Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Using discretionary trusts to protect inheritances


As set out in earlier posts, and with thanks to the Television Education Network, today’s post addresses the issue of ‘Using discretionary trusts to protect inheritances’ at the following link - https://youtu.be/lkkevmdo4MU

As usual, a transcript of the presentation for those that cannot (or choose not) to view the presentation is below –

Historically, the reality has been that no matter if it’s a normal family trust or some form of testamentary trust, there's been a general acceptance that the Family Court could attack the assets of that trust in particular circumstances.

However, if it was structured appropriately, and care was taken in terms of how the trust structure was setup, then the assets of a trust would generally be quarantined.  The concern in recent times has been the decision of Spry, which received a lot of media attention. 

That decision seemed to create the impression, on the face of it, that no matter what form of structure was setup - family trust or testamentary trust - and no matter how that was crafted in terms of the control structure of the arrangement, the assets of the trust would always be completely exposed. So, obviously a decision that created a radical change in terms of the way people approach setting up trust structures.


Until next week.