What is a statute of limitations?
My father died 20 years ago without leaving a will. My brother handled his estate and didn't give me a cent. Is it too late to doing anything about it?
I lent some money to a friend several years ago. He’s never paid me back. Can I still chase him to repay it?
What is a statute of limitations?
A statute of limitations is a piece of law that prescribes the time you have in which to file a lawsuit or claim, after the event that your claim relates to occurred.
For example, if you want to sue someone for breaching a contract they have with you, the claim must be made within a certain number of years after that breach happened. If you try to sue them after this period of time has passed and they raise this point, your claim won't be heard in court.
The length of time you have to file your claim after the event depends on:
- the type of lawsuit
- the circumstances of the lawsuit and claim
- where the claim is filed
In New Zealand the Limitation Act 1950 applies to claims on events that took place on or before 31 December 2010, while the Limitation Act 2010 applies to claims on events that took place after that date.
Under the 2010 Act, if you are claiming a sum of money, you must bring the claim within 6 years of the event your claim is based on. The time period may be extended if, for example, you didn’t know (and could have known) about the event in question in the initial 6 year period or if you were incapacitated during that period..
A court is able to order that no limitation period applies in cases of abuse and personal injury caused by gradual process, disease or infection. Different time periods and rules relating to when you start to calculate time periods apply to claims to recover land, goods or under a will. There is no time limit in bringing a ‘judicial review’ claim against a government or public body and there are special time and limitation periods that relate to a range of claims, including insurance, accident compensation, trusts and under a number of specific statutes like the Commerce and Fair Trading Acts.
My father died 20 years ago without leaving a will. My brother handled his estate and didn't give me a cent. Is it too late to doing anything about it?
You can see if any other family members know what happened to the estate. After gathering more information, you can talk to a lawyer about what’s going on, and they might be able to help you. This situation is explained more in the Family & Personal section.
I lent some money to a friend several years ago. He’s never paid me back. Can I still chase him up to repay it?
If you made an informal agreement, then it’s up to you to decide how long your friend has in which to repay you. Was the money lent to him on the clear understanding that he would have to pay you back? Was there any agreement about the timeframe in which he had to repay you? Have you asked him about the debt since? You must do something to keep the debt ‘alive’, otherwise the friend may think you have written it off.
In general, if the debt is older than 6 years, you can't take him to court over it, unless:
- a court has ordered your friend to pay, or
- your friend has paid a portion of the debt within the last 6 years, or
- your friend admits in writing that they owe the money.
The 6-year period begins from when your friend borrowed the money, or when they last made a part-payment.
You should seek legal advice regarding your specific situation.
Also see our Money section for more information about debt recovery.