You should be aware that from now on your lawyer will be requiring you to provide significantly more information to establish your identity and the source of funds for any transactions involving lawyers. The new laws are a very significant departure from previous obligations and in summary you will need to provide at least two forms of identification including photographic ID which will generally mean your passport, NZ Driver’s Licence or 18+ card. Non photographic identification can include your birth certificate, Certificate of Citizenship either from NZ or a foreign country. There are a number of other forms of ID which will be accepted in addition to your photo ID which will include credit cards, bank cards, Super Gold cards and so on.
There will be some complications for those people who do not have photo ID but there is an ability to attend to this with appropriate statutory declarations.
As outlined lawyers now also have a strict obligation to determine the source of funds and to report any suspicious conduct or funding. This has the potential to create conflicts of interest with clients who may advise their lawyers regarding funding or taxation plans or behaviour which will now have to be reported as it is effectively an offence for lawyers to fail to report such conduct.
The critical impact of these changes will mean that it will not be possible to “hide” the source of funds and there are considerable powers to trace funds on any transaction so you will need to be prepared to advise your lawyer regarding this information as indicated it is now to be obligatory for full disclosure of such information which previously a lawyer was entitled to hold in confidence as privileged communications but this is no longer the case.
If you require any advice or further information on the matters dealt with in this publication please contact the lawyer at Farry and Co. who normally advises you, or alternatively contact:
Michael Nidd
mnidd@farry.co.nz
03 477 8870
The information contained in this publication is intended as a guide only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Professional advice should be sought before applying any of the information to particular circumstances. While every reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, Farry and Co. does not accept liability for any errors it may contain.