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Set up and run a family trust

We will draft a deed that matches what you actually intend, and keep the administration consistent with it.

A family trust is only as protective as two things: the deed, and the decisions made under it. Most trusts are set up from a template and then run for years without anyone reading the deed again. That is where the exposure comes from. A trustee who distributes outside the beneficiary class, or resolves after 30 June, undoes the protection. The assets go back to the claims and the tax the trust was meant to avoid. We draft the deed to your circumstances and advise the trustee on the decisions that follow.

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A deed that matches your intention

The trust is drafted around what you want it to achieve rather than adapted from a precedent.

Resolutions made before the deadline

A distribution resolution signed after 30 June can make the trustee assessable at the top rate.

Drift found before it matters

An existing trust is read against how it has actually been run, rather than on a divorce or an audit.

What is a family trust, and what makes one work?

A family trust is an arrangement under which a trustee holds assets for a defined class of beneficiaries. The trust deed is the governing document. It sets out who can benefit, what the trustee may and may not do, and how income and capital are distributed. The protection a trust offers comes from that separation of legal and beneficial ownership. It holds only while the trustee acts within the deed, which is why administration matters as much as formation.

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What happens if a distribution resolution is late?

It can be expensive. Where there is no effective resolution by the end of the financial year, the trustee can be assessed on the trust’s income. The rate is the top marginal one. The resolution has to be made before 30 June, not when the accounts are prepared months later.

Can we change the trust deed?

Only if the deed gives a power to amend, and only within the limits of that power. An amendment made without authority can be ineffective. A change that goes far enough can resettle the trust. That is treated as a disposal of everything it holds, and can trigger capital gains tax and duty.

Who can the trust distribute to?

Only the beneficiaries within the class the deed defines. That class is usually drawn by reference to a named person and their relatives. The wording varies, and some deeds are narrower than people assume. A distribution to somebody outside the class is simply ineffective.

Does a trust actually protect assets from creditors?

It can, because the assets are held by the trustee rather than by you personally. The protection depends on the trust being properly established, genuinely administered, and not used as a device. A trust that is run as if the assets are still yours is much easier to attack.

Have the deed read before you rely on it

Send us the deed and tell us what you want the trust to do. We will tell you whether it does that, and what the trustee needs to change.

A trust protects what the deed says it protects

You set the trust up to keep what you have built safe and to pass it on sensibly. What you may not know is whether the deed actually says that, or whether the way the trust has been run since matches it. Those two questions decide whether the protection is real. Most people have never had either of them answered.

We will establish what you want the trust to do before any deed is drafted.
We will draft a deed for your circumstances rather than adapting a standard precedent.
We will advise the trustee on the limits of its powers under the deed.
We will prepare the annual distribution resolutions before the end of the financial year.
We will review an existing trust and tell you what has drifted from the deed.

The trust has been running for years and nobody has read the deed

You have a family trust, set up some years ago on your accountant’s advice. It holds a property, or shares, or the business. Distributions are made each year on a recommendation you approve without much discussion. Nobody has checked whether the beneficiaries being paid sit inside the class the deed allows. Nobody has checked whether the trustee holds the power it is being asked to use.

What's included in your family trust advice

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A written statement of what the trust is intended to achieve.
A trust deed drafted for your circumstances.
Advice to the trustee on the scope and limits of its powers.
Annual distribution resolutions prepared before 30 June.
Review of an existing deed against how the trust is actually run.
Advice on amendment, and on the resettlement risk that comes with it.

Where a trust stops protecting

A trust fails quietly. There is no moment where the protection switches off, only a series of decisions that were never tested against the deed.

The common ones are ordinary. A distribution to someone outside the beneficiary class, which is simply ineffective. A resolution signed in August for a year that ended in June. That can make the trustee assessable at the top marginal rate on the trust’s whole income. An amendment executed without the power to amend, which can resettle the trust and trigger capital gains tax and duty on everything it holds.

None of these is discovered when it happens. They surface on a divorce, a creditor’s claim, an ATO review or a sale. That is exactly when the trust was supposed to be doing its job.

From a template deed to a trust that does what you meant

We start with what you want the trust to achieve, then read the deed against it. Where the deed is being set up, we draft it to your circumstances rather than adapting a precedent.

Then we deal with the running of it. We advise the trustee on the limits of its powers and prepare the annual resolutions before 30 June. We also check that the beneficiaries being paid sit inside the class. Where an existing trust has drifted, we tell you what can be corrected and what cannot. Some things can be fixed by a properly authorised amendment. Others have already happened, and the useful advice is about limiting the consequences.

How we set up and maintain a trust

Draft it to your intentions, then keep every decision inside the deed.

Establish the purpose

We work out what you want the trust to achieve, and who genuinely needs to benefit from it.

Draft the deed

We draft the deed to your circumstances, setting the beneficiary class and the trustee's powers deliberately.

Run it properly

We advise the trustee, prepare the annual resolutions on time, and review the arrangement as things change.

A deed drafted to your circumstances, and administration kept inside it

Almost nobody reads their own trust deed. It was signed years ago, it is long, and until something goes wrong there is no obvious reason to.

Two of our lawyers are full members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. One of our lawyers is a Chartered Tax Advisor with The Tax Institute and has held that credential for 25 years. We draft family trust deeds, advise trustees on their powers, and review arrangements that have been running unexamined for years. Where a trust has drifted from its deed we will tell you plainly what can be corrected and what cannot.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Have your trust checked properly

Send us the trust deed and the last few years of distribution resolutions. We will tell you whether the trust is doing what you set it up to do, and what needs fixing.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590