Article: Bad Law Makes Hard Cases — The Case For Repealing or Limiting The Family Protection Act 1955

William Porter (Columbia Law School, LLM Student) recently published an article entitled, Bad Law Makes Hard Cases — The Case For Repealing or Limiting The Family Protection Act 1955, New Zealand Family Law Journal, 2021. Provided below is the abstract to the Article:

This paper makes the case that the Family Protection Act 1955 (FPA) ought to be repealed or its application severely limited. Three principal arguments are put forward: first, the FPA is out of step with societal values about testamentary freedom; secondly, the broad discretion given to the court means the application of the FPA is unacceptably uncertain, leading to prolonged, costly and often bitter litigation; and thirdly, the application of the FPA is arbitrary, given that it only applies to property within the deceased’s estate upon death.