A critical aspect of every trust is the period for which a trust can last – often referred to as the perpetuity period or the vesting day of the trust.
As a rule of thumb, any review of a trust deed that we perform always starts with checking the exact vesting date. We have had countless situations where this review has in fact led to the discovery that the trust itself has ended (in one instance, almost 7 years earlier).
Generally, so long as steps are taken before a trust vests, it should be possible to extend the life of a trust to the maximum period allowed at law (ie the perpetuity period), which in most cases is 80 years – see the following posts for more comments in this regard –
Extensions to vesting dates – some lessons from Re Arthur Brady Family Trust; Re Trekmore Trading Trust
Fairytale of Canberra - The Tax Office plays Secret Santa as the long awaited guidance on trust vesting gets released
In some cases, it may also be possible to extend the life of the trust so that it complies with the laws of South Australia – as most people are aware, there is effectively an unlimited perpetuity period available via South Australian law.
** For the trainspotters, the title today is riffed from REM’s song of the same name, from 1987.