Section 62 — Property (Relationships) Act 1976: Time limit for making choice

62 Time limit for making choice (1) A surviving spouse or partner who wishes to choose option A or option B must make that choice within the following time limits: (a) if the estate of the deceased spouse or partner is a small estate (as defined in section 2 ), the choice must be made— (i) no later than 6 months after the date of the death of the deceased spouse or partner; or (ii) if administration of the estate is granted in New Zealand within that period, no later than 6 months after the grant of administration,— whichever is the later: (b) in any other case, the choice must be made no later than 6 months after administration of the estate of the deceased spouse or partner is granted in New Zealand. (2) Regardless of subsection (1) , but subject to subsection (4) , the Court may extend the time for making that choice after hearing— (a) the applicant; and (b) any other persons who the Court considers should be heard. (3) The Court's power under this section extends to cases where the time for making the choice has already expired, including cases where it expired before the commencement, on 1 February 2002, of the Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001 . (4) The Court may not grant an extension of time under subsection (2) unless the application for the extension is made before the final distribution of the estate of the deceased spouse or partner. Sections 55 to 57 were repealed, and new Part 8 (comprising sections 55 to 95) and Part 9 (comprising sections 96 to 99) were inserted, as from 1 February 2002, by section 61 Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 5). See Part 9 of this Act as to the transitional and saving provisions. Section 62 was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 3(2) Property (Relationships) Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 19) by substituting the word “ partner ” for the words “ de facto partner ” wherever they appear.