Who we are

Prudentia Law is a specialist property, commercial law and trust firm that was started in 2006 by Andrew Kennedy.

Andrew wanted to create a legal business that takes a people-friendly attitude to helping solve clients’ problems and provide solutions to their needs.

Our focus is on meeting and talking to you about the work we do for you as much as possible so that you are an integral part of your solution. We feel that there is a limited long-term benefit to you if you do not understand what it is we are doing for you as your legal advisors.

To that end, our team is made up of multi-disciplined people who can provide a well-rounded approach to meeting your needs. Andrew’s membership of both the New Zealand Law Society and New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants enables us to provide business and commercial advice to you which will be congruent with your accounting and other professional advisors. We find that this can be a significant benefit for you as our client – being conversant in law, accounting and tax.

 

How we work

  • Foresight
  • Wisdom
  • Discretion
Prudentia Law’s legal team is focused on providing specialised property, commercial and trust advice to meet each customer’s unique needs and requirements. We have multi-disciplinary team members with legal, tax and accounting qualifications for assisting with clients’ total personal and business legal issues.

Meet the Legal Team

Andrew Kennedy
Andrew KennedyPrincipal and Founder
Qualified lawyer and accountant. Principal of Prudentia Law. Previous specialisation in Tax Consultancy. Currently dealing with property, commercial, trust and business legal advice. I pride myself on the ability to communicate with clients in a fashion they understand.
Alexandra Murray
Alexandra MurraySolicitor
Alex graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 2019 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing and international business. She was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in March 2020. Alex began working at Prudentia Law in late October 2023 and is dedicated to providing comprehensive legal solutions tailored to individual clients’ needs.
Claire Smith
Claire SmithPersonal Assistant to Principal
Claire is Andrew Kennedy’s Personal Assistant and also our Trust Maintenance Co-Ordinator.
Cristy Kennedy
Cristy KennedyAdministration
Cristy manages all aspects of administration and client billing and accounts.
Christine Thomas
Christine ThomasAdministration
Christine manages administration relating to trustee resolutions and deeds.

Our Offer to You

We understand that it is often difficult for new clients to know what to expect from a lawyer when they first come and speak with us. Given this, we are happy to offer a FREE initial half-hour introductory meeting to our new clients if you would like to get to know us first before discussing your legal issues.

This ensures that if you are not 100% comfortable with proceeding to instructing us as your lawyers all you will have spent is your time in discussion with us.

We find that our initial meetings with new clients are a way to get to know you, understand the problems you are trying to fix or goals you are trying to attain, and to gather as much information from you as we can to be able to provide that complete solution you are looking for.

 

 

CONTACT US

Ongoing Support

We are always happy for our clients to call us for quick update telephone calls or queries that can be answered briefly over the phone.
CONTACT US

Customer Service

Our approach to providing quality solutions for our clients is to have as much face-to-face time with our customers as possible. We endeavour to have meetings with you to be familiar with the process you can expect right from the start and to ensure you understand all legal documents you are signing.

We also want you to know that our team works together to provide you with the best service we can and that if any issues arise or you have any uncertainty, you can call us to help provide the solution.

We will also endeavour to keep you up-to-date with the progress of your current files by copying you in on correspondence we have with other parties on your behalf and providing you with regular updates on where matters are at.

Demystifying the Law

We believe it is important for clients to understand as clearly as possible all aspects of their legal business. For that reason, we have provided within our Resource Library a detailed summary of numerous legal issues that arise in the trust, property and business realm.

The information is intended to try and give our visitors and customers answers to some of their questions. We do expect however that the information is likely to raise some other questions for you which may not specifically be answered.

The information is meant as a guide only, and should not be relied upon without specific legal advice from a lawyer. To that end, we encourage you to ask one of our expert team members for a meeting, to provide you with tailored advice that you deserve. 

You will also find a Glossary of legal terminology throughout this website as well as on the menu. When you hover over a word, this will highlight the definition of that term. 

 

 

  • The Settlor

    The SETTLOR is the person or persons who initiates the TRUST. In a standard FAMILY TRUST situation this would normally be the husband and wife,

  • The Trustees

    The TRUSTEES are the legal owners of the TRUST'S ASSETS and are the people who decide what happens with those assets. They make the day-to-day

  • Independent Trustees

    We recommend that every Trust has an independent Trustee who is someone who does not derive a benefit from the assets of the Trust, but

  • The Beneficiaries

    The crucial third party to the Trust Deed are the Beneficiaries. These are the group of people who the Trust is formed to benefit over

  • The Appointors

    The Appointors are the persons who hold the Power of Appointment. The Power of Appointment is the power to hire and fire the Trustees. This

  • The Protectors

    A further, but often unutilised, role in a Trust Deed is that of a Protector. The Protector can act in a way similar to an

  • The Trust Deed

    The actual formation of the Trust occurs when you have decided on who will be the parties included as Settlors, Trustees, Beneficiaries, and Appointors. A

  • Transferring Assets into your Trust

    The purpose of forming a Trust for asset protection is for transferring your assets into it so that they are no longer in your personal name. We

  • Trustee Duties

    As a Trustee you need to be aware that you are liable for your actions in respect of the assets of the Trust and can

  • Business Structuring

    If you are about to embark on your first journey into running a business, then one of the first things that you need to consider

  • What Assets should be transferred?

    Given that a Trust provides asset protection by way of people gifting their assets to the Trustees, it is important to consider what actual assets

  • Contract Considerations

    Price – What price are you wanting to offer?What is the price made up of? The purchase of the tangible fixed assets provides you as

What our clients say

Thankyou Andrew for your expertise, excellent and effective advice, your thorough investigations when needed and expert legal support going through Employer issues.
Throughout the recent sale of our property, thank you for finalising all the complexities needed to provide us with a service beyond what others provide, and we are so very grateful to have been able to receive our completed settlement funds the day of settlement.
We continue to recommend you to our family and friends and they have benefitted from your advice and support.
H Thompson
I can’t thank Prudentia enough. I have always fought my own battles but was way out of my depth on this one and appreciate the integrity and skill Brendan and Andrew brought to the meeting. I wish you all at Prudentia Law a happy and most prosperous year. Be assured, I would definitely consult Prudentia if I needed any legal representation in the future.
Kathy R