Harmony Law Limited — Tauranga
When you engage Harmony Law you deal with me, Hamish Senior — a family lawyer practising since 1999. My focus is simple: to get you through a difficult time with as little harm, and as little courtroom, as possible.
Legal aid Lead Provider — free or subsidised representation may be available. See if you qualify →
Family Law
Family disputes are stressful enough without having to decode the legal system on your own. Whatever the situation, the first step is the same: a clear-eyed conversation about where you stand and what your options are.
Disagreements over day-to-day care, contact arrangements, or a breakdown in communication with the other parent.
What I do: negotiate parenting arrangements, prepare and file parenting order applications, and represent you through every stage of the Family Court process.
Relocation, schooling, medical care, religion — the big decisions where guardians must agree but cannot.
What I do: advise on your position, seek resolution directly with the other guardian, and apply to the Court for a direction where needed.
Whether you need protection, or an order has been sought against you, these applications move fast and the stakes are high.
What I do: apply for protection and occupation orders, defend applications, and apply to discharge orders that are no longer needed.
When Oranga Tamariki becomes involved with your children, you need someone in your corner who knows the process.
What I do: advise you at every stage of care and protection proceedings and represent you in dealings with Oranga Tamariki and the Court.
A family member who can no longer make decisions for themselves needs someone appointed to act for them.
What I do: prepare and file applications for welfare guardian and property manager appointments under the PPPR Act.
Most people aren't. Family situations rarely arrive with a label attached.
Call me on 07 394 4209 and describe what is happening — I will tell you plainly whether it is something I can help with, and what the first step would be.
How I run family court cases.
Litigation is slow, expensive and traumatic — and most family disputes do not need a defended hearing to be resolved. I work to settle: negotiation, roundtable meetings, and the Court's own settlement processes. I appear with you at directions conferences, settlement conferences and other court events as your case requires.
The rare case that can only be decided at a defended hearing deserves a specialist courtroom advocate. As a rule I do not conduct defended hearings myself — I brief independent counsel for the hearing and stay on as your lawyer: preparing the case, instructing counsel, and standing beside you throughout. You are never handed off.
Legal Aid
Harmony Law Limited is a Lead Provider for family and civil legal aid. Depending on your income and circumstances, legal aid may cover some or all of the cost of your family law case. When you contact me, checking whether you qualify is one of the first things I will do — and I will handle the application for you.
Wills, EPAs & Estates
Most people put this off for years. A clear will is a gift to your family — most inheritance disputes begin with a vague or missing one. In practice it is usually straightforward: a focused meeting, documents drafted to fit your family's actual situation, and signed copies held safely. Done once, done right.
A will that says clearly who inherits, who is in charge, and who cares for your children — so your family is not left guessing, or litigating.
What I do: advise on your situation, draft the will, and see it properly signed and witnessed.
If illness or injury took away your ability to decide, who would manage your money and your care? An EPA answers that in advance.
What I do: prepare property and personal care & welfare EPAs, explain them as the Act requires, and complete the certification.
When someone dies, the family cannot deal with the estate until the High Court issues a grant — probate if there is a will, letters of administration if there is not.
What I do: prepare and file the application, obtain the grant, and advise executors and administrators on their duties from there.
No hourly-rate surprises. You know the full cost before any work starts.
| Per person | Couples — per person | |
|---|---|---|
| Will | $400.00 | $300.00 |
| EPAs (property + personal care & welfare) | $500.00 | $400.00 |
| Will + EPAs package | $900.00 | $700.00 |
How it works
Call 07 394 4209 or send an enquiry. Tell me briefly what is happening — a few sentences is enough.
I go through your situation with you properly. You leave knowing where you stand, what your options are, and whether legal aid applies.
Before any work starts, you know exactly what I will do, what it will cost, and what happens next. Then I get on with it.
About
I chose the name Harmony Law deliberately. After more than twenty-five years in family law, I still believe that even in the hardest conflict, harmony — or something close to it — is usually within reach, and always worth seeking.
Families matter. I know — not only as a lawyer — how hard separation is. When a relationship ends, what happens next — for the children and for the parents — shapes lives for years. I do this work because I am a calm person in difficult circumstances, and because I have seen what it means to a family when someone steady is walking them through: listening properly, understanding what actually matters to them, and settling what can be settled instead of fighting everything.
That is also why I keep this firm deliberately small. You deal with me directly — the person who takes your first call is the person who knows your whole story.
I have practised since 1999, with commerce and law degrees from Victoria University of Wellington — first in firms around New Zealand, then my own practice in Levin, and Harmony Law in Tauranga since 2016.
Contact
The hardest part is the first call. Whatever the situation, you will get a straight answer about whether I can help and what the first step looks like.