Earlier posts have considered the various types of superannuation death benefit nominations that can be made.
Clearly if the father in Katz v Grossman had utilised a binding death benefit nomination, then there would likely have not been any successful challenge to the ultimate payment of the superannuation entitlements
Some of the other planning strategies that can be utilised to regulate how superannuation benefits are distributed on death include:
1) incorporating automatic adjustment clauses under the terms of a will, to take into account benefits that are received directly from a superannuation fund;
2) mandating the succession of trusteeship of the superannuation fund; and
3) entrenching approval mechanisms for death benefit payments, for example, by prohibiting a payment until trustee receives consent from a trusted third party.
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** for the trainspotters, the title today is riffed from the INXS song ‘What you need’. View hear (sic):