Family and Discretionary Trusts

A trust is an arrangement where a person or company (the trustee) holds assets for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries). When setting up a trust you need a trustee, a trust deed, beneficiaries and assets. 

A Family Discretionary Trust is a trust established by a family member for the benefit of members of the “family group”. The trustee of a Family Discretionary Trust has the power to decide how income and capital is distributed to the beneficiaries. There are various advantages and disadvantages. 

Some disadvantages include that income accumulated is taxed at the top marginal rate. A family discretionary trust may also be costly to run for you. Further, if you wish to vary the terms of the trust can have GST and stamp duty consequences. 

There are also some advantages if you wish to implement a Family Discretionary Trust. Establishing a Family Discretionary Trust will have certain tax advantages. Unlike unit trusts, you can choose how to distribute the income and capital to the beneficiaries. The assets specified under the trust may also be protected from any potential bankruptcy proceedings.  Speak to our experienced lawyers here at Green & Associates Solicitors for advice on establishing your Family Discretionary Trust. Contact us for a free consultation on (02) 8080 7585.

Green & Associates Solicitors Experience and Success 

• We regularly act for family law firms and their clients to give effect to final family law orders for property adjustment following breakdowns of marriages and relationships;
• We have established family trusts for asset protection and tax advantages, both discretionary and fixed;
• We establish unit trusts for special purpose of joint venture vehicles with multiple business partners, each with their own underlying trustees, then establish shareholders agreements and other constituent documents for governance;
• We handle purchase and sale of properties through trusts;
• We negotiate deeds of family arrangement;
• We have dealt with all aspects of estate planning, from obtaining probate through to final administration of estate;
• We have acted for executors and trustees on behalf of estates for the sale of property, from residential homes through to large opal mines; acted for executors and trustees on behalf of estates for the acquisition of property, including agricultural investment businesses with land;
• We have prepared and secured enduring powers of attorney for property dealings on behalf of clients whilst overseas and before they lose capacity;
• We have obtained and defended applications for financial management orders in NCAT;
• We handle all estate and succession planning, from Wills and powers of attorney through to succession planning for carrying on of business;
• We deal with family provisions claims, other contests to Wills and estate disputes, including applications for removal and replacement of trustees.

We also provide in-house advice to companies on a range of matters, including:

• employment-law issues (i.e. enforcing or dispute a restraint of trade clause for previous or new employees);
• compliance and regulatory issues (i.e. licencing and underquoting breaches)
• criminal matters;
• property matters;
• defamation proceedings; and
• all types of commercial matters (i.e. drafting shareholder agreements).