What happens next

When you've submitted your application to Māori Land Court, they'll send you:

• a letter to tell you that your application has been accepted
• a receipt for the $60 application fee
• the name and contact details for your Māori Land Court case manager.

You'll get these about 2-4 weeks after you've submitted your application.

Succession hearings at the Māori Land Court

Researching your application 

The Māori Land Court will assign your application to a case manager. They’ll research the information you included in the application form to find details of all the shares and land blocks your whanaunga owned. How long this takes depends on how straightforward your application is. If your whanaunga held interests in multiple blocks, it could take some time to track down all the information the Māori Land Court hold about them. 

The Māori Land Court will also contact Te Tumu Paeroa — the Māori Trustee — to see if there’s any money (known as dividends) owed to the estate.

All the information your case manager finds, along with the information included in your original application, will be pulled together into what’s known as a draft submission. Your case manager will send it to a Māori Land Court judge for review.

Te Tumu Paeroa

Maori incorporations

Getting a succession hearing date

When your case manager has finished their research, they’ll confirm a date with you for a succession hearing at the court. They’ll send you:

• a letter — known as a court notice — confirming the date and time of your hearing, and
• a copy of the draft submission they’ve prepared.

You’ll get these in the post at least 2 weeks before your hearing.

Check the spelling of the names of the people mentioned in the draft submission carefully when you get it. This information will be formally entered into the Māori Land Court's records after your succession. If you realise any names are spelled wrong later, you'll need to apply to the Māori Land Court to have them changed.