Earlier this year, a Christchurch businessman was found borrowing millions of dollars against his family trusts for his clothing company - racking up a $3-million dollar spend.

His sister prompted legal action, and two homes had to be sold as collateral.

But that brings up a question - what can we leave behind for our children and family that won't just be squandered or swindled?

Trusts and inheritance is a something most families will have to deal with when older-relatives pass, so how assured can we be that assets are protected?

Managing Director for New Zealand Family Trust Servicers, Janet Xuccoa joins Tim Beveridge for Smart Money...

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This week's budget announcement had a focus on sorting out the books, and no straight sugar hits for individuals.
Infrastructure, healthcare and education seemed to be the clear priority of our fiscal plan, but three relief for the cost-of-living pressure many face.

Along with that, council rates have gone up for Auckland and the South Island's West Coast, and the Reserve Bank's signalled that there will be an increase to the OCR shortly - so the period we've seen of low interest rates on a mortgage is coming to an end.

So how can we prepare ourselves for a toughening economy? Was it good that we didn't have any government handouts?

Managing Director for the Private Office - Nick Crawford - joins Tim Beveridge for Smart Money...

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Retirement is the time most people dream of, the days where you no longer need to work or study, and you can enjoy a slow and simple life. But what does it actually take to retire?

And, when Super is under threat, and the only stable thing about the global economic climate is its instability, can we rely on the pension being there when we're ready to retire?

Author of Money Matters Amanda Morrall chats to Tim Beveridge about how much money you really need to retire.

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