This Act may be cited as the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Where in the administration of the estate of any deceased person a claim is made against the estate founded upon the rendering of services to or the performance of work for the deceased in his lifetime, and the claimant proves an express or implied promise by the deceased to reward him for the services or work by making some testamentary provision for the claimant, whether or not the provision was to be of a specified amount or was to relate to specified real or personal property, then, subject to the provisions of this Act, the claim shall, to the extent to which the deceased has failed to make that testamentary provision or otherwise remunerate the claimant (whether or not a claim for such remuneration could have been enforced in the lifetime of the deceased), be enforceable against the personal representatives of the deceased in the same manner and to the same extent as if the promise of the deceased were a promise for payment by the deceased in his lifetime of such amount as may be reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including in particular the circumstances in which the promise was made and the services were rendered or the work was performed, the value of the services or work, the value of the testamentary provision promised, the amount of the estate, and the nature and amounts of the claims of other persons in respect of the estate, whether as creditors, beneficiaries, wife, husband, civil union partner, children, next-of-kin, or otherwise.

This section shall apply—

Where the promise relates to any real or personal property which forms part of the estate of the deceased on his death, the court may in its discretion, instead of awarding to the claimant a reasonable sum as aforesaid,—

In awarding any amount on a claim under this section the court may, if it thinks fit, order that the amount awarded may consist of a lump sum or a periodical or other payment.

The incidence of any payment or payments so ordered shall, unless the court otherwise determines, fall rateably upon the whole estate of the deceased, or, in cases where the authority of the court does not extend or cannot directly or indirectly be made to extend to the whole estate, then to so much thereof as is situated in New Zealand.

The court shall have power, after hearing such of the parties as may be affected as it thinks necessary, to exonerate any part of the estate of the deceased from the incidence of any such payment or payments, to determine priorities as between any benefit awarded by the court to the claimant under this Act and the beneficial interests of any other person or persons in the estate of the deceased person, and to make such provision as it thinks fit as to the incidence of the whole or any part of the debts, testamentary expenses, and duty in respect of the estate of the deceased. For the purposes of this subsection the court may direct any executor or administrator to represent, or appoint any person to represent, any such party.

Any order under this section, or any provision of any such order, may be made upon and subject to such terms and conditions as the court thinks fit.

Nothing in this section shall affect any remedy which a claimant may have apart from this Act in respect of any promise to which this section relates, and where a claimant has any such remedy he may at his option enforce that remedy or his remedy under this section, but not both:

Subsection (3) is subject to section 10(3) to (5) of the Succession (Homicide) Act 2007.

Upon any order being made under this Act, the portion of the estate comprised in or affected by the order shall be held subject to the provisions of the order.

Where an order is made under this Act—

Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, the High Court, the Maori Land Court, and the Family Court shall each have jurisdiction in respect of proceedings under this Act.

The Family Court shall not have jurisdiction in respect of any application under this Act if, at the date of the filing of the application, proceedings relating to the same matter have already been commenced in the High Court.

An application under this Act must be made to—

The court to which an application is made may refer any proceedings resulting from the application, or any question in those proceedings, to any other court referred to in subsection (2A) if it considers that the proceedings or question would be more appropriately dealt with by the other court.

The court may refer the proceedings or question on its own initiative or on application by a party to the proceedings.

The High Court, upon application by any party to any proceedings pending under this Act in the Family Court or the Maori Land Court, shall order that the proceedings be removed into the High Court unless it is satisfied that the proceedings would be more appropriately dealt with in the Family Court or the Maori Land Court (as the case may be). Where the proceedings are so removed, they shall be continued in the High Court as if they had been properly and duly commenced in that court.

Any appeal from a decision of the Family Court or the Maori Land Court under this Act must be made to the High Court.

In this section, Maori freehold land—

This subsection applies to a decision of the Family Court or the District Court, in proceedings under this Act, to—

A party to proceedings in which there is made a decision to which subsection (1AA) applies, or any other person prejudicially affected by the decision, may appeal to the High Court against the decision.

The High Court Rules 2016 and sections 126 to 130 of the District Court Act 2016, with all necessary modifications, apply to an appeal under subsection (1) as if it were an appeal under section 124 of that Act.

On the ex parte application of the appellant, the Family Court or District Court (as the case requires) may order that the appellant must not be required under section 126(1) of the District Court Act 2016 to give the Registrar of the High Court security for costs.

Subsection (1B) overrides subsection (1A).

The High Court or (as the case may be) the Court of Appeal may, in its discretion, rehear the whole or any part of the evidence, or may receive further evidence, if it thinks that the interests of justice so require.

No action to enforce a claim under this Act shall be maintainable unless the action is commenced within 12 months after the personal representative of the deceased took out representation:

This Act is in substitution for section 3 of the Law Reform Act 1944, and that section is hereby accordingly repealed.

Where before the passing of this Act any action has been commenced under the said section 3 and the action is pending or in progress on the passing of this Act, the action may be continued and completed as if this Act had been passed before the action was commenced. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing provisions of this subsection, it is hereby declared that if in any action so commenced as aforesaid any appeal has been brought before the passing of this Act and has not been finally determined, or the time for bringing any appeal has not expired before the passing of this Act, the action shall for the purposes of this subsection be deemed to be pending.