Require tailored trust advice, trust establishment, management, amendment or winding up? Our highly experienced lawyers can assist with a holistic strategic approach.

The terms on which a trust is established and operated can change from time to time to ensure that the trust remains compliant, the trustee is appropriately empowered to manage the trust, and that the ongoing needs of beneficiaries are met.

Legal review of existing trust documentation and drafting of relevant trust deeds to ensure that the retiring appointor is removed and that the new appointor has only those powers necessary to the preferred functioning of the trust.

Changing the beneficiaries of a trust is not always simple. Our lawyers can review existing trust documentation, including relevant trust deeds, and draft documents to ensure that the retiring beneficiaries are removed entirely and that new beneficiaries are validly appointed.

Regulation 13.22C allows a super fund to increase its ownership of a property (with or without a loan) in a way that a super fund cannot ordinarily do with a simple unit trust.

Under a fixed trust, beneficiaries are entitled to a fixed monetary value that the trustee is bound to periodically distribute to the beneficiaries.

A trust can come into existence without any documentation at all depending on the behaviours and representations of the parties involved. An effective alternative is to formally recognise that the trust exists and continues by way of a deed.

Deeds may contain spelling or typographical errors, these errors may be innocuous, but in some instances they can impact the validity or operation of the deed. A deed of rectification corrects these errors.

This review identifies issues and makes recommendations for updating a discretionary trust deed where possible and without resettling the trust.

Special disability trusts can be set up by family members or carers for beneficiaries who suffer from a severe disability. They are means tested and stringently assessed.

Stamping of discretionary or unit trust establishment deed when prepared by a third party, plus disbursements depending on applicable law of the trust.

The current appointor should deal with passing control of the trust in the event the office becomes vacant whether by reason of incapacity, death or other circumstances. We can assist by reviewing the trust documents and preparing the documents required to nominate successor appointor(s).

When unitholders of a trust wish to sell or transfer units, the terms of the trust deed must be reviewed and documentation prepared to ensure that the transfer is compliant with applicable terms and conditions of the trust.

The making of a valid and effective trust distribution is no simple task, because every trust deed is different and trust distribution resolutions must be tailored to the specific trust deed. Generic trust distribution resolutions may potentially give rise to adverse taxation consequences for both the trustee and the beneficiaries (as well as their advisors).

Winding up a trust can be a deceptively tricky process. The value of trust assets, liabilities and regulatory requirements such as de-registration of business names and numbers must be taken into consideration to ensure that it is compliant with the law and the trusts governing documents.