Due to limited access to the building, the Auckland Information Office is available by appointment only. Please contact us by email at mlctamakimakaurau@justice.govt.nz
The Māori Land Court Bench Book (Bench Book) is a 'quick reference' resource containing information about our Act and Court decisions, primarily used by our judges.
The drafters of the Act clearly
understood the dynamics of Māori land and Māori land owners.
Accordingly, under the Act the engaged owners presently make decisions about their
land through the legal structures of trusts and incorporations.
Two sections of the Trustee Act 1956 that were used from time
to time by Māori land trusts have been carried over to the new
Trusts Act:
• Trustees may apply to the Māori Land Court for directions
about the trust property or the use of their powers or
functions.1
• The Māori Land Court may relieve a trustee from personal
liability if they have acted honestly and reasonably and
ought to be excused for a breach.2
Do trusts need a new trust order?
If you are thinking about financing or mortgage arrangements, you should consider : The value of the land – How much the land is worth on the open market?
There was also whānau discussion aboutland interests in the Rangitīkei area. My mother was one of eleven siblings, all of whom had a little bit of knowledge of their Māori land interests but nothing too specific.
For information about granting confirmation of an instrument
of alienation1 or about transfers of whole blocks of Māori
land, please contact an MLC office.
If the trustees acquire further land or other assets for the purposes of the trust, that land
becomes trust land, and the other assets become trust property.
