Court of Appeal decision has implications for family-assisted property purchases.
New Zealand's Court of Appeal has confirmed that money parents give toward an adult child's property purchase is presumed to be a gift rather than a loan or trust arrangement, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Parents lose bid to reclaim investment property
The case, Liao v Liao [2026] NZCA 250, centred on a Glen Innes, Auckland investment property purchased by Pei-Ya Liao in 2012, when she was 30.
Her parents contributed $52,050, roughly 10% of the purchase price, with Liao funding the remainder through savings and a bank loan secured against the property and another she already owned. Years later, her parents asked her to transfer the property to them, arguing it had always been intended to be theirs. Liao refused, and her parents took the matter to court, claiming she held the property on trust for them.
The High Court ruled the contribution was a gift, and the Court of Appeal upheld that finding, dismissing the parents' appeal and ordering them to pay their daughter's costs.
Presumption of advancement remains intact
At the heart of the case was whether the long-standing legal presumption of advancement, which treats money given by parents to their children as a gift unless evidence shows otherwise, still applies to adult, financially independent children in New Zealand.
The parents argued the presumption shouldn't extend to adult children, or should only apply to those who are not financially independent. The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding no basis to depart from established precedent.
The court stated the presumption "reflects the unique relationship between parent and child and the fact that the emotional ties underpinning that relationship endure regardless of age," adding that "it is the uniqueness of the relationship that justifies the presumption that parents who advance money to their children can be assumed, absent contrary evidence, to have intended to make a gift of that money."
What it means for advisers
The ruling is a timely reminder for advisers working with clients receiving deposit assistance from family.
A OneChoice Kiwi Housing Trends survey published in May found 48% of first-home buyers needed financial help from family to enter the property market, underlining how many clients could be affected by how the presumption of gift applies by default.
Families wanting a contribution treated as a loan, or an arrangement giving parents an ongoing interest in the property, need clear evidence of that intention from the outset — the ruling confirms that without it, the law will presume a gift.
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