Apply for a property manager

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It’s free to apply for an Order to Appoint a Property Manager.

Apply for a property manager to be appointed

People who can apply for an Order are:

  • a person who can’t make decisions about their own property
  • a relative or attorney of a person who can’t make decisions about their own  property
  • a social worker employed under the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989(external link)
  • a medical practitioner or doctor
  • a trustee corporation
  • a representative of any non-profit group that provides services and facilities for the welfare of the people covered by the Act
  • the superintendent, licensee, supervisor or person in charge, if the person is a patient or a resident of a hospital, home or other institution
  • the welfare guardian of the person concerned, if one has been appointed
  • any other person with the court's permission.

The court can only make an Order for people who live in New Zealand. They must be at least 18 years old; if they’re younger, they must have been married or in a civil union or de factor relationship.

The person must either:

  • be completely or partly unable to understand what the decision is about, or to understand what could happen as a result of a decision about their property
  • have these abilities but be totally unable to make decisions (or say what they want) about how their property is to be managed.

More than one person can be appointed as a property manager. In this case, the managers have a joint responsibility unless the court decides otherwise. The court can also appoint a trustee corporation as a property manager.

Find out more about trustee corporations 

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Who can be a property manager

A property manager must be either:

The property manager must:

  • be able to carry out the duties of a property manager
  • act in the best interests of the person who needs help
  • agree to take on the role of property manager.

You should file your application at the court closest to where the person who the application is for lives.

Find a local court 

You may want to talk to a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer, you may be able to get:

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Forms to appoint a property manager

You’ll need to give the Family Court these 4 forms:

Information sheet to accompany an application – PPPR14 [PDF, 90 KB]

Affidavit in support of appointment of property manager [PDF, 110 KB]

Statement of consent - PPPR17 [PDF, 36 KB], and

Medical expert report [DOC, 29 KB]

You’ll also need to give the Family Court 1 of these forms:

If you're applying for orders for yourself use this form:

Application for property Order in respect of applicant's property - PPPR10 [PDF, 30 KB]

If you're applying for orders for somebody else use this form:

Application for property Order - PPPR11 [PDF, 88 KB]

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If it’s urgent

If a decision needs to be made urgently, the court can make a temporary order which can last up to 3 months. This can happen while you’re waiting for the court to approve an application.

If you think you need urgent help, you may want to see a lawyer about making an urgent application for you.

Find out more about urgent help

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After you apply

After the court receives your application for an Order, it will appoint a specialist lawyer who will meet with the person the Order is about and you. The lawyer will tell the court why the application has been made and what should happen next. The judge may decide to:

  • hold a short hearing
  • ask for more medical evidence
  • make the Order.

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How a Property Order ends

When the order is made, the Court must set a date not more than 3 years from the start of the order to review the order

A property manager’s appointment ends if:

  • the person for whom the manager is acting dies
  • the manager dies
  • the manager becomes bankrupt
  • the manager becomes a special patient or a patient under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992(external link)
  • the manager becomes subject to a property order or is unable to carry out his or her duties.
  • more than 1 manager is chosen and any one of the above things happens to one of them. This only applies if they have joint responsibility
  • the court ends the property order
  • another person is chosen as property manager. In this case the previous manager will stop all duties unless the court orders otherwise.

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