A Matter of Trusts

Taxation in Australia Journal

Will Monotti, Ed Skilton and Rob Jeremiah discuss as our population ages, wage growth stalls and younger people continue to struggle to enter into the property market, it is becoming more and more common for members of the community to put in place a succession planning structure that affords estate assets a certain degree of protection and allows for several generations of a family to benefit. Testamentary trusts are frequently being used to assist in this regard. A testamentary trust is any trust established by the will of a deceased person.

This article gives a brief overview of some of the benefits of using testamentary trusts and examines in particular a structure where testamentary trusts are “layered” to best strike a balance between factors clients tend to consider critical: asset protection, tax flexibility, and avoiding disharmony between beneficiaries forced to work together.