INQUIRERS' CORNER
iaZnZKuZZZZZZSSConducted by 'MNTERPRETER/'ImZZS^ 11 Answers will be published as early as possible after receipt of | if questions and so far as possible m order of rotation of receipt. | U All letters must be written m ink and be addressed "Interpreter, * I| c/o "Truth," Manners Street, Wellington. While we take no j II responsibility for any answer given m these columns, every ? |1 endeavc:' will be made to see that they are absolutely correct. || If Answers to legal queries must be accepted merely as a || | guide as to whether or not it is worth while going to the ex- 1 | pense of placing matters inquired about m the hands of a j | i solicitor for further action. . . I | _No replies can be made by post. No anonymous inquiries j | will be answered, and inquiries of this nature will not bo pre- 1 || served. Frivolities and questions not of general interest will i || not be answered. ' l£
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. Q.: What is the way to go about a poor man's divorce? — "Worried" (Christchurch). A.: You should consult a barrister and obtain his opinion on your case. It the court allows you to procoed In forma pauperis, the costs will bo purely nominal. Q.: I was divorced by my wife, who obtained custody of the child. She has now remarried. Would this entitle me to claim custody of the child?— "W.H." (Dunedin). A.: Not necessarily, but you are entitled to reasonable access to it. You were guilty of no misconduct m tho divorce and the court will show you every consideration. The main question is the welfaro of the child. Q.: I left my husband .17 years ago and I have never heard of him since. Can I remarry without obtaining a divorce?— "M.W." (Dunedin). A.: Yes. You will not be guilty of bigamy m so doing, but if your husband subsequently proves to have been alive at the date of your second marriage, the latter will be void and any issue of it illegitimate and you will have no right to succeed on intestacy to your putative husband. ' It would be safer lo obtain a decree m divorce, i.e., if you have grounds. WILLS. Q.-: Advice has been received from a firm of solicitors m England advising me that I have been left an amount by the will of a person residing there. How can I verify the amount and is it possible to obtain a copy of the will? If so, from whom? — "Legacy" (Masterton). A:: You can ask the solicitors to send you a copy of the will and the account of the estate. MAINTENANCE. Q.: My married daughter is m the asylum. Her husband, although m receipt of good wages, has not paid anything for- her support, and I have had to pay out of my pension. Can he be compelled to pay for her and to maintain her if she
comes out of the mental hospital? — "D i st r a c t c d" (Napier). /A.: Yes. You should refuse to pay; The mental hospital authorities will then see that he pays. If his wife comes out, she can take maintenance proceedings against him, but she cannot compel him to live with her. Q.: Is it illegal for a firm to give receipts for money which do not bear a revenue stamp? — "R.F." (Aria). A.: All receipts for sums of two pounds or over must bear a 2d.
stamp. The following receipts are, however, exempt from the payment of stamp duty: — Receipts given by banks for money . deposited m current accounts; local authorities or education boards; savings banks, lawfully established; building societies or friendly societies; insurance companies; pensioners for pensions and certain other allowances; the Crown; registrars and clerks of courts. There are also certain other similar receipts which are exempt. PROPERTY RIGHTS. Q.: My neighbor has erected a glassed-in room which overlooks my premises and leaves me no privacy. Have I any remedy? — "Privacy" (Dunedin). A.: No. He is entitled to build the room. Q. : A neighbor's hedge is growing over my fence and covering a considerable amount of my garden. (1) Whose place is it to keep this hedge trimmed? (2) Can I compel my neighbor to trim this hedge l without damage to my garden? — "Hedge" (Levin). A.: (1) You can serve notice on your neighbor to cut the tree back. ,-If he fails so to, do you can cut it back yourself at his expense. (2) Yes. He will be liable for any damage ho may do.
WAGES AND PENSIONS. Q.: A friend of mine, aged 80, was sohtono.ed to seven years' imprisonment for procuring abortion about ton yearn ago. Is she entitled to the old oro pcnHion? — "Anxious" (Christchurch). A.: No. As long as tho present law reinainH unaltered she will have to wait 115 yenrs. Q.: I am m receipt of a miner's pension. Does this prevent me applying for a widpw's pension also? — "Miner's Widow" ( )< A.: No. LEGAL. Q.: (1) I received a. letter from a certain woman accusing ,my daughter, aged 15, of theft. The accusation is entirely false. Have I an action for libel? (2) Would £50 be reasonable damages to claim? (3) Is it an offence to deliver a letter by hand instead of sending: it through the post?— "D.R." (Pahiatua). . A.: (]) Your daughter has a right of action. (2) £50 should meet the case. (3) No. Q.: I am a drover and at a recent sale I was engaged by the purchaser of a flock of sheep to take them to his home. While I was talking to. the purchaser and his brother the vendor's agent came up and told the purchaser that I was up • to much." The purchaser stated that I was good enough for him and gave me the job. Can I take proceedings against the agentfor slander?— '/Constant Reader" (Waipukurau). A.: If the meaning .were that you were not up to much as a general character, it is merely abuse for which no action will lie without proof of special damage, but if the meaning were that you were no good as a drover that is speaking evil of you m the way of your trade and you have a right of action for reasonable damages, al^ though you can prove no actual loss. GENERAL. Q.: A shopkeeper has an- article m his shop window 'marked £1. The article is worth
about three times that amount. "Is the shopkeeper obliged to sell me that article at the marked price, o r can he legally refuse to do so? — . "Markem" (Westport), A.: He can refuse. Q.: A mother buys a property and puts it m the name of her 19---year-old daughter. The daughter now wants to marry someone the mother disapproves. What steps can mother take to get the property back? — "W.S.C." '(TieraAi)* A.: Except as
between husband and wife, 1" one person pays the purchase money and another takes the title, the/law m default of anything- to contradict It, will assume that the holder of the title is a mere trustee for the other and as such compellable to transfer on demand. However, if the mother m this case has all along declared that the arrangement was by way of gift to the daughter, such declaration will contradict the inference otherwise to be drawn from the transaction, and she will be held to the gift. Q.: I had a new roof put- on my house 12 months ago. The new roof is now leaking. Can the builder be made to fix it without charging me again ?■— "L.M." (Kilbirnie). . A.: Not unless you can prove that he was negligent m putting on the roof. Q.: Can a man store liquor m another personts building m a nolicense area? — "Inquirer" (Aria). A.: Such action is not illegal, but the package must be marked m such a way as to show that .it contains liquor, and before taking the liquor into the district you must notify the clerk of the nearest magistrate's court of the fact.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTR19290207.2.156
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
NZ Truth, Issue 1210, 7 February 1929, Page 20
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,344INQUIRERS' CORNER NZ Truth, Issue 1210, 7 February 1929, Page 20
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
See our copyright guide for information on how you may use this title.