Trusts

Burgess Thomson can assist you with structuring your business or investments through discretionary and family trusts.

Trusts are an important legal relationship where a rights holder grants their rights to another person or entity. They can be used for a variety of reasons, including:

• As a tax minimisation strategy
• As a means of providing shared income for family members
• As a way of minimising the risk of creditors making a claim against your assets
• As a way of placing valuable assets out of the direct control of individuals at risk of making poor decisions that may affect a number of stakeholders involved

Trusts can avoid difficult circumstances surrounding a death. However, it is important to seek the support of a trust lawyer who can navigate this complex legal journey.

There is a range of trust options available to you. For example, a testamentary trust is established through a Will. Typically, this will come into effect once the testator has passed away.

The Burgess Thomson legal team can assist you with structuring your business or investments through discretionary and family trusts.

Discretionary Trusts

Discretionary trusts allow the person who is managing the trust to elect beneficiaries. There are some serious decisions to make if you are the person, or people managing these trusts.

You can choose who benefits from the trust and how much money each of the beneficiaries are entitled to receive.

Businesses often operate discretionary trusts as a way of protecting their assets. It also offers flexibility over income distribution and capital.

Trusts will incur an annual compliance cost, which is placed in addition to income tax.

The income that is generated from a trust is taxed at the marginal tax rates for each individual beneficiary.

Family Trusts

Family trusts are a type of discretionary trust, which holds a family’s assets.

In this instance, a trustee is selected to hold the assets in their name. This person is typically a family member who holds the assets for the benefit of a group of beneficiaries.

One or more people, or companies can be elected as a trustee. In most cases, a family member will manage the trust assets on behalf of their family.

This is beneficial when it comes to avoiding difficulty in situations such as the death of a trustee, or in circumstances where a trustee is declared bankrupt.