Trust Deed Review & Update Service

Trust Deed Review & Update Service

You can no longer put off giving your Trust Deed a proper tune-up.

Why is this necessary?

There are at least four key reasons why you simply must have your Trust Deed reviewed and updated – and brought up to a modern standard:

  • The High Court decision in Bamford’s Case. This case was about how “trust income” is defined, and how it may be distributed among beneficiaries. If your Trust Deed is deficient in this area, you may end up paying more tax each year than is necessary;
  • The legislative amendments relating to the streaming of capital gains and franked dividends to beneficiaries. This type of streaming is only possible if your Trust Deed adequately ties in with what is required under these new provisions;
  • The Tax Office Practice Statement on “unpaid distributions” to bucket companies. If you ignore this new Practice Statement you may pay up to 63% tax on trust income distributed to companies. This is not a scare tactic. This is fact; and
  • The need to adequately address how control of your Trust will pass when you die. If you ignore this issue, the wealth you hold in your trust may not end up where you intend. Most Trust Deeds do not address these issues as they should.

What does our service cover?

We offer two services.

1. Trust Deed Review & Update

We will review your Trust Deed and provide you with advice on whether your Trust Deed complies with Bamford’s Case, the Practice Statement on Division 7A and unpaid distributions, the ability to stream capital gains and franked dividends, and general Estate Planning requirements.

We will make an honest recommendation whether, and to what extent, your Trust Deed needs updating. We charge a fixed fee for this review.

If your Trust Deed needs updating, then the Deed of Amendment will incur a further fixed fee.

2. Trust Deed Update

You may wish to skip the Trust Deed Review stage, and simply ask us to review and update your Trust Deed. We will do this for a single fixed fee that includes both the review and update.

You may also ask us to review your proposed Distribution Minutes, or provide you with model Distribution Minutes that match your Trust Deed. Read about our year-end trust distribution minute service here.

Why use ADLV Law?

Because we know what we are doing.

We have continually updated our own Trust Deeds for more than 14 years. We license our Trust Deeds (and other documents) to legal professionals around Australia, who recognise our expertise. We hold Masters Degrees in Taxation Law, are fellows of the Tax Institute of Australia and Fellows of the internationally recognised Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. We are recognised experts in this area.

If you would like to book in a review and update to your Trust Deed, contact us on 1300 654 590 or by email.

 

The information contained in this post is current at the date of editing – 10 November 2023

Our Great Lawyer Guarantee

We want to be part of your team over the long term. We'll achieve this by sticking closely to the following principles:

  • We'll listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve. Then we'll thoroughly explain our advice and step you through the documents. You can be sure you'll know the full consequences.
  • Our lawyers work as a team, so someone will always be available to answer your questions, or point you in the right direction. You will also benefit from a range of perspectives and experience.
  • One of our key goals is to pass on as much knowledge as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions. We want to make you truly independent.
  • We only do what we're good at. You can be confident that we know what we're doing and won't pass on the cost of our learning.
  • For advice and documents, we provide a fixed or capped quote so you don’t take price risk. If you're in a dispute, we'll map out the process and costs so you know what to expect.
  • We're not in this game for our egos. We're in it for a front row seat to witness your success.

We measure our success on how efficiently we have facilitated your objectives, enhanced your relationships, and reduced the level of stress for all involved.

If we sound like people you can work with, call us now on 1300 654 590 and speak directly with a great lawyer.