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Commercial Leases > Deed Of Assignment/Transfer Of Lease Review

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Frequently asked questions

What is a deed of assignment.

A Deed of Assignment legally transfers your obligations under a lease to another party, so you won’t need to deal with a lease that is no longer yours. This could occur in the context of selling your business, or if you simply want to exit your lease and you’ve found a party that is willing to take on your existing one.

Why should I have my Deed Of Assignment reviewed by a lawyer?

A Deed of Assignment will cover some key terms, such as the consent of the landlord. It’s important that a lawyer reviews this document to ensure that these terms are included and to advise you on any legal issues that may appear in your Agreement.

How much does this package cost?

This package costs $900 + GST. It includes a review of the Deed of Assignment as well as phone consultations with one of our lawyers who can advise you on the relevant legal issues.

What sort of legal services does NZ Legal offer?

We are property law specialists and leasing is our bread and butter.

Who are NZ Legal lawyers?

NZ Legal is one of New Zealand’s leading property law practices. With significant experience in leasing transactions for for both landlords and tenants, our Founding Director Adam Siddall has a passion for helping clients achieve commercially focused outcomes.

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Sections 129 and 165: Changing the Ownership of Patents or Patent applications

The Patent Examination Manual

In this practice guideline.

This document provides guidelines on ownership changes of patent applications or granted patents under the Patents Act 2013. It discusses the types of change that can be requested through the ‘Change ownership’ function and provides detail on what documentation may be needed.

1. Introduction

1. Ownership changes are where the ownership of the patent application or granted patent is changing from one party to another party or where two or more parties have merged or amalgamated into another party.  Change ownership types include:

Substitution of applicants in a patent application

Registering a change in ownership of a granted patent (or share in a granted patent).

• Amalgamation/merger of companies or entities
• Transfers resulting from the death of an owner/applicant
• Changes in Ownership made in the PCT application at WIPO.

2. For specific information on how to request a change of ownership, please visit our Maintain a Patent page.

Maintain a patent

2. Assignments

3. When a patent application is assigned to a new owner, the new owner or their agent must submit a change of ownership request via our case management system to substitute the applicant(s) before the grant of the patent. If the previous owner or their agent submits the change of ownership request, the request will be declined.

4. The request must meet the requirements of section 129 of the Patents Act 2013 and regulation 122 of the Patents Regulations 2014. If the supplied documentation mentions section 165 and/or regulation 122 then provided the change of ownership request is made by the new owner or their agent and it meets the requirements of section 129 and regulation 122, the request will be accepted.

Section 129 of the Patents Act 2013

Regulation 122 of the Patents Regulations 2014

5. If there are 2 or more applicants (co-owners) then consent under section 129 is not required. This was confirmed in the notes from the Patent Technical Focus Group meeting of 9 February 2016.  

Patents Technical Focus Group meeting, 9 February 2016

6. The requirements of regulation 122 may be met by the information recorded in the change of ownership request in our case management system and/or by the documents provided with this request. For example, if an assignment or agreement is supplied, none of the particulars, dates, or parties of the assignment are required.

7. When a granted application is assigned to a new owner, either the new owner or the previous owner must submit a change of ownership request via our case management system to register a change in ownership. The maker of the change of ownership request must identify whether the request is made under section 165(1) (assignee) or 165(2) (assignor).

8. The request should meet the requirements of section 165 and regulation 124.

Section 165 of the Patents Act 2013

Regulation 124 of the Patents Regulations 2014

9. If there are 2 or more patentees (co-owners) then consent of all the patentees, except the assignor(s), is required to assign a share of the patent in line with section 24 of the Patents Act 2013.

Section 24 of the Patents Act 2013

10. The requirements of regulation 124 may be met by the information recorded in the change of ownership request in our case management system and/or by the documents provided with the request. For example, if an assignment or agreement is supplied, none of the particulars, dates, or parties of the assignment are required.

11. Please note the Office accepts redacted versions of documents, if the parties, intent of the agreement and the patents being assigned are clear.

3. Changes that result in a transfer of rights

12. For an amalgamation or a merger that results in a transfer of rights, a request for a change of ownership should be made by the new owner.

13. A copy of the Certificate of Amalgamation or Merger issued by the relevant Registrar of Companies as evidence of the amalgamation or merger will be sufficient for the Office to accept the change of ownership request. However, in some cases the change of ownership will be on the basis of a deed of assignment, sale and purchase agreement or similar.

14. For an amalgamation or a merger which does not result in a transfer of rights see “Change a name or address” below.

15. Where a legal entity is changing, for example changing a company from a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to an incorporated company (Inc.), then this type of change falls under a change of ownership.

4. Transfers resulting from the death of an owner/applicant

16. Where the transfer occurs as a result of the death of the owner, the supplied documentation will relate to the probate or letters of administration.

17. If probate or letters of administration are issued:

• For granted patents: the request should be considered under section 165(1) as a transmission/operation of law/other means.
• For patent applications: the application should be considered under section 130(1). The applicant is substituted by their personal representative.

18. If probate or letters of administration are not issued:

• The application or patent can be transferred under section 167 and regulation 125 applies.

Section 167 of the Patents Act 2013

Regulation 125 of the Patents Regulations 2014

19. When an inventor of a PCT application is deceased, WIPO marks the inventor as “Deceased”.

5. PCT change made at WIPO

20. Where a change of ownership has been made at WIPO, then the change notification (form IB/306) should be submitted as part of the request. The form IB/306 is considered sufficient evidence of the change of ownership. In this case the request does not need to meet formal requirements.

6. General aspects of change of ownership requests

21. If the request is filed for both granted patents and applications, the request can be validated if the minimum requirements for each are met.

Documents and statements   

22. Each change of ownership request should have a statement clearly showing how the new owner is entitled to the patent (or share) or to proceed as the applicant (or co-applicant). The supplied documentation must identify how they entitle the new owner to the patent rights and should be consistent with this statement. 

23. Examples of suitable documents are a Deed of Assignment, Contract or Sale and Purchase Agreement, Statutory Declarations and/or Court Orders. Sometimes the supplied document can be a document confirming what was in the assignment document relating to the requested change. The Office normally will consider this type of document as sufficient evidence that transfer of the patent rights has occurred.

24. If the document is executed outside New Zealand, the Office must be satisfied that the document is legitimate and corresponds to the applicant’s statements regarding how the document entitles the new owner to the patent rights. 

25. The name and/or position of the signatories of the supplied document should be provided within the document or within the statement. 

26. Applicants should not rely on documents provided in a previous (declined) or related validated task as each request is treated on its own in the case management facility. All relevant documents should be provided with each request. The Office accepts redacted versions of documents as long as the parties, intent of the agreement and the patents being assigned are clear.

Trusts:  

27. Section 197(3) provides that:

No notice of any trust may be entered in the patents register, and the Commissioner is not affected by any notice of that kind.

28. Any reference to an owner acting as trustee constitutes a notice of a trust and is a breach of section 197(3). Pursuant to this section, an application may only be made in the name of a trust where the trust is incorporated (for example under the Charitable Trust Act 1957).

Section 197(3) of the Patents Act 2013 

29. If an application is filed in the name of an unincorporated trust, the application should be made in all of the individual names of the trustees of the trust, as it is the trustee(s) who legally own the property, not the trust itself.

30. Where property is held on trust for someone else, the trustee (as legal owner of the patent or patent application) should be entered as the applicant rather than the beneficiary.

31. For a Patent Cooperation Treaty application designating New Zealand, the reference to an owner acting as a trustee will be allowable.

Statuses 

32. A change of ownership request can only be completed for a patent or patent application with a case status of filed, under examination, accepted or granted. For a patent or patent application under a proceeding, the Hearings Office will be consulted before the change of ownership request is processed. 

33. For a closed provisional patent application, a request for a change in ownership will only be allowed if an identical request for change in ownership is concurrently made or has previously been made to the associated complete patent application. Closed provisional patent applications which do not have an associated completed patent application have no remaining rights and are treated the same as a ceased patent or patent application.

34. Where the change of ownership occurred after a patent has lapsed, the patent must be restored before the change of ownership can be requested. If a change of ownership is requested before the patent is restored, the request will be declined, and the applicant will be asked to request restoration first. The request for restoration must be in the name of the patentee who held the ownership rights at the time of lapse. This also applies for abandoned patent applications.

35. For expired or revoked patents, or withdrawn patent applications, a change of ownership request will only be accepted if the change of ownership occurred before the patent or patent application was ceased.

36. An assignment should be executed in accordance with the legal requirements in that country.

Deeds, and contracts: 

37. A deed should identify the intent of the parties relating to the patent(s) and/or patent application(s) in question and include an effective date for the transfer. 

38. A deed is properly executed in New Zealand if it has been signed by at least one of:

• An individual and the signature witnessed.
• One sole director of a company and the signature witnessed.
• Two or more directors of a company if the company has more than two directors.
• One director/authorised signatory if a company’s constitution allows and the signature witnessed. Any person signing on behalf of the company should be assumed to be authorised in the first instance (Companies Act 180(1)(b) and Property Law Act 13(2) (b) express or implied authority).
• One or more attorneys appointed by a company.

39. A deed may be properly executed outside of New Zealand in accordance with the domestic laws of the country or state of incorporation of the foreign company in question.

40. Specific requirements on witnessing a deed are:

• Witness must not be a party to the deed; and must sign the deed; and
• If the deed was signed in New Zealand, then the name of the city, town, or locality where they ordinarily reside; and their occupation or description should be added.

41. A contract can be any written document provided it meets the requirements of a contract. The contract should:

• Clearly identify the intent of the parties relating to the patent(s) and/or patent application(s) in question; and
• Contain a reference to consideration relating to the transfer or assignment of the patent(s) and/or patent application(s), and
• The date of effect of the agreement; and
• Be signed by both parties.
• If one of the parties is a company the agreement should be signed by:
• A director or, another authorised person.

Under regulation 34 the Address for service requirements for the new owner must be met.

Regulation 34 of the Patents Regulations 2014

7. Authorisations of agent for ownership changes

42. An authorisation of agent is not required for the current agent to record changes of ownership on behalf of the new owner. However, the Commissioner retains the discretion to require an authorisation of agent under certain circumstances.

43. Appropriate authorisation for a change of ownership request where a new agent is going to be the agent on file can either be: 

a) An authorisation of agent form signed by the owner(s) (in line with regulation 40); or

b) An authorisation of agent form signed by the agent, provided it is accompanied by an explicit statement to effect that the agent has been authorised by the owner to act as agent on file for the case in question (in line with the Technical Focus Group meeting of 12 November 2020); or

c) An explicit statement from the agent or the new owner to effect that the agent has been authorised by the owner to act as agent on file for the case in question (in line with the Technical Focus Group meeting of 20 October 2017). This explicit statement can be in the cover letter from the new agent, or it can be a separate email or similar correspondence from either the owner or the new agent.

Regulation 40 of the Patents Regulations 2014

Patents Technical Focus Group meeting, 12 November 2020

Patents Technical Focus Group meeting, 20 October 2017

44. For the options b) and c): The Commissioner may, at their sole discretion, still require an authorisation of agent.

Limited Authorisation / Third party agents 

45. Where the agent is only the agent for the change of ownership request (third party agent), and the original agent is meant to stay the agent on file for a patent or patent application our case management system provides the option of “I am acting on behalf of the owner for this request only”. 

This option will only be visible when all patent(s)/patent applications(s) selected currently have the same Agent(s)/Case Contact(s). 

46. The third-party agent should file the appropriate authorisations with the request for themselves and for the original agent to remain as the agent on file.  

47. Please note that the limited authorisation for the agent to act on behalf of the owner should be for this request only. If it is not clear who is going to be the agent on file, the Office will either contact the agent making the change of ownership request or decline the request.

8. Disputes between parties 

48. Section 28 applies to disputes for inventions made by employees.

Section 28 of the Patents Act 2013

49. Section 131 and regulation 123 apply if the change of ownership request involves a dispute between parties. 

Section 131 of the Patents Act 2013

Regulation 123 of the Patents Regulations 2014

50. Such change of ownership requests are referred to the Hearings Office for consideration.

51. For more information on disputes, please visit our guidelines on Other disputes between parties.

Other disputes between parties – Patents Act 2013

9. Other changes: 

52. When requesting a change of ownership, further additional changes to the name or address may also be included and processed at the same time. However, the Office will decline any change of ownership request that solely involves the correction of an error or a change of name or address

Change a name or address 

53. A change of a patent applicant’s or patentee’s legal name should be made as a change of name in our case management system. For more information on how to change a name of a party, please visit our Maintain a Patent page. 

54. A change of a patent applicant’s or patentee’s address should be made as a change of address in our case management system. For more information on how to change an address of a party, please visit our Maintain a Patent page.

Correction of error 

55. If the change in owner involves a correction of error in the ownership of a patent application or patent, then a correction of error request should be filed. 

56. More information on requesting a correction of error, please visit our Maintain a Patent page.

New Zealand Legislation

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Part 2 General rules relating to dispositions, instruments, transactions, and property

Subpart 1 —deeds, powers of appointment, disclaimers, and powers of attorney, 9 deed must be in writing, executed, and delivered.

A deed must be—

in writing; and

executed in accordance with this section; and

delivered in accordance with this section.

An individual executes a deed if—

he or she signs the deed; and

his or her signature is witnessed in accordance with subsection (7).

A body corporate executes a deed if—

the deed is signed in the name of the body corporate by—

the director of the body corporate if it has only 1 director; or

not fewer than 2 directors of the body corporate if it has 2 or more directors; or

1 director or other person or member of a specified class of person if the body corporate’s constitution authorises a deed to be signed in that way; and

in the case of a deed signed under paragraph (a)(i) or (iii), the signature is witnessed in accordance with subsection (7).

A body corporate executes a deed if it executes the deed as provided in any other enactment relating to the execution of a deed by the body corporate.

A body corporate not incorporated by or under the law of New Zealand may execute a deed other than in accordance with subsections (3) and (4) if the mode of execution would be authorised by the law of the place in which the body corporate is incorporated were the deed executed in that place and governed by that law.

The Crown executes a deed if—

it is signed on behalf of the Crown by 1 or more Ministers of the Crown or other officers or employees of the Crown of Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand having express or implied authority to sign the deed on behalf of the Crown; and

in the case of a deed signed by only 1 person under paragraph (a), the signature is witnessed in accordance with subsection (7).

must not be a party to the deed; and

must sign the deed; and

if signing in New Zealand, must add—

the name of the city, town, or locality where he or she ordinarily resides; and

his or her occupation or description.

No particular form of words is required for the purposes of subsection (7)(c).

A deed is binding when—

delivered by—

the person to be bound by it; or

another person having express or implied authority to deliver it on behalf of the person intended to be bound by it; and

it is apparent from the circumstances that the person to be bound by the deed intended to be bound by it; or

if the binding force of the deed is subject to the fulfilment of 1 or more conditions, when each condition is fulfilled.

Compare: 1952 No 51 ss 4 , 5

• The Parliamentary Counsel Office
• www.govt.nz

Selling a Debt: The Legalities, The Contract and the Forbidden

Many businesses struggle with bad debts. Unpaid debts can financially cripple a business, and the time and/or cost of recovering that debt may exceed the value of the debt itself. Often creditors take the risk of paying lawyers and/or debt collectors a significant amount of fees without the assurance of success.

If creditors are not paid, they face paying debt collectors and/or lawyers to collect the debt. But here is an alternative, that is to both write off the debt (and get the tax advantage of doing so) and avoid legal costs (but still get all the advantages of using lawyers).

The solution is through the sale of debt to us. At 90 Nine, when we buy a debt, we engage specialist lawyers to collect the debt and use the Court process to do so. We completely fund this process at no risk to the creditor.

While a relatively new debt enforcement process for New Zealanders, debt buying has been common in Europe and the USA for a while. Debt buying is an arrangement where a debt is purchased from the original creditor by a debt buyer for a percentage of the face value of the debt, based on the potential collectability of the debt.

From a legal perspective, sale of debt is achieved through an assignment.

The assignment of debt

The idea that a contractual right cannot be transferred is an archaic view that has been rejected by equity.

In the 17th century, the English Court of Chancery recognised and enforced the assignment of a contractual right, including the right to receive a debt.

Even though a right to receive a debt is intangible, the Courts regarded a debt as property and an asset capable of being dealt with like any other asset, including being assigned.

The English laws have consequently been adopted in New Zealand and the right to assign “a thing in action” (i.e. a contractual right) is presently recognised by Subpart 5 of the Property Law Act 2007 (“ the Act ”).

Section 48 of the Act expressly confirms that the ‘thing in action’ includes a right to receive payment of a debt.

Section 50 of the Act provides that a thing in action can be subject to an absolute assignment assuming the proper method and form of assignment is satisfied. This means that personal rights to property such as the right to receive a debt may be assigned from the original creditor to the debt buyer.

When assigning a debt, all rights and remedies of the original creditor over the debt are transferred to the assignee. It is not necessary to provide valuable consideration for the assignment meaning that debts can be bought for zero dollars. Further, it is possible to assign an amount or debt that will or may be payable in the future.

The laws of equity in relation to assignment continue operating concurrently with the statutory provisions and can be of benefit in limited circumstances where the statutory requirements of assignment have not been satisfied. However, practically, enforcing an equitable assignment might be more challenging, and for this reason, it is always advisable to assign a debt through statutory assignment under the Act.

Proper method and form of assignment

Under s 50 of the Act, for an absolute assignment of a thing in action to occur, at the minimum, the assignment needs to be in writing and signed by the assignor.

In addition to the minimum requirements, we recommend the best practice is to assign a debt through a deed, to reduce risk of future challenge to the assignment. A deed is a legal document which, in accordance with s 9 of the Act, needs to:

• Be in writing;
• Be signed by all parties;
• Have signatures witnessed in accordance with the Act (unless the party is a body corporate with no fewer than 2 directors);
• Include the locality of the place of residence and the occupation or description of the witnesses.

The deed will become binding once the above is done and when it is delivered by the person to be bound by it or their agent. This can be done through physical delivery or through fax/email.

Generally, the deed should make it clear who the parties are and what it is that is being assigned with as much certainty and clarity as possible.

Pursuant to s 51 of the Act, once a debt has been assigned, the notice of assignment needs to be provided to the debtor. That means informing the debtor, preferably in writing, that the debt is now payable to the debt buyer. If actual notice is not given to the debtor and the debtor pays the debt to the original creditor, this discharges the debtor’s liability to pay to the debt buyer. Although, the original creditor must now pay those funds to the debt buyer. In the case of joint debtors, only one needs to be given actual notice of the assignment.

Rights that cannot be assigned

Some contractual rights are incapable of assignment, whether under equity or under the Act.

A common example of such right is the right pursuant to the contract which expressly prohibits the assignment, either entirely or without the consent of all parties.

Another right that cannot be assigned is the bare right to a cause of action, which is not attached to a property interest such as a debt.

The Act addresses the assignment of rights, including right to a debt, but not the assignment of the burden of obligation. Assignment of contractual liabilities is generally not possible, unless limited exceptions apply.

Subletting vs Assigning Your Lease in NZ

By Grace Holden

Updated on March 19, 2021 Reading time: 5 minutes

This article meets our strict editorial principles. Our lawyers, experienced writers and legally trained editorial team put every effort into ensuring the information published on our website is accurate. We encourage you to seek independent legal advice. Learn more .

Subletting Your Lease

Assigning your lease, differences between subletting and assigning your lease, key takeaways, frequently asked questions.

When you are renting out a room in a commercial space, you may not always want to spend the full length of the lease at the property. You may need to move your business to a new premise. Regardless, it can be frustrating to pay for a space that you are not currently using. To avoid this, it is common for people to either sublet or assign their lease. This article will detail the difference between subletting and assigning your lease in New Zealand.

Subletting is when you, as the tenant of a commercial space, move out of that space and rent it out to someone else for a fixed period. This person or business will be the sublessee or subtenant. Under this agreement, you are now the landlord to the sublessee. 

However, your original lease with the landlord and the obligations you have taken on in that tenancy agreement continue. Your contract with your landlord will oblige you to pay rent on time and look after the house. If your sublessee does not pay rent or damages the property, the landlord can come to you for payment. 

To sublet your lease, you must first get the landlord’s permission . You must look through your lease agreement before subletting your room or space. This is because your agreement may prohibit subleases.

If you do sublet without your landlord’s permission, or despite a clause in your agreement prohibiting subletting, you may be fined or risk eviction.  

When you assign or transfer your lease to another person or business (the assignee), you are replaced as the tenant. The assignee is taking on your obligations for the duration of the lease term. This includes the responsibility to pay rent and observe all other terms of the lease. However, this new tenant is not entering into a new lease. They are taking on your liability as the tenant under the current lease. 

An assignment can occur through a range of ways, depending on the kind of lease you have. The most common way you can assign your lease is through a deed of assignment. This deed will be a written document containing the assignee’s obligations and the date that the assignment is to occur. From this date onwards, you, as the original tenant, are no longer responsible for the tenancy. However, if you still owe money to the landlord, you must pay this. 

The current landlord, the tenant wishing to assign their lease, the assignee and any other tenants of that property must sign the deed of assignment. The deed will also contain the standard terms of the lease. If you do not get your landlord’s written consent, you cannot assign your lease and responsibilities.

It is best practice to read your lease before assigning it to another person or business, as it may contain a term that prohibits assignment. 

1. Your Position When Subletting and Assigning Your Lease

There is a difference between your position after subletting in comparison to after assigning your lease. 

After subletting, you remain as a tenant to the property. This means that you can return to the property once the sublease ends. In conjunction with this, you take on the position as a landlord to the sublessee. On the other hand, after assignment, you are no longer a tenant to that property and are replaced by the assignee. 

2. Your Obligations  When Subletting and Assigning Your Lease

Under an assignment, as you have been replaced as a tenant by the assignee, you are no longer required to pay rent or fulfil any other obligations that you had under your lease. These obligations have been assigned to the assignee. 

In contrast, subletting your room or space does not discharge your responsibilities under your lease. Your responsibilities as a tenant, such as keeping the property clean and orderly, continue. You may still be required to pay rent if your sublessee fails to do so, or pay for any damage done to the property by the sublessee. This is why it is essential to make sure you find someone responsible and dependable to sublet your space.  

When you sublet your lease, you are renting out your space to another business whilst upholding your responsibilities as a tenant. By entering into a deed of assignment, you transfer the obligations you had under your lease to a new tenant.

Before subletting or assigning your lease, it is vital that you first look through your lease and ensure that no clause would prevent you from doing so. For both residential and commercial leases, it is also crucial for both causes of action to get written consent from your landlord. 

If you need any help with assigning or subletting your lease, contact LegalVision’s tenancy lawyers on 0800 005 570 or complete the form on this page.

When you assign a lease, you assign your rights and obligations under that lease to another person and their business.

There is no difference between an assignment and transfer of a lease. Both describe the transfer of a tenant’s rights and obligations under their lease to another party.

Under an assignment, you are transferring your obligations under a lease to a new business. However, when you sublease, you are merely renting out the premises to another business. You still maintain your obligations as a tenant under that lease.

A lease can be assigned to another business if a clause does not prohibit it, and you have the consent of your landlord.

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New Zealand: IAG no longer accepting any Deeds of Assignment to transfer insurance claims

Over the past 6 years it had become usual practice that EQC and private insurance claims were assigned to the purchaser upon a sale if the parties both agreed. Previously private insurers had been happy to allow the assignment of these claims provided a valid Deed of Assignment was entered into by the parties.

We have touched on this in our August newsletter , but it is important that you are aware of the developments in this area. In our experience it is now uncommon for most private insurers to accept Deeds of Assignment for the residual benefits of claims that have previously been settled. We are also aware that different insurers are taking different positions as to whether they will allow the assignment of claims which are still open.

IAG in particular has now made a business decision to no longer accept any Deeds of Assignment that intend to transfer claim entitlements to the property's new owners. This will of course have a major bearing on how you, as agents, will prepare contracts and market properties.

When you are tasked with marketing a property that has an IAG claim (whether the claim has been settled or is still open), you will now need to be aware that that it will not be possible for the vendor to assign the IAG claim to the new owners. IAG will not accept whatever assignment is presented to them even if the vendor has represented to the purchaser that an assignment would be possible.

If the property is insured through an insurer other than IAG then it is important that the vendor obtains their insurer's consent to assign the insurance claim(s) before the vendor makes any promises to the purchaser.

Put simply, our view is that the default position should be that a claim cannot be assigned unless the vendor has obtained the written consent of their insurer.

Accordingly, it is also important that purchasers and vendors are also aware of this from the outset so that there are no false expectations, particularly if someone is under the assumption they can rely on the claim going forward to fix a driveway, for example. If the parties' expectations are clear at the outset then you can avoid a messy situation where a purchaser discovers they can't in fact obtain rights to a claim they expected to receive.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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