NSW Stamp duty to change a Trustee

Change a trust’s trustee to a corporate trustee in New South Wales? At times, you may wish to change the trustee of your New South Wales trust. Perhaps the trustee dies, leaves the country or loses mental capacity. Or you want to move from a human to a company as a...

Centrelink attacks innocent Grandparents

A rather worrying trend is Centrelink attacking people who are unaware that they are mentioned in a Family Trust. For example, the high risk of bankruptcy son often makes Mum the Appointor or a Default beneficiary – for asset protection. Mum has never seen a...

Four things your Accountant should do differently this EoFY

  It is important to talk with your Accountant before the end of the financial year and work through your tax year-end planning issues before 30 June. Thanks to COVID-19 it is not just the usual year-end issues such as bad debts, trading stock, losses, super and the...

Is it legal to build your parent’s Wills

  Is it legal to build your parent’s Wills in Australia? Children are worried about the defacto death duties of CGT, income tax and stamp duty. Adult children, in particular, don’t want to pay the 32% Super non-dependency tax. Basic Testamentary...

How to sign a Will in isolation, lockdown and quarantine

How to sign your Wills in isolation and lockdown Due to the Coronavirus, best practice is to avoid strangers and non-family members. However, a Will is only witnessed by strangers and persons unrelated to you. During ‘lockdowns’ you cannot leave your home. The only...

Australian pets in Wills – are pets ‘property’?

Pets in Wills I grew up with dogs, cats, birds and other pets. They are now an important part of our son’s life and development. Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world. Over 62% of Australian households own pets. There are more than...

Is your employee Mental Health Policy up-to-date?

Australian employers pay out over half a billion dollars each year for work-related mental health conditions.  For the first time, a State government has set out a code of practice for the mental health of fly-in-fly-out workers. Build on our website all the Policies...

Is my Australian Will valid for overseas assets?

Are Legal Consolidated Wills valid for overseas assets? We are forever travelling. I spent two years with my wife and son to complete my doctorate in tax and estate planning in England. Many of us have insurance, real estate, bank accounts and pension funds overseas....