it or winding it up, the real work is making sure it actually does its job, and that it lines up with your will, your home and your relationship property rather than working against them.
Setting one up
Working out whether a trust is genuinely right for you, and if it is, setting it up properly from the start.
What matters: an honest answer first, including “you do not need one” when that is true.
Making sure it works
Reviewing a trust you already have, so it still does what you set it up to do.
What matters: a trust only protects you if it is run properly, not just set up and forgotten.
Changing or winding it up
Amending a trust as life changes, or winding it up cleanly when it has done its job.
What matters: doing it properly, so nothing is left hanging for the next generation.
When something comes up
A beneficiary question, a trustee decision, or a wrinkle that needs sorting.
What matters: handling it calmly, and keeping everyone on the same page.
When someone has died
This is a hard time for you and your family. The legal side can wait a few days, and when you are ready it does not have to be overwhelming. The work is probate, gathering the assets, paying what must be paid and distributing what remains, done carefully and at your pace.
What happens
- The will is found, and the executors are confirmed.
- Probate is obtained from the High Court, where it is needed.
- The assets are gathered, the accounts are settled, and what remains is distributed.
What I do
- Take the administration off the family’s plate.
- Turn the estate’s assets into money where needed, and see that gifts reach the right people.
- Explain each step before it happens, and keep beneficiaries informed so tension never builds.
What to be ready for
There is no rush in the first days, and you do not need to gather everything before we talk. When you are ready, a copy of the will if you can find it, and a rough sense of the bank accounts, property and KiwiSaver, is enough to begin. A straightforward estate usually takes a few months end to end.
I will go at your pace, and carry the parts that should not be yours to carry.
Start with a quick message →What you get, working with Point Legal.
You will know the cost first
Agreed openly before any work starts. No surprises, and never a bill you dread opening.
Plain English, start to finish
I take the time to understand you and what you are doing, then explain it the way I would over coffee: the things that matter, and the things that are not worth worrying about.
You always know where you stand
Honest updates and quick execution.
Hi, Tim here
“When you let a lawyer into one of the big moments of your life, that is not something to take for granted. My job is to see you and your situation clearly, and then get it done.”
For fifteen years I have advised homeowners, business owners and investors. Point Legal means direct access to an experienced lawyer, from first call to final signature. Real time with you, sound judgment, and fast, accurate execution.
See selected experience →Tim Grace
Director, Point Legal
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