Bankruptcy proceedings against a Northland property developer embroiled in a family feud over an inheritance will start in the High Court at Whangarei on Monday.
The court in April gave Michael Owen Perkins, of Kerikeri, a chance to show how he would repay family members in the UK almost $300,000 as ordered last year by a British court.
His brother, John Wilfred Perkins of the Isle of Man, had planned to file final proceedings against him but Michael's lawyer was understood to have prepared a payment proposal in a bid to stave off bankruptcy.
The $276,668, plus just under $7500 in New Zealand court costs, is an interim payment only.
The British courts have also ordered Michael Perkins to return the proceeds from the sale of three properties on Hayling Island, near Portsmouth in England, plus interest and rent to his late mother's estate. They were sold in 2002-03.
A bid by Michael Perkins to have the bankruptcy notice thrown out by the Whangarei courts failed in March after it missed the statutory time limit.
The courts have yet to rule on the repayment amount, but family in the UK claim a substantial sum is unaccounted for from the estate of John and Michael's late mother.
Family inheritance feud heads to High Court
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