@ LEYS LITTLE LIBRARY, PONSONBY

Kia ora Ponsonby, Will this wet weather ever stop? Does the sun even exist anymore? All this wind and rain has been less than ideal, but at least it’s the best weather to curl up with a good book. We also have some events, so here is what is happening at Little Leys this month:

King’s Birthday: Little Leys will be closed on Monday 5 June, as it is a public holiday in honour of the King’s birthday. We will reopen on Tuesday 6 June at 9am as per usual hours.

Wriggle and Rhyme: As always, we have our babies and toddlers programme on Wednesdays at the Ponsonby Baptist Church Hall (corner of Jervois Road and Seymour Street). Come along for either of our two sessions at 10am or 11am for some song and dance, and to meet other local parents and caregivers.

Tales by Twilight: Matariki is almost upon us, and we have an event for kids to celebrate! Come along to Little Leys on 30 June at 6pm for ‘Tales by Twilight’, where we’ll have a cosy evening of stories, music and dancing, followed by milk and cookies. Kids of all ages are welcome, and feel free to bring your pjs too!

Robogals: We are welcoming back Robogals to Leys. They are a student-run club based at the University of Auckland who run fun, interactive workshops to educate and inspire youth to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Come along on Saturday 1 July at 10am to play with their lego mindstorm robots and learn robotics skills with other kids.

Remember to keep an eye out for our other programmes for the July school holidays, which we will be announcing very soon.

Also this month is the next series of films from the Little Leys Classic Film Club, which screens famous, influential and entertaining masterpieces of 20th-Century cinema. Here is the run-down:

Series Title: North African Dreams

Description: Six tales of adventure and romance set in the countries of northernmost Africa, where the region’s special geography and the imperialist dreams of certain ambitious European powers form a dangerous but exciting backdrop to the protagonists’ attempts to escape their past, their enemies, the authorities and even themselves. Featuring Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Jean Gabin, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Richard Burton in leading roles.

Brochures and programme notes for this series are now available at the Grey Lynn Library.

Hours: Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm, Saturday 9am – 4pm, Sunday closed. (CHLOË – Manager Community Library).

LEYS INSTITUTE LITTLE LIBRARY, 14 Jervois Road, T: 09 377 0209, www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz

DAVENPORTS LAW: SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS

Cathy had been working in the corporate jungle for a number of years and she and her husband, Dan, had really started to think about what their future might look like.

Tammy McLeod

They decided that they would like to own their own business. Cathy had the people management skills from her corporate days and Dan had the practical skills. They also thought that owning their own business would give them the flexibility needed as their two sons moved through their teenage years. They started to investigate a number of businesses and settled on becoming a franchisee of a wellknown international franchise.

They went to see their lawyer and their accountant to start the due diligence process. Both of them told Cathy and Dan that they should consider setting up a trust. Trusts are a great way of protecting assets (eg, a family home) if you are in business for yourself or a company director and the best time to set up a trust is on a 'blue sky day', when there are no threats on the horizon.

Their lawyer told them that trusts and asset structuring has become very specialised over the last five to ten years. The law has become more complex and the potential issues greater, and so he recommended that they go and see a specialist trust lawyer.

Their accountant told them that there was great tax flexibility in holding income producing assets (ie, the shares in the business which owned the franchise) in a trust. The trust tax rate is 33% (as opposed to the top personal marginal rate of 39%) and any income used to help their teenage boys could be allocated to them at their marginal tax rates.

Cathy and Dan took their lawyer's advice and went to a specialist trust lawyer, keen to set up a trust. She told them that it would be important that she worked as part of the team with their other lawyer, their accountant and also their banker. She wanted to ascertain from their other lawyer if there would be any guarantees within the franchise agreement, and also the lease that they would have to enter into to secure the premises for the business.

Their other lawyer confirmed that not only were Cathy and Dan giving personal guarantees, but the fine print of the franchise agreement stated that the shareholders of any company who was the franchisee would be guaranteeing the terms of the franchise agreement as well. What this meant was that if Cathy and Dan put all their assets into one trust, those assets (ie, their family home) would be used to guarantee the obligations of the franchisee under the franchise agreements.

Cathy and Dan’s lawyer advised them that in cases like this, it was advisable to set up two trusts – one for their family home and other lifestyle assets and one for the business. She said that is a common structure for many business owners – having their lifestyle assets (home, bach, boat, etc) in one trust and their business, and more risky assets in another trust. It also could help with making sure that any banking arrangements for the business didn’t impact the family home.

The specialist trust lawyer also took them through updating their wills and also a document called a memorandum of wishes, which set out their wishes in relation to the trust. She said it was a bit like a will for the trust and would set out what would happen with the trust assets if one or both of them died or lost capacity. She also recommended enduring powers of attorney which would come into effect if one of them lost capacity.

Cathy and Dan were so grateful to have expert structuring advice at the outset of their business owning journey. They were also grateful to their lawyer for referring them to a specialist trust lawyer. Owning their own business was a massive step for them and to be properly set up, gave them peace of mind.