LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 109, 11 May 1933, Page 23

LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

(By A BAKKISTER-AT-LAW.)

[Letters of Inquiry will be answered every week in this column. As far as possible they will be dealt with In the order in which they are received, and replies will be inserted with the least possible delay.]

PESTERED. —(1 and 2) : If your property is not within a borough or town district you may lay poison on any part of your property more than three chains distant from a road. (3 and 4: You should notify the owner and give him an opportunity to remove the animal. PUZZLED. —Such a marriage is prohibited in New Zealand and probably in all other parts of the British Empire. DOMESTIC.—Your week ends on Thursday night. You cannot compel your employer to give you a reference. If you are refused a holiday or half-day off your remedy is to leave. One week s notice is sufficient. QUERY. —No sales tax should be charged. A.P.—You are entitled to see the document which you signed. If you have signed a bill of sale over your machine the lender may seize it and sell it as you are in default. It may pay you to borrow from another source and clear off the creditor who is preaslng. J.E.—-The owner should get her solicitor to approve of the transfer before she wigns it. because her liability in the future will depend on the form of the transfer. J.A.B.W. —The trustees will pay your share to the mortgagee and the mortgagee should contemporaneously transfer to you all the securities which lie holds, so that you will then be in the position of first mortgagee of the farm. A.B.C.—There is room for doubt as to whether the duty 1s deductible, and it is therefore not unreasonable for you to claim the benefit of the doubt. (2) If your income exceeds £200 per year you should send a return to the Commissioner of Taxes in addition to tnc declaration which you make for unemployment tax. For income tax purposes stamp duty paid on interest from Government bonds is claimed as a special exemption. W.S.H. —You can recover your property only by repaying the mortgagee the balance due to him. He is entitled to retain the surplus rent and apply it in repayment. You arc-still free to sell the property, but would have to pay off the second mortgage out of the purchase money. PERPLEXED. —You are not bound to allow your help a half-day off, but it is usual to do so, and you are not likely to keep her if you do not offer her the customary half-holiday. TAX RETURN.—The net profit from your business is probably all that you need pay tax upon, for the contributions from your sous are in the nature of maintenance for your Invalid husband. A fair apportionment of the rent and lighting between the business and the home should be made. ANXIOUS.—Make a claim upon the Council. PENSIONER.—The mortgagee can take action agftlnst your other assets only by sueing you and obtaining judgment and then selling the assets under a writ of sale. You should apply to the court for relief if the mortgagee presses for payment. DELTA. —You and your wife appear to be entitled to the full pension. The marriage certificate should be acceptcd as sufficient evidence of age. BEX. —The owner is primarily responsible for the rates and if he is in a position to pay, the mortgagee, although he is receiving the rent, Is at liberty to press the owner for payment of the rates. S.W.—Moneys held by you as trustee are not your own and consequently you do not return income earned by them as your income. WIDOW. — (1-3) : I am afraid that in this column I cannot instruct you In the technique of effecting a settlement or a conveyancing transaction. All I can say is that there should be a chain of documents connecting the mortgagee named in the mortgage with the party signing the document and acknowledging the receipt of the money paid by you. You would be wise to employ your own solicitor to settle. (4) You may sell the bonds on the Stock Exchange at any time. If you sell now you will get back the full amount you put in. WORRIED.—You might apply for exemption, but until you are exempted you are liable. DOUBTFUL.—If the tender was purely for the erection of the building, and the plans had already been prepared, it is clear that the price paid did not cover the fee for preparing plans. PERPLEXED. —Your letter does not disclose any grounds for remarrying without obtaining your decree absolute, xou are still liable for the balance of the account. STIFFY. —Compensation is payable only in respect of loss of your employment while incapacitated through injury, if you were totally incapacitated for a period of four days or more you aru entitled to compensation. ANXIOUS.—If the company has insured the machine it would be entitled to retain the insurance moneys in payment of the balance, but any surplus should go to you. You should ascertain first whether the machine was insured, and, if so, claim a refund of the moneys paid. MAINTENANCE.—You should not deduct wages tax. WlDOW.—There is nothing to prevent you selling the property. It will not affect your pension unless its value is greater "than £350. ANXIOUS.—It is unreasonable to expect you to pay the full board in the circumstances. I should say that, assuming your landlady supplied the food, two-thirds of the usual board would be fair. If you provided the food perhaps one-third would be enough.

U.B. 32.—The repayments of a loan -without interest are not income. ARBIT.— (1) The subscription must not exceed 1/ per week. (2) Section 145. (3) Much more information as to the circumstances is needed before this question can be answered. (4) The Government Printer, Wellington, will supply a copy for about 1/.