Senior Associate

Lauren Sieprath

JD / BA
Profile
Lauren is a Senior Associate in the Private Wealth team.

Her experience across a wide range of private wealth matters ensures that the advice she provides takes a holistic approach to help her clients achieve their goals.

Lauren began her career in Sydney and London, where she gained extensive experience advising across a broad range of legal areas, including:

  • estate, succession and wealth planning
  • trust establishment, structuring and governance
  • relationship property
  • asset restructuring and related corporate and commercial matters.

She is also experienced in administering high-value estates with assets in multiple jurisdictions.

Lauren has worked with a variety of clients including UHNW individuals and families, family offices, professionals and business owners.   

Lauren is client-focussed and enjoys building collaborative relationships with her clients and their professional advisers to provide comprehensive, quality and practical advice that is tailored to their individual circumstances.

Lauren is a full member of STEP (TEP) and a member of the New Zealand Estate and Taxation Planning Council.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Lauren was an elite Water Polo player playing for teams in the US, Australia and Brazil and represented New Zealand at three World Championships.

Outside of work, Lauren enjoys keeping fit and spending time with her young family, especially down at the beach.

 

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Experience

Examples of work completed by Lauren include:

  • Prepared estate planning documents for a high-profile individual with an estimated worth in excess of USD2 billion
  • Worked closely with the family office of a UHNW family with an estimated worth in excess of USD36 billion. Assisted with asset management and acquisition
  • Assisted with the complex restructure of assets worth AUD20 million, including variation and splitting of existing structures
  • Administered high-value, complex estates with assets in other jurisdictions including France, Switzerland, Israel, South Africa, Turkey and Australia
  • Prepared relationship property and property sharing agreements for an UHNW individual with an estimated worth of NZD1 billion
  • Prepared a family agreement in relation to the management of estate assets worth over AUD20 million to be held for future generations
  • Developed succession plans for family business owners that considered future ownership, family involvement, management and tax
  • Prepared wills for individuals with complex family relationships and concerns for vulnerable beneficiaries
Recommendations
Media
Publications

Insights & Opinion / Lauren Sieprath

Are trustees bound to relationship property agreements?
In Rawson v Prescott [2024] NZHC 1919, the High Court addressed a dispute involving trust property and a relationship property agreement. Mr RR, trustee of the GR Family Trust, sought summary judgment...
10.09.2024 Posted in Private Wealth
property division concept
Supreme Court unanimously dismisses relationship property appeal. 
Last year we published an article titled The curious case of Sutton v Bell – How your de facto relationship status can impact your ability to restructure your property on the Court of Appeal decisio...
16.08.2023 Posted in Private Wealth & Property
Money Growth People Wide BW
Australia’s immigration announcement may have tax consequences for New Zealander’s living in Australia
In April, the Australian Government announced a direct pathway to citizenship for New Zealand citizens who live in Australia for four years or more and meet certain requirements.  While the announcem...
12.05.2023 Posted in Private Wealth
Seeing Green – Ethical investing for charities and trusts
In the wake of the recent catastrophic weather events here in New Zealand and the latest release of the alarming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, we consider a recent United Kingdom j...
11.04.2023 Posted in Climate Change & Private Wealth
Family Hands Paper Dolls Wide BW
Removing a child as a beneficiary of a trust: a breach of fiduciary duty?
In Pollock v Pollock [2022] NZCA 331, the Court of Appeal had to consider whether trustees owed fiduciary duties to a beneficiary when exercising the power to remove him as a beneficiary.  Background...
14.03.2023 Posted in Private Wealth
The curious case of Sutton v Bell – How your de facto relationship status can impact your ability to restructure your property
It may come as a surprise that how you deal with your assets, even before you are in a de facto relationship, can impact your property rights.  In Sutton v Bell [2021] NZCA 645, the Court of Appeal h...
15.12.2022 Posted in Private Wealth & Property
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