Chua Tan Associate Lawyers
  • 聯繫我們
  • 法律領域
    • 澳洲移民
    • 家庭法
    • 商業法
    • 生意買賣
    • 商鋪租約（租戶）
    • 房產及建築
    • 刑事法
    • 民事糾紛
    • 遺囑和遺產
    • 澳洲調解服務
    • 國際公證
    • 跨境調解服務｜澳洲與中國家族、遺產及家族企業糾紛
  • 關於我們
  • 海外客戶
    • 馬來西亞
    • 新加坡
    • 印度尼西亞
    • 香港及澳門
    • 臺灣
    • 泰國
    • 缅甸
  • en_AUEnglish (Australia)
    • zh_CN简体中文
    • zh_TW繁體中文
  • 澳洲法律解讀
  • 預約在線法律諮詢
  • 澳大利亞離婚申請 | 在線固定收費離婚申請
  • 遺囑與遺產費用
  • 聯繫我們
  • 法律領域
    • 澳洲移民
    • 家庭法
    • 商業法
    • 生意買賣
    • 商鋪租約（租戶）
    • 房產及建築
    • 刑事法
    • 民事糾紛
    • 遺囑和遺產
    • 澳洲調解服務
    • 國際公證
    • 跨境調解服務｜澳洲與中國家族、遺產及家族企業糾紛
  • 關於我們
  • 海外客戶
    • 馬來西亞
    • 新加坡
    • 印度尼西亞
    • 香港及澳門
    • 臺灣
    • 泰國
    • 缅甸
  • en_AUEnglish (Australia)
    • zh_CN简体中文
    • zh_TW繁體中文
  • 澳洲法律解讀
  • 預約在線法律諮詢
  • 澳大利亞離婚申請 | 在線固定收費離婚申請
  • 遺囑與遺產費用
Facebook-f Linkedin

Estate planning in Australia

  • 12 月 8, 2024

Home » 澳洲法律解讀 » 遺囑 » Trusts » Estate planning in Australia

Key principles of estate planning in Australia

The main purpose of estate planning in Australia are to maximise lifetime wealth and income, i.e. the deceased estate. It is also to protect assets from creditors and relatives. This can often be through creating and maintaining trusts.

Creation of discretionary trusts

Discretionary trusts in Australia are created during someone’s lifetime. They usually involve 3-4 parties specifically where a “settlor” transfers the trust property to a “trustee (individual but usually company)” to then hold on trust for “beneficiaries.” The trust deed which governs the trust sets the rules of how the trust fund is administered. Following the creation of Trust, the property will be transferred or lent to the Trust. The trustee or trustee director will control the trusts’ activities and can be removed by the “appointer” where they appoint a new trustee. The settlor does not play a future role in the trust.

The trustee then becomes the legal owner of the trust property and liabilities. If the trustee is a company rather than an individual, its shareholders are not liable for the trust’s debts but the directors may be liable pursuant to the Corporations Act for breach of their director duties.  In a discretionary trust, the trustee decides the distribution amounts of income and capital to beneficiaries. 

Beneficiaries do not have a role or a proprietary interest in the trust fund. Beneficiaries may have a contingent interest in the trust fund where trustee distributes to other persons. 

Taxation benefits of Discretionary Trusts

There are multiple tax benefits of using discretionary trusts in Australia. There are taxation rules which apply to trust income, distributions and trust loans. 

  1. Distribute trust income to a range of beneficiaries- trust income can be distributed to particular family members or companies controlled by a family to minimise the tax rate payable on the trust income. In this respect, the Trustee can distribute among a range of beneficiaries and exploit low marginal rates.  
  2. Trustees can lend money to beneficiaries- care should be taken to distributions to shareholders who may be deemed to receive a dividend from the company to the borrower.
  3. Discretionary trusts which have other asset holding vehicles can result in capital gains on disposals of a trust asset be subject to only one layer of taxation. This is not the case for companies that sell assets where profit can be taxed in the shareholder when the exempt portion is distributed.  

In addition, trust assets are not included in the beneficiary’s assets and can be transferred to discretionary trust. For example, to qualify for the age pension while retaining control over assets, the person can transfer assets to a discretionary trust where that person’s children and/or grandchildren are beneficiaries where the trustee controls it. Care must be taken to avoid breaching anti-avoidance tax provisions. 

Testamentary Trusts

These are trusts which are created under a Will so that assets are not dissipated after their death. In this respect, ordinary marginal tax rates apply to distributions to children under 18 to avoid normal discretionary trust marginal rates or estate assets may be transferred to beneficiaries tax free. There are various tests such as surviving spouse and assets tests. Expert advice should be sought before proceeding. In this respect, trust assets do not pass under the Will and control of assets passes with control of trustee. Moreover, the beneficiaries do not have an interest in the trust fund and the assets are not directly available to the applicant under probate laws. It is therefore to seek expert legal advice from our estate planning lawyers as clauses should be inserted to suit your particular needs. For example, one important thing to include in the trust deed is for a change of appointor or ownership of trustee.

Superannuation funds

Superannuation funds are dealt with separately to a Will. The superannuation fund has assets which are subject to binding death benefit nominations where you nominate particular individuals or classes of persons who should receive the funds when you pass away. This nomination should be updated every 3 years. 

 

轉發文章:

相關文章

188投資移民關閉後：企業主和投資者赴澳的現實選擇

188商業投資移民關閉後，企業主和投資者還能怎麼去澳洲？解析858國家創新簽證、自有企業擔保482/186、188轉888、買房及稅務注意事項。

澳大利亞國家創新簽證（858）：傑出人才、企業家與投資者的永居之路

澳洲國家創新簽證（858）詳解：適合人群、EOI與邀請、優先領域、傑出成就證據、提名人要求及常見錯誤。墨爾本律師普通話、粵語諮詢。

父母往返兩國生活：持久授權書、醫療決定與長者財務保護

父母往返澳洲與中國、新加坡、香港或馬來西亞？墨爾本律師講解維州持久授權書、醫療處置決定人、海外授權文件、VCAT監護及老人房風險。

移居澳洲前的法律清單：高淨值家庭需要提前規劃的事項

計劃移居澳洲？墨爾本律師梳理簽證路徑、稅務居民身份、海外公司與信託、兩地遺囑、財務協議、FIRB買房和資金入境申報，附12個月實用時間表。

« Previous Page1 Page2 Page3 Page4 Page5 Next »

為什麼選擇蔡慶偉律師事務所?

自1990年以來，我們公司已經成功幫助無數客戶解決了他們的法律問題。

您可以放心，我們的律師可以利用積累的知識和經驗幫您實現最佳結果。

聯繫我們

經驗

我們是澳大利亞歷史最悠久的華人律所之一，是澳洲華人社區數一數二的律師事務所。

專業

我們的律師在各個法律領域都有豐富的經驗。我們有數位律師協會認證的移民法律專家。

服務

我們的團隊承諾為我們的顧客提供高效率、高水平、創新和嚴謹的法律服務。

聯繫我們

您是否有需要解決的法律問題或者其他問題需要尋求解決方案？聯繫我們為您提供最詳盡的分析及解決方案。

蔡慶偉律師事務所

蔡慶偉律師事務所是澳大利亞歷史最悠久的華人律師事務所之一，擁有超過三十年各個法律領域的經驗。

瞭解更多

Chua Tan Lawyers Pty Ltd
ABN: 84 613 093 182

業務範圍

  • 移民法
  • 家庭法
  • 商法
  • 遺囑遺產
  • 房產建築
  • 刑法
  • 民事糾紛
  • 國際公證

聯繫方式

  • +613 9602 3988
  • chuatan@tpg.com.au
  • 地址: level2, 262 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
  • 微信：chuatan262
聯繫我們

© Chua Tan Associates 蔡慶偉律師事務所 Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

zh_CN 简体中文
zh_CN 简体中文
en_AU English (Australia)
zh_TW 繁體中文