Do you remember the scene in Titanic where an elderly husband and wife choose to perish together rather than be separated? The couple were Ida Straus and her husband Isador Straus, Macy’s department store co-owner. Hankies aside, this story is interesting from an...
The specific terms of your trust deed can mean you will either save or lose money in income taxes. It is important your deed is up to date and gives the trustee all the powers it needs to optimise the trust’s tax position.
The main thing to remember is that trusts can only ever distribute trust law income, as it is defined in the trust deed.
It’s almost 30 June. Have you done your trust distribution minutes?
Do you have the same rights as people who are married? For example, to share in your partner’s estate, challenge their Will, get damages for wrongful death, claim super benefits, etc? The short answer is, yes, but…
So you own a business and are embarking on divorce! Not a great combination… Find out what issues you are likely to face, and how you can develop an effective strategy to keep it all together.
An enduring power of attorney has the power to make a lot of decisions. However, without good planning, they may still not be able to do what you intend them to do. For example, if you appoint your spouse as your enduring attorney they will not be able to do anything that benefits themselves. Find out how to avoid these pitfalls.
A Sweat Equity Agreement is an agreement between a business and someone providing services, whereby the service provider agrees to take equity in the business, rather than cash. Sounds simple? The devil is in the detail…
If you are living permanently outside of Australia, do you still need an Australian Will? Yes. Find out why.
Most people believe that registering a business name means they own that business name – this is not the case in Australia. To obtain the exclusive right to use your business name, you need to register it as a trademark or prove that you hold a trademark at common law.
If you are heading overseas for an extended period of time, and have a SMSF, then you need to do some housekeeping before you leave.
New business owners are often told to operate their enterprises through a 'proprietary limited company' to cap their liability if something goes wrong. This is good advice, but it is nowhere near the end of the story. You also need to protect your assets. How does a...
Think of a lawyer like a ‘Will Kit’ – but with arms and legs.
We previously talked about how the SA land tax changes have had significant impacts on trusts (particularly discretionary trusts) that own land. Those changes meant that trusts saw a substantial increase in their land tax bill from 1 July 2020, unless they nominated...
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