INQUIRERS' CORNER

NZ Truth, Issue 1168, 19 April 1928, Page 16

INQUIRERS' CORNER

S^SrZ=Z=ZS? Conducted by "INTERPRETER." SSSSSSSK^ §§ Answers will be published as early as possible after receipt of || i| questions and so far as possible m order of rotation of reoeipt. || il All letters must be written m ink and be addressed. "Interpreter || II c/o "Truth," Manners Street, Wellington. While we take no || \l responsibility for any answer given m these columns, every §| i| endeavor will be made to see that they are absolutely correct. || ii Answers to legal queries must be accepted merely as a || jjl guide as to whether or not it is worth whije going to the ex- || \\ pense of placing matters inquired about m the hands of a || II solicitor for further action. . . Ii |l No replies can be made by post. No anonymous inquiries || §1 will be answered, and inquiries of this nature will not be pre- || l| served. Frivolities an.d, questions not of general interest will || §| not be answered. || s■• „„„„« HHiiiiwHiuniintHniiuiuHiiiHiu utiiKMi hiiii iiiimfmutUllumllHIIIIUHIIIIItlMlMI1HI1Uinmfl1Ulffll!llll!l° c g MHlllMlHlMllllnWlUlflHniHHlHltmMlllinHlnlltilllltli iwuMMmiimiiiiHiiiiiMiimmiimmiiiiiiHtmnimniiin^^

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE i Q.: Owing to my husband's habitual drunkenness our children were put m a receiving home. I have been living apart from my husband for some years and have had the children out on license. If I obtain a judicial separation, would I still be allowed to keep my children? — "Constant Reader" (Ashburton). A.: Provided you are able to support them there should be no objection. Q.: Is a marriage solemnized m a Consul's office legal m New Zealand? — "Marriage" (Wellington). A.: Such marriages are legal m certain cases. A definite answer cannot be given unless full particulars are sent. Q.: (1) My husband deserted mysejf and children and refuses to return, although I am willing to have him back. Can he proceed after three years to get a divorce if I do not want it? (2) Would he be compelled to pay for keep of myself and children? — "Buick" (Auckland). A.: (1) No, he has no ground for obtaining a divorce. (2) Yes. Tou should obtain a maintenance order against him through the Magistrate's Court. Q.: I left my wife and child three years ago and now she has a child to someone else. Can I sue for a divorce? If I get it, can she make me maintain either her or the child? — "Rex" (Mt. Eden). A.: You are entitled to a divorce. Under the circumstances your wife would not be decreed alimony, but you will remain liable to maintain your own child. Q.: I am a married woman living apart by mutual agreement with no maintenance for myself. I now wish to return to my husband. What steps must I take? And secondly m the event of anything happening to my husband am I entitled to any of my husband's estate? — "Anxious" (Wellington).

1 His Problem -< |

| Q.: lam a young single man, | i born m New Zealand, and have | | a good character, total abstainer | 1 and no police record. My eye- | i sight is failing and I am unable s | to get work as I find it awkward | | to get about. I am living with = § my mother, who has just enough | § to keep her. I have no one else | i to go to as my only brother has 5 I a wife and family. What can I | i do to obtain relief? — "Worried" | 1 (Napier). 1 1 A.: The only course open to | I you is to apply for charitable | I aid. I =MiMiiniiiuuiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiiii(i?

A.: You do not say what form the agreement took. Usually separation agreements are by deed, but no particular formality is necessary and a mere oral agreement between husband and wife is binding. You mention the non-pay-ment of maintenance. No doubt at one time a separation agreement was regarded as unenforceable unless there was some valuab 1 c consideraon both sides, but that view is now obsolete and the mere mutual agreements to live apart are sufficient consideration. Being bound by the separation you can take no legal steps whatever to compel your husband to return. Should you attempt to do so, you may be restrained by injunction. You must confine your efforts to moral suasion. The separation deed, like a decree for judicial separation, does not preclude you from sharing m your husband's estate if he dies intestate.

Q • I have been married 21 months. My husband has never given me a home of any sort and I have had to keep myself all the time. On several occasions he has been very cruelknocking me about m an awful manner whilst visiting me. Have I grounds for a divorce?— " Rose Marie" (Timaru.) A • You have not sufficient grounds. The'desertion must last for three years before you are entitled to petition. WILLS Q.: Where a bachelor dies intestate leaving mother and sister, will the child of a deceased brother participate m the distribution of the estate?— "Puzzled" (Auckland). A.: Yes. The estate will be divided into as many parts as there are brothers and sisters, the children of a deceased brother or sister taking the share of their mother or father respectively. If the deceased brother had only one child that child will take the same share as his father would have taken if alive. Q.: (1) What is the minimum amount I must leave my dependents m order that they may have no ground for applying under the Family Protection Act? (2) Can I, after having bequeathed this amount, leave all the rest to one of my children? (3) Is it necessary to employ a solicitor to draw up a will? —"Londoner" (City)., A.: (1) This depends entirely on the conditions, i.e., the way m which they have been accustomed to live and the size of your estate. You must leave them reasonable maintenance. (2) Yes. (3) It is highly desirable, because home-made wills are usually defective. GENERAL Q.: I engaged a plumber to do certain work for £5. He did the work and then sent m his account for £6 10s. Must I pay the larger amount? — "Subscriber" (Lower Hutt). A.: No. When a tender is accepted it becomes a binding contract to do the work for the sum stated. Unless alterations were made with your consent m the specifications, you need only pay £5.

PROPERTY RIGHTS Q.: I bought a cottage and section over 40 years ago. The fences as then standing have never been shifted. Recently someone has bought the property adjoining and claims that my back boundary is encroaching. Can he make me shift my fence?— " Pensioner" (Wellington). A.: No. As you have been In occupation for over twenty years you have acquired a title by prescription to all the land within your fences. Even if your neighbor can show that his title area is short, he will not be able to compel you to shift the fence. MAINTENANCE Q.: Can brothers be held responsible to help support their brother's children where their father has disappeared? — "Worried" (Dunedin). A.: No. They are not "near relatives" as defined by section 4 of the Destitute Persons Act, 1910. Q.: Can I claim support from my father-in-law who is m a good position as his son, my husband, is m bad health? — "Worried" (Auckland). . A.: Tou cannot do so directly, but your husband is a near relative of his father and as such is entitled to claim support from him. WAGES AND PENSIONS Q.: (1) At what age is a woman living all her life m Taranaki eligible for the old age pension? (2) -What is the full amount? "Anxious" (Taranaki). A.: (1) 60 years. (2) £45 10s. per annum. MORTGAGES.

Q.: I owned a farm subject to a mortgage. I sold the farm subject to the mortgage to a purchaser who has now walked off the place. When I sold, the mortgagee consented to the sale and entered into an arrangement for extension of the term of the mortgage with the purchaser without my consent. Am I liable to the mortgagee? Can I take and keep possession m the meantime? What must the mortgagee do to get me out, I having taken possession to protect the property ?—"Mortgage" (Gisborne). A.: Unless the mortgagee has done something to discharge you, you remain liable notwithstan ding the sale on the covenants of the mortgage you signed. The mortgagee can sue you and have you made bankrupt. However, if the mortgagee entered

into an extension of the mortgage with your purchaser without your consent, the effect according to recent decisions is that you are discharged from all liability, the mortgagee m that case having to look to the land and to your purchaser. If m fact you remain liable, your remedy is not to take possession of the land but to redeem the mortgage. Unless you pay off the mortgage it appears you have no right without the consent of the other parties interested, to meddle with the property, as you transferred all your rights to the purchaser.

LEGAL Q.: I sold a house, £100 deposit and balance with interest m three years. When the balance was due the purchaser defaulted. Can I sue him for interest on the balance from the date fixed for settlement? Am I liable to my solicitor for costs incurred owing to the default of the purchaser? — "Anxious" (Dunedin). A.: If you elect to enforce the contract you can compel payment not only of the interest, but of the balance purchase money. You are liable for the costs. Q.: I am resident m a small country town and have been sued by a creditor m Wellington. What am I to do as I have not the means or opportunity to go to Wellington? I have no means other than my dwellinghouse subject to a Government mortgage. — "Up Against It" (South Norsewood). A.: Since you admit the debt your best course is to confess judgment. If the plaintiff then issues a judgment summons to be heard m Wellington he must tender you your travelling expenses with the summons. He has, however, the option of having you examined m your local court. The Magistrate's Court has no jurisdiction to sell land m execution, so you need not fear any immediate direct action so far as your house is concerned. Q.: Last season I collected money from the members of a football team of which I was manager. I kept the money until the first meeting of the present season and overlooked a demand for its return shortly before the meeting. At the first meeting a resolution was carried that the secretary write me demanding payment and stating- that m default the matter would be put into the hands of the police. At the second meeting I paid the money. Have I any redress? — "Football" (New Lynn). A.: No. It does not appear that they did anything they were not legally entitled to do.