Section 90 — Property (Relationships) Act 1976: Time limits for commencing proceedings

90 Time limits for commencing proceedings (1) Proceedings must be commenced 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 proceedings must be commenced— (i) no later than 12 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 12 months after the grant of administration,— whichever is the later: (b) in any other case, the proceedings must be commenced no later than 12 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 (3) , the Court may extend the time for commencing proceedings after hearing— (a) the applicant; and (b) any other persons who have an interest in the property that would be affected by the order sought and who the Court considers should be heard. (3) The Court's power under this section extends to cases where the time for commencing proceedings 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 Sections 55 to 57 were repealed, and new Part 8 (comprising sections 55 to 95) and Part 9 (comprising sections 96 to 99) were inserted, as from 1 February 2002, by section 61 Property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. Subsections (1) and (4) were 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.