31 Oct 2018
COCHRANE v NEW ZEALAND GUARDIAN TRUST COMPANY LIMITED [2018] NZHC 2830
- Citation
- [2018] NZHC 2830
- Court
- High Court
Court held disputed assets (a $600,000 loan advanced from the couple's joint account and $331,465 in term deposits) were joint personal/marital property of Alan and Marcelyn Barnes, not partnership assets; their inclusion in partnership accounts was an error attributable to tax-driven, special-purpose accounting by the non‑professional partner and did not defeat clear evidence (bank mandate, solicitor instructions, owners' account treatment) that the parties intended those assets to be jointly held and to pass by survivorship; correction of the accounts was therefore warranted and plaintiffs'…