LEGAL INQUIRIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23378, 21 June 1939, Page 7

LEGAL INQUIRIES

MANY PROBLEMS SOLVED This column appears cmoli "Wednesday. Care "will he taken to ensure that the legal guidance is sound and accurate and as complete as possible on the facts supplied, but no responsibility is undertaken for the advice or information. Send f|iiestions to "Ad vocal us,' r care of Kditor, NKW Zf.ai.anii Hfrai-p, Auckland, and enclose name and address as guarantee of good faith. Postal box numbers are not accepted as bona f'ule addresses. Initials or a pseudonym must also be given for purposes of reference in the column. Hedge.—lf the hedge js .111 accepted boundary fence, you can call upon your neighbour by appropriate notice to repair it in the same manner as any oilier boundary fence. Repair in this case includes trimming. If yon and your neighbour cannot agree upon the method of trimming, the matter must bo settled by a magistrate. "Except as above, there is no limit to tne Height a heiUie may be grown by an owner on his own property. I Hedge.—See answer to "Hedge." Old Timer.—Where both of a married couple are in receipt of age benefits, they m«i> have otiier joint income (earned or unearned) up to £,V_' without the age benefits being affected. Ten shillings fur every .CI in excess of £•"»- is deducted from cneii benefit. Milkman.—No damages can be claimed for trespass of cattle on linfenced land. Ihej mav, however, be impounded. It is tne duty of the owner of cattle to keep them off "other people's property. ! Left Behind. —A widow or widower is entitled to claim up to £.'>o by way of exemption from his income for income tax purposes on account of wages paid to a housekeeper. This exemption does not apply to the social security tax. Such housekeeper would have to pay the social security tax on the amount of her ienumeration and keep. A daughter may occupy the position of a housekeeper. Ihe i usual' amount assessed for keen is £'l a week. A daughter, however, who is living I at home and assists to look after the I house, but who is under no contract of S service and receives no wages, will not j be liable for the social security tax. (Tractor It.—Farm hands are not entitled to anv particular days as holidays. The rule is 'that they must take their holidays at the employer's convenience, provided such 1 holidays arc given within the period specified by the Aft or regulations made there- | under." ! New Zealand Horn.—lf the total period of absence from Xew Zealand of an appli* j cant for the age benefit exceeds two years. ! but does not exceed that period by more i than six months for every year of residence in Xew Zealand in excess of a , period of OO years, and the applicant has j been actually resident in Xew Zealand for | the Imonths preceding the date of his application, the applicant would be eligible I for the benefit. Your sister therefore will require to reside another l<> years in Xew ; Zealand before she will be eligible. ! A Widow.—The rate of a widow's benefil I where the applicant has no child or children under the age of Ifi years is £.VJ a j year. The benefit is reduced by £1 for every £1 of the applicant's income in | excess of £.">•_>. ■ Very Anxious, Hamilton.—Assuming Hint the joint income of the two invalidity pensioners docs not exceed per annum, it j will make no difference to their invalidity i henefits if they marry. i T.H. —("lifts of money are not income for the, purposes of the social security tax or inj come tax. ; Ignorant.—The definition of "income" under j the Social Security Act is very wide in- | deed and covers practically the receipt of all moneys or benefits which can be valued i in money with certain exceptions which do not apply in your case. The repayment | therefore of an advance made by you will will probably be regarded as income by the department with the effect that your age benefit will be stopped for the pension year in which it is received. After (he expiration of that pension year it will be regarded as property. Trees.—The law relating to trees close to! boundaries is in an unsatisfactory position j j and is the subject of judicial consideration ! at the present time. If the trees overhang, the branches can certainly be cut back to i the boundary. If the overhanging amounts I to a nuisance it would appear that it is i actionable at common law. The really difficult question is where the trees do not overhang and yet in some way injure the j adjoining property. This nppears to' be I ! the question under consideration at the! present time. If you repeat your inquiry | in two or three weeks' time the decision ; on this point should be available. The law j at present does not recognise any right' | i to a property owner to view sun or light, j j Collection.—The cost of moving a judgment I i from the Magistrate's Court to the Supreme j ; Court for the purpose of issuing execution | against land would, in the first instance, i be payable by the judgment creditor, who would be entitled to collect the same from I the judgment debtor. The Court fees for removing the judgment would amount to 1 : Ss. Any further fees would be dependent j upon the nature of the process you intend I J to pursue. : Doubtful.—The purchaser pays stamp duty j ; and other disbursements in connection ; i with a transfer hut the vendor must pay i I his own solicitor's costs. You, being the ! mortgagor, must pay the cost of the release of the mortgage. A mortgage under j the Land Transfer Act is not released until the release is registered and it appears from what you say that the release has not been registered. The mortgagor also pays the cost of this release, and the stamp duty and registration'in connection with it. Anxious.—Where a vendor of a farm has agreed to sell it and a binding contract has been made which states that possession is to be given at a future date, the vendor cannot increase the stock "on that farm, much less let the grazing to an outsider, j unless the circumstances are such as to i show that the purchaser was aware or I could have reasonably anticipated that such would he (he case. The purchaser's! remedy would be appropriate action through 1 the Court to restrain the vendor or to claim ! damages for breach of contract, or, if the j matter was sufficiently material, to rescind j the contract altogether. Hillpark.—You cannot prevent the council from entering on your property and laying j the pipe-line. Your remedy •• is to claim compensation for any loss or damage done. | This must he done within J'J months of tho completion of the work. I Employer.—An employee who absents himself during working hours without leave can be dismissed without notice. The right to notice presupposes that an employee has kept his part of the contract. Disgusted.—The owner of a farm is not entitled to refuse to allow the friends or a particular friend of a share-milker to visit him in the house occupied by the sharemilker unless such visit in some way damaged the owner of the farm. Towels. —The goods sent to your wife by mistake do not belong to her. In notifying the shop of their mistake, she has certainly done all that is required of her. and it is for them to take the goods away. If. however, she uses the goods, she will 1 become liable to pay for them. Returned S. —When your endowment policy falls due you will not be required to pay ■ any social security charge or income taxon it. nor are you required to declare it j in your income return. If it is banked in j your wife's name she will only have to pay j the social security charge on any interest which may have accrued on it. Gate Pa. —In addition to the right to destroy pigs given by the Impounding Act _ where they stray on to property under cultivation j or artificial grass, the owner of such pro- j pert.v is entitled to claim trespass rates and also to impound the pigs. If the owner! of the pigs tells you to do what you like j with them you can, of course, sell them and give the proceeds to charity, hut you ! have to he in a position to prove this. ! Widow. —Yon would have to establish negligence to succeed against the driver of the car in which your husband was killed. The fact that you were separated from him does I not debar you from making a claim. I although it may affect the amount of j damages. Bulldozer. —You have a number of legal remo- ' dies for the trespass of the bull, such as { suing the owner for trespass or having the ■ bull impounded when it is straying on the > road, or impounding the bull on your own property wlten it trespasses. Practically, i however, if you cannot manage the animal j yourselves you should get someone to do it for you, or continue to urge the poundkeeper to impound it. S.A.H. —Since you gave no authority to order the meat to your housekeeper, you are under no obligation to pay for it. Bewildered.—The general rule is that a debtor must seek out a creditor and pay him. There is, however, an old rule or custom that a landlord calls at the premises for his rent. This rule may he modified by agreement specified or implied front the conduct of the parties. R..7.H.. Tauranga.—Since the company refused to insure yon for n period, anil subsequently agreed after you had obtained your driver's licence, the year should date from the time when they held you covered, and ' the policy should be amended accordingly. Honesty.—lf the amount received from your mother's estate was a capital distribution it would not be income for income tax or social security tax purposes. If. however, it includes some interest or other part of income, tax would be payable on that part. Legacies frequently carry interest, and, of course, a share in an estate frequently includes a share in the income of the estate from the date of death. The receipt of a legacy may be treated as income for (ho purpose of arriving at the income of a person in receipt of a benefit under the Social Security Act. If the department treats such amount as income it will affect the benefit for thn year in which the legacy is received.