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keithmacrae

I am asking a question on behalf of my daughter, she has/had a vehicle that was left behind at the end of a failed relationship and went to retrieve said vehicle but found the x had transfered the ownership into his name, she signed no transfer, is this legal? I've had conflicting answers to this
Thanks for your time.
Regards
Keith

ABayliss

Having a name on the registration document does not constitute "ownership", despite people frequently referring to the papers in NZ as Ownership Papers - which they are not.
The way the NZTA system is set up means that if someone applies to transfer registration into their name, the system then generates a letter which is sent to the current registered person, advising them of the change. If nothing is done, the registration is transferred.
In this instance, as your daughter was presumably residing at the same address, she did not receive the letter, so the registration is transferred.
So, while this can occur and is perfectly legal from a motor vehicle registration transfer perspective (had the ex-partner been the legal owner), it is not legal for your daughter's ex-partner to acquire the vehicle if he doesn't own it, just like any other asset where the relationship property act is concerned.
Certainly, if your daughter is the legal owner of the vehicle, she should engage a lawyer to seek recovery.
But to reiterate, the name on the papers does not necessarily mean that person owns the vehicle.