Trusts

Choosing the right trust

Family trusts

The classic fully discretionary family trust is something of a rarity across the world, but is well established in Australia as a vehicle for holding investments and operating businesses. They can offer considerable taxation and asset protection advantages. While not as attractively taxed as superannuation, family trusts are free of many of the superannuation restrictions as to access, borrowing and investing in and conducting businesses and have considerably less compliance costs.   READ MORE 

Capital reserved trusts

Many people have competing objectives when it comes to estate planning, eg they have a spouse or domestic partner that they wish to benefit, but they also have children or other relatives they also wish to benefit. Capital reserved trusts play an important role in ensuring that both objectives are achieved, often in conjunction with the establishment of restricted account based pensions. If established prior to the commencement of a marriage or domestic relationship, they may also have family law advantages. READ MORE

Fixed & hybrid unit trusts

Trusts do not have to be fully discretionary and many unit trusts are established with entitlements that are fixed in part or in whole. In a manner similar to companies, the non-discretionary interests in these trusts are unitised as to entitlements to income, capital and voting. The choice between fixed and hybrid unit trusts is often dictated by considerations such as negative gearing, self managed super fund involvement and capital gains tax.            READ MORE 

Child support (maintenance) trusts

Australia has a series of trusts that qualify for income tax concessions for distributions of income and capital to beneficiaries who are less than 18 years of age. Most of them require someone to die or suffer serious injury. The exception is child support trusts that, subject to strict criteria including the need to transfer income generating assets, can be established to satisfy in whole or in part an obligated parent's child support payments.  READ MORE 

Farm transfer trusts

Victoria has a form of limited discretionary trusts not replicated in other States. It allows farming land to be transferred to a special discretionary trust benefitting related family members of the current owner, which is free of Victorian duty. In other states such transfers are not exempt during the owner's lifetime. READ MORE