Practice area

Family Law

Define the intended work in Family Law, confirm the applicable requirements and select a task to plan the necessary review.

Key facts

Tasks covered: 37
Tasks with a step-by-step checklist: 17
Local differences: 3 jurisdictions where this area changes

Jurisdiction

Court AI practice notes AI rules tracker by Australian court and body

Tasks

GreenLawyer reviewYellowClose supervisionRedLawyer-led

Tasks in Family Law
Task	How AI is used	Human involvement	What the lawyer must review
Find missing financial disclosure documentsChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Compare a lawyer-approved disclosure request with a permitted document inventory and draft a received, missing and follow-up table.	YellowClose supervision	Check the inventory against the actual files Discuss gaps with the client before sending a request
Check permission before using subpoenaed or sensitive recordsStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Organise a restricted record inventory from metadata already permitted for use. Do not upload the underlying records until the lawyer clears access and processing.	RedLawyer-led	Decide access, copying and permitted purpose Decide any need to protect sensitive information
Screen family or migration material before it goes into a toolChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Organise a file index from metadata the lawyer has already cleared, without opening the underlying documents in the tool.	RedLawyer-led	Do not upload subpoenaed, discovery, suppressed or safety-sensitive material yet Wait until the closed-environment conditions in the practice direction are met
Check permission before putting family-court or medical records into a toolChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	List document types in the folder (subpoenaed records, medical, financial, children’s material) for a yes/no permission table.	RedLawyer-led	Default to no public tool Check whether HIPAA applies to medical records Apply Rule 1.6 to everything relating to the representation
Check permission before putting Family Court or protected material into a toolChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Flag medical, address, child and subpoenaed records in the folder.	RedLawyer-led	Keep private, confidential, suppressed and privileged material out of public chatbots Remove protected addresses and children's details before any tool use Follow Chapter 8 of the Conduct and Client Care Rules
Turn existing parenting orders into a practical arrangements sheetChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Extract obligations from the complete current orders into a draft table of dates, handovers, communication and travel arrangements.	YellowClose supervision	Check every entry Resolve ambiguity or conflict before the sheet goes to the client
Identify financial changes that need a disclosure updateChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Compare a prior financial schedule with new verified statements and draft a change table.	YellowClose supervision	Decide the disclosure consequences Check any amended statement or affidavit against current requirements
Draft the minute of consent orders from the settled termsStart this task See suggested levels	Working with the lawyer on terms the lawyer has settled, build the minute clause by clause from those terms and the disclosure figures the lawyer has checked, list the assets, values and certificates still to confirm, and flag both anything in the draft the settled terms do not support and anything the settled terms leave out that an order would normally deal with.	YellowClose supervision	Read every clause against the settled terms — a model drafting from precedent will reproduce superseded property language. Satisfy yourself the orders are just and equitable before they go to the registrar. Use the current prescribed superannuation splitting forms and give the trustee procedural fairness. Confirm whether the application is in time or needs leave. Once the orders are made they are final, and the grounds to set them aside are narrow.
Draft an affidavit or witness statement from the proofing noteStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for New South Wales	Index the annexures against the lawyer's draft affidavit, list every assertion in that draft with no support in the proofing note or the permitted documents, and check it against the Court's affidavit form and the page and annexure limits for the Division it is filed in. The tool writes no part of the affidavit or witness statement.	RedLawyer-led	The lawyer writes the affidavit in the deponent's own words from the proofing note, and the deponent must read and adopt it before it is sworn. Strip argument and anything not in the proof or the permitted documents. Do not use subpoenaed or sensitive records without an express permission check.
Draft a state-court family affidavit without putting the file into a public toolChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	The tool writes no part of the declaration and suggests no wording for it: no draft, no outline, no placeholders, no suggested paragraphs. Index the annexures against the lawyer’s draft, list every assertion in that draft with no support in the facts the lawyer has collected, and check it against the state court’s declaration form and its page and exhibit limits. Keep the file out of any public tool.	RedLawyer-led	Confirm which state's family law governs Keep protected addresses, medical information and children's identifiers out of public tools Apply Rule 1.6 and California's guidance on confidentiality
Draft the financial agreement from the settled termsStart this task See suggested levels	Compare the agreement the lawyer has drafted against the settled terms and the disclosure the lawyer has verified. List the assets, values, liabilities, superannuation interests and independent-advice certificates still to confirm, and every matter the settled terms do not cover. Check the agreement's form against the requirements for the provision it is made under. The tool drafts and redrafts no clause, and writes no part of the independent-advice statement.	RedLawyer-led	Read every clause yourself before the agreement is signed; the tool has written none of it and must not be asked to. The independent-advice statement is a statutory precondition to the agreement binding: it cannot be generated, it must reflect a real advice session with your client about the effect of the agreement on that client's rights and its advantages and disadvantages, and it must be given on the executed text and not on an earlier draft. Confirm the agreement is made under the provision that fits these parties — married, de facto, or under Western Australia's separate regime — and that its form meets that provision's requirements. Verify every asset description, value, liability, trust and company holding and superannuation interest against primary disclosure. Where the agreement splits a superannuation interest, use the current prescribed forms and deal with the trustee as the requirements for that interest require. If the agreement deals with spousal maintenance, confirm the maintenance provision meets the separate requirements that apply to it, which are not the same as those for the property clauses. Satisfy yourself the client understands that once it binds the agreement ousts the court's property jurisdiction and that the grounds to set it aside are narrow.
Draft consent orders or a Binding Financial Agreement from the settled termsChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Turn the settled terms into draft consent orders or s 90B/C/D or s 90UB/UC/UD BFA clauses, listing assets, values and independent-advice certificates to confirm.	RedLawyer-led	Confirm independent legal advice certified under ss 90G and 90UJ FLA; a generated certificate is no substitute Verify every figure, asset, trust, company and super interest against disclosure Apply the codified four-step process (ss 79/90SM as amended) to consent orders from 10 June 2025 Include the family-violence economic factor in those orders Use super-split forms under the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2025 (from 1 April 2025) Apply the 2025 Methods and Factors Approval to super valuations Check current forms on the FCFCOA eCourts Portal
Draft a Property (Relationships) Act contracting-out agreementChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Extract the asset list and the instructions into a comparison table for the lawyer.	RedLawyer-led	Apply the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 Do not draft a binding financial agreement; it does not exist here Take independent-advice and formality rules from the New Zealand Act you have opened
Prepare the financial statement and the disclosure indexStart this task See suggested levels	The Financial Statement carries a sworn affidavit, so the tool writes no part of it and enters nothing in the form. Index the documents Rule 6.06 requires — the three most recent tax returns and tax assessments; the superannuation information form and, for a self-managed fund, its trust deed and three most recent financial statements; the last four business activity statements; and the three most recent financial statements and last four business activity statements of any partnership, trust or private company in which the party has an interest — together with the bank statements and valuations sought under the general duty. Compare the completed statement against those documents, list every figure with no source and every part of the form left blank, check that the totals add up, and confirm the form is the version currently in force.	RedLawyer-led	The lawyer completes the form on the client's instructions and the client swears or affirms it. Verify every entry against its source, ask the client about interests in trusts, companies, self-managed funds and cryptocurrency that the documents do not reveal, file the financial questionnaire the rule requires, and serve the Rule 6.06 documents on each other party before the first court date rather than filing them. Before filing, confirm the current approved form and the disclosure rule as it applies in the court hearing the case.
Prepare the FCFCOA Financial Statement and the disclosure indexChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Extract permitted financial information into a draft of the current FCFCOA Financial Statement, retaining a source reference for each figure and leaving gaps unresolved.	RedLawyer-led	Verify every entry against its source Confirm interests or changes the documents do not show Use the current FCFCOA Financial Statement and disclosure rules Remember non-compliance can bring procedural consequences, costs or contempt Do not treat an extraction error as a new criminal offence in itself
Build the property-pool balance sheet from disclosed documentsStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	From bank statements, titles, superannuation/retirement and entity records, draft an asset-and-liability table with values, ownership and source documents, and list gaps.	YellowClose supervision	Decide values and ownership yourself Do not treat a generated balance sheet as the pool
Prepare the retirement-benefit or superannuation-splitting steps listStart this task See suggested levels	From the member statements and instructions, list fund type, splitting steps, forms and valuation information still required. Do not calculate a defined-benefit value.	RedLawyer-led	Check the current splitting methodology and forms; they change Obtain trustee information or an actuary's certificate Do not rely on a generated valuation
Prepare the superannuation-splitting steps list, flagging and valuation requestsChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	From the member statements and instructions, list fund type, splitting steps, forms and trustee information still required. Do not calculate a defined-benefit value.	RedLawyer-led	Note December 2024 removed separation declarations for splits by agreement above the low-rate cap Apply the Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2025 (from 1 April 2025) Use the Family Law (Superannuation) (Methods and Factors for Valuing Particular Superannuation Interests) Approval 2025 Check revised defined-benefit and income-stream values (about 4% higher: CPI-indexed lifetime pension, male 65) Confirm fund type, prescribed form, current factor and the trustee's timing Get trustee s 90MT information or an actuary's certificate
Draft a parenting plan or parenting orders from the arrangements sheetStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Turn the client's proposed arrangements into a first-draft plan or minute of order covering live-with, time, holidays, communication and decision-making.	YellowClose supervision	Apply the child's best interests, which govern Check workability Check family-violence risks are not papered over
Draft a Care of Children Act parenting arrangementChecklist Start this task See suggested levels	Turn existing agreements and the children's routine into a plain-language arrangements sheet.	YellowClose supervision	Draft under the Care of Children Act 2004 for the Family Court Remove 'parental responsibility', live-with/spend-time labels and FCFCOA forms Keep children's locations out of public tools
Prepare an international-relocation issues packStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Organise the proposed move, the existing parenting orders and the documents on the file into a table of the best-interests considerations, quoting beside each consideration the source fact and its file reference, and covering every consideration the current best-interests provision of the Family Law Act sets out rather than a selection of them. For the destination, list whether the 1980 Abduction Convention is in force as between Australia and the destination country, and whether the destination is a 1996 Child Protection Convention state. List the statutory tests the move engages — the threshold for reopening final parenting orders, and the provisions making it an offence to take a child out of Australia while parenting orders are in force or proceedings are pending — against the current legislation, flagging each for the lawyer to confirm. Extract the travel, passport and watchlist restraints already in force, and list every consideration with no evidence yet on the file. The table records facts against considerations and states no contentions. The lawyer writes the minute of proposed orders, the case outline and any travel, passport or watchlist restraint.	RedLawyer-led	Relocation is high-stakes. Verify the Convention answers yourself — accession by the destination is not enough; the 1980 Abduction Convention must be in force as between Australia and that country, and whether the destination is a 1996 Child Protection Convention state is a different question again — and consider whether mirror orders are needed before the child leaves. Confirm the statutory tests and the best-interests considerations against the legislation as it now stands, and check every fact in the table against the source document and file reference given beside it. Write the minute of proposed orders, the case outline and any travel, passport or watchlist restraint yourself.
Draft urgent freezing, recovery or injunction papers from the facts briefStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	The affidavit is barred to the tool: the lawyer drafts it, and the application and proposed orders as well. Index the annexures against the lawyer's draft in both directions, listing every annexure the draft does not refer to and every document the draft refers to that is not annexed. List every asserted fact anywhere in the draft that has no source in the facts brief or the documents — asset dissipation, travel and a child's whereabouts are examples, not the limit. Check the lawyer's draft affidavit against every disclosure item the court's without-notice rule requires and list the ones not yet addressed — previous proceedings, orders in force, any breach of an order, any allegation of family violence or child abuse, hardship or prejudice to the respondent, a child or a third party, whether the respondent or their lawyer has been told, the applicant's capacity to give an undertaking as to damages, why the order must be made urgently, and the other party's last known address. List every relief sought in the application with no matching proposed order, and every order sought that no paragraph of the affidavit supports. Flag departures from the court's urgent-list and without-notice filing requirements. Whether the duty of full and frank disclosure is met is the lawyer's judgment, not a form the tool can check.	RedLawyer-led	The lawyer drafts the affidavit, the application and the orders, and the deponent must adopt the evidence. Full and frank disclosure on a without-notice application sits with the lawyer: read the draft against the source documents for adverse facts, and satisfy yourself the sworn material covers every matter the without-notice rule enumerates, including the applicant's capacity to give an undertaking as to damages. Check the court's current urgent-list and without-notice rules, and confirm each order sought is one the court can make.
Draft the expert brief and review a valuation or family-report draftStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	Draft instructions from the issues list and table the draft report's assumptions, interviews and recommendations with page cites.	YellowClose supervision	Remember the expert's duty is to the court; do not coach Check whether the report may be loaded into a tool
Screen the file for family-violence risk and safe-disclosure issuesStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	From permitted intake notes, list risk indicators, existing orders and documents that must not be served or uploaded, for the lawyer's screening.	RedLawyer-led	Assess the risk yourself Never put safety-location information into a tool
Prepare child-support and maintenance calculation inputs from the fileStart this task See suggested levels	From disclosed incomes, care and special-needs costs, prepare inputs and list missing tax-year or care-percentage facts. Do not present a payable as an assessment.	YellowClose supervision	Leave administrative child support to the agency Base maintenance on a means-and-needs analysis of verified figures Treat generated estimates as illustrative only
Prepare child-support and maintenance inputs under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989Checklist Start this task See suggested levels	Prepare inputs for the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 formula and ss 72/90SE maintenance factors from disclosed incomes and care, listing gaps. Not an assessment.	YellowClose supervision	Leave assessment to Services Australia; an estimate is not an assessment Note only an agreement registered under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 replaces one Verify both parties' latest taxable incomes and care percentages (nights per year) Verify the children's ages and number and any special-needs costs Base spousal maintenance on a ss 72 or 90SE means-and-needs analysis of verified disclosure Check whether alleged family violence (injury, trauma treatment, workforce exclusion) raises needs
Draft submissions, an argument summary and a chronology for the hearingStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	From the affidavits and the issues list, draft a chronology, a case outline and proposed orders with record cites.	YellowClose supervision	Verify every cite Do not file AI-proposed authorities you have not read
Summarise permitted transcripts and conference records into a working noteStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Australia	From transcripts and conference notes the lawyer has cleared, produce a dated working summary with page cites and a list of undertakings or orders made.	YellowClose supervision	Check against the transcript, which governs Do not load restricted family-court material into a tool
Draft a mediation or family-dispute-resolution position paper from the disclosure fileStart this task See suggested levels	From the balance sheet, parenting arrangements and instructions, draft a confidential position paper and an open-issues list.	YellowClose supervision	Take offers from client instructions Check the paper does not annex restricted material
Trace funds through disclosed bank statements into a source-and-application tableStart this task See suggested levels	From permitted statements, table large deposits and withdrawals with dates, counterparties and unmatched items for the lawyer.	YellowClose supervision	Decide dissipation and add-back arguments yourself Do not treat unmatched items as hidden assets
Check an FCFCOA filing against PD-AIChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsCommonwealth only	Run a checklist on accuracy, currency of authorities and whether any embedded "smart" tool was used.	YellowClose supervision	Verify authorities and confirm no litigation-abuse use (para 4.20).
Analyse financial disclosure for dissipation and missing documentsChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia only	Flag income patterns and missing records across bank and super statements.	YellowClose supervision	Lawyer verifies each flag against the documents.
Comply with FCFCOA PD-AI when preparing documentsChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia only	Check documents for AI accountability requirements.	YellowClose supervision	Court users must account for AI use.
Advise a client on using AI for their own affidavitChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia only	Explain affidavit must be in own words.	GreenLawyer review	Follow Legal Aid NSW guidance.
Locate information within a large family fileChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia only	Search and summarise file for specific facts.	GreenLawyer review	Lawyer verifies facts.
Check AI case summaries before citing family law principlesChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia only	Verify AI summaries of key cases.	RedLawyer-led	QLS warns AI misstated Baumgartner.
Comply with FCFCOA AI practice direction in family documentsStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia onlySource basis: Area-specific AU source in links	Check affidavits for prohibited AI use and disclosures.	YellowClose supervision	Lawyer confirms.
Advise a client on risks of using ChatGPT for family law documentsStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia onlySource basis: Area-specific AU source in links	Draft a client warning.	GreenLawyer review	Lawyer approves.
Summarise financial disclosure documents into an asset pool tableStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for AustraliaAustralia onlySource basis: Area-specific AU source in links	Extract assets and liabilities.	YellowClose supervision	Verify against the documents.
Prepare the Family Court of Western Australia Affidavit - General from the proofing noteStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Turn the proofing note into a first draft of the Affidavit - General on the Court's form.	YellowClose supervision	The deponent reads every sentence and removes anything they did not say.
Prepare the Family Court of Western Australia Affidavit for eFiling DivorceStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Draft the eFiling divorce affidavit from the marriage certificate and the client's instructions.	YellowClose supervision	Check every date and name against the marriage certificate and the instructions.
Complete Family Court of Western Australia fee exemption form NP14 from the client's financial documentsStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Place the client's income and assets onto form NP14.	YellowClose supervision	Match every figure to a source document. Leave blank anything the client has not supplied.
Complete Family Court of Western Australia fee reduction form NP8 for a divorce or nullityStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Place the client's details onto form NP8.	YellowClose supervision	Check the form number, the fee type and every figure against the client's documents.
Work through the Family Court of Western Australia Financial Statement kit before the financial statement is filedStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	List the steps and questions in the Court's Financial Statement kit.	YellowClose supervision	Open the Court's kit and delete any step the kit does not contain.
List the questions in the Family Court of Western Australia Superannuation Information KitStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	List the superannuation questions in the Court's kit for the property matter.	YellowClose supervision	Check the list against the kit. Do not add a fund detail the kit and the client did not supply.
Read the Family Court of Western Australia Chapter 19 Costs Notice brochure before giving a costs figureStart this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Do not fill figures into the brochure. List the costs entries on the file that a person still has to check.	YellowClose supervision	The forms list publishes a brochure, not a form for the file's costs figures. Do not treat a generated figure as the notice.
Check the Family Court of Western Australia page before assuming an AI practice directionChecklist Start this task See suggested levelsWritten for Western AustraliaWestern Australia only	Record what the Court homepage and its news list actually say about AI.	YellowClose supervision	The homepage fetched on 10 October 2026 does not state an AI practice direction. Do not treat another court's practice direction as applying in this Court unless this Court's own instrument says so. A practice-direction index was not on that page, so the absence on the homepage is not a finding that no direction exists.

Firm-wide obligations

Firm-wide obligations
Obligation	What it covers
Trust accounting & handling client money	Checks that apply across files.
Costs, billing & litigation funding	Checks that apply across files.
Client-facing & access-to-justice AI tools	Checks that apply across files.
Incoming evidence — deepfakes & synthetic documents	Checks that apply across files.
AI decision systems	Checks that apply across files.
Confidentiality & client information	Checks that apply across files.
AML/CTF — the practice as a reporting entity	Checks that apply across files.

What changes in Australia

What changes in Australia
Topic	What changes
Courts and Act	Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) and Family Court of Western Australia, under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) as substantially amended in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Confidentiality	Part XIVB of the FLA makes unauthorised disclosure a criminal offence. Putting case material into a public AI tool can be an offence, not only a disciplinary breach.
Court AI rules	The FCFCOA Practice Direction on AI (29 May 2026) binds all court users: verification, accountability, confidentiality and expert certification.
Citations	Fabricated citations have already led to regulatory referrals and loss of practising certificate status.
Limits on AI assistance	Affidavits, statements and references: line-by-line review; the deponent confirms every fact. NSWSC prohibits AI content (SC Gen 23, from 3 February 2025). Verify every citation on AustLII, Jade or an official report. Dayal [2024] FedCFamC2F 1166 (referral); Mertz & Mertz (No 3) [2025] FedCFamC1A 222 (costs over $46,000, referrals). Lawyer approves all output before it reaches a client, other party or court; no automated sending. The FCFCOA AI Practice Direction holds the practitioner accountable.

What changes in New Zealand

Known here as: Family law (Family Court of New Zealand)

What changes in New Zealand
Topic	What changes
Court and rules	Family Court under the Family Court Rules 2002. No Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and no Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Key statutes	Care of Children Act 2004, Property (Relationships) Act 1976, Family Violence Act 2018, Family Proceedings Act 1980, Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 and others on the Ministry of Justice list.
Terms that differ	'Care of children', not 'parental responsibility'. Relationship property under the PRA, not a s 79 pool. No binding financial agreements.
AI guidelines	The Family Court is listed in the Courts of New Zealand GenAI guidelines.
Limits on AI assistance	Do not enter private, confidential, suppressed or privileged material into a public chatbot. Do not put a child's location, a protected address or a Family Court document that is not public into a public chatbot.

What changes in United States

Known here as: Family law

What changes in United States
Topic	What changes
State law	State law governs this work. Check the statutes, court rules and conduct rules of the state where the matter is. Do not import an Australian statute, form or court AI practice note.
Courts	No national Family Court. Parenting, property and support are state codes and courts, with limited federal overlays such as interstate support.
Evidence	California's Practical Guidance and Formal Opinion 512: affidavits stay in the witness's words.
Limits on AI assistance	Do not upload family-court affidavits, medical records or location information to a public generative tool.

Precedents for this area

Initiating Application (Family Law): completion guide for parenting and financial orders (Court document, AI use Yellow). Link to the Court's current Initiating Application with a part-by-part completion guide, the documents that must be filed with it, and the safety and AI rules (PD-AI) that apply.
Financial Statement (Family Law): completion and disclosure guide (Form, AI use Red). Link to the Court's current Financial Statement with a practical guide to completing it, the documents that must be served with it, the continuing duty of disclosure, and why AI must not prepare sworn figures.
Binding financial agreement (marriage or de facto) with statement of independent legal advice (Agreement, AI use Red). Financial agreement under Part VIIIA or VIIIAB of the Family Law Act, with property schedules, maintenance and superannuation options, a separation declaration and the s 90G statement of independent legal advice.
Letter of advice on property settlement (post-10 June 2025 framework) with settlement recommendation (Letter, AI use Yellow). Letter of advice applying the restructured s 79 (including the effect of family violence and wastage), the duty of disclosure and time limits, with a range of outcomes and a recommended settlement offer.
Client notice: how we use AI, and keeping your family law matter confidential and safe (Notice, AI use Yellow). Plain-language client notice explaining how the firm uses AI under the Court's PD-AI, what it will never put into AI, and what the client must not do with AI, social media and court documents.
Checklist: authenticity of digital evidence (messages, recordings, images) and deepfake risk (Checklist, AI use Yellow). Checklist for preserving, testing and presenting texts, recordings, photos and videos in family law cases, including AI-generated or altered material, the legality of recordings, and when to brief a forensic expert.

All precedents for Family Law. Signed-in accounts can read the full text.

Related jurisdictions

Australia New Zealand United States