Is Family Protection a Question of Moral Duty?

Abstract

The Law Commission undertook a review of succession law in New Zealand at the time of writing. Whether the concept of "moral duty" is a satisfactory basis for determinations under the Family Protection Act 1955 was one of the issues the Commission is addressing in the context of the succession project. This article is based on a paper written by the author for the Law Commission. It examines the rationale behind the introduction of the original family protection legislation and the development of the concept of moral duty in this context. The article discusses a number of reasons for the author's conclusion that the use of the concept of moral obligation should be abandoned and replaced by a more clearly defined test based on dependence and need.