Trusts

Establishing and administering a trust can often be an effective, legal way to minimise your taxation, protect your assets and preserve your family wealth. But not all trusts are created equal.

For instance, a unit trust operates differently and is subject to different rules to a traditional family discretionary trust, a testamentary trust or a hybrid trust. And there are strict legal rules that govern how each of these can be used. 

Our team of trusts lawyers take a strategic approach to legal advice. We step back and try to understand the big picture of what you want to achieve before advising you on the right approach for your circumstances.

We’ll also help you administer your trust so that you meet your obligations and comply with the law, and challenge trustees on your behalf where a trust isn’t being administered properly.

We can:

• Establish or amend a discretionary family trust, unit trust or hybrid trust.

• Give you strategic advice on whether you could benefit from a trust, as well as what type of trust will help you achieve your objectives (eg unit trust, testamentary trust, discretionary trust or another structure).

• Help you use trusts to better structure your assets to minimise your taxation.

• Advise you on using trusts to protect your assets and your wealth from litigation.

• Advise you on your duties as a trustee so that you’re complying with the law.

• Advise you on your rights as a beneficiary, so that you receive everything you’re entitled to.

• Help you appoint or remove trustees or vary a trust deed so that your trust works properly and complies with the law.

• Advise you on distributions or enforcing payment of distributions so that your trust is run effectively.

• Represent you in a trust dispute so that you have the best chance of success and receive what you’re entitled to.