Succession under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 – life interests and de facto relationships

The Māori Land Court decided a widow’s life interest in her ex-husband’s estate came to an end when she entered into a de facto relationship after his passing.

The applicant sought a life interest as the deceased’s surviving spouse. The application was not made until 11 years after the passing and concerned roughly $30,000 sitting in trust at the time of the hearing.

The applicant and the deceased were married for a number of years and were still legally married at the time of his passing. However, it was disputed as to whether they were separated. Nonetheless, in the 11 years after the passing, the applicant entered into a relationship with someone who she lived with for a period of time.

The estate was dealt with under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act’s intestacy (lack of a Will) provision. Under the Act, a surviving spouse of a Māori landowner may receive any income from the deceased’s Māori freehold land interests. However, this right ends if the surviving spouse enters into a new civil union or de facto relationship, among other instances.

The Court considered the main questions needing to be determined were (a) whether the applicant and the deceased were in a relationship at the time of his passing, and (b) did the applicant enter into a de facto relationship since the passing that would limit her entitlement to a life interest.

In answering (a), the Court decided that the applicant and the deceased were in a relationship, albeit an unorthodox one, at the time of his death. Despite periods of time living at different residences during their relationship, the specific facts did not indicate that they were living apart for the purposes of deciding if they were in a relationship.

The Court spent most of its discussion focused on whether the applicant and her new relationship partner “live together as a couple” so as to make their relationship a de facto relationship to which s the provision applies.  

In determining this the Court took account of the duration of the relationship, nature of common residence, whether a sexual relationship exists, degree of financial dependence, use of property and mutual commitment to a shared life, among other things.

The relationship in question had been on-and-off for about four years, with them having lived together for the latest 12 months (as flatmates in her contention). The Court was satisfied a sexual relationship did exist and there were a series of events and factors that did point towards a shared life. Whilst there was not financial dependence between them, nor shared property, the Court found that the relationship between the applicant and her new partner was a de facto relationship. It also considered important that whanau and others did view them as being in a relationship.

Because of this finding the Court decided that the applicant was entitled to a life interest from the deceased’s estate accumulated up until the date on which she entered into a de facto relationship, after which all funds accumulated were the property of the Estate, set aside for the deceased’s children.

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