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End of financial year : Get yourself to the front of the que with your end of financial year structuring with these 24/7 online legal resources:

• Form a Company and obtain an ACN within 20 minutes ($937.50)
• Form a Discretionary Trust ($137.50)
• Form a Self Managed Super Fund ($137.50)

More online legal resources at www.onlinelegal.com.au

Individual or corporate Trustee? This is a question that we are regularly asked when it comes to setting up a trust. Here are some tips to help you decide:

A Corporate trustee is the way to go when any of the following apply:

1. The trust will be engaging in any “at risk” activity - that is activity that could result in liability. In the current climate “risk activity” is really anything other than holding shares, units, bonds or deposits. Reason: The trustee is responsible for liabilities it/he/she incurs for the trust (subject to a usual right of indemnity from the trust).

2. The trust is going to hold real estate. Increasingly this is a “risky” venture anyway. Some States now require more than one individual trustee for registration purposes, or of course, a company.

3. The individual who would act as the trustee is a “high risk” person. By high risk person I mean someone who faces large personal liability, by reason of their occupation for example. While the trust assets are not owned by that person personally, you want to minimise any risk of them being dragged in by a vexatious claimant.

4. If you think it is almost certain that you will change to a corporate trustee in the near future. Reason: Cost. When you change trustee you will need to have a Deed or Retirement and Appointment of New Trustee prepared, stamped and possibly recorded on various registers. Avoid the extra cost, “bite the bullet” now and form the company.

Extra tip: make sure that the shareholder of the trustee company is not a “high risk” person.

Trust resources from www.onlinelegal.com.au:

• Online Discretionary / Family Trust formation
• Online Unit Trust formation

Company resources from www.onlinelegal.com.au:

• Incorporate a new company in 20 minutes 24/7
• Change to a sole director company
• Update your company constitution

Discretionary Trusts: What you will need.

Trustee - this is the person who holds and manages the trust property for all the potential beneficiaries. The trustee also makes distribution decisions. The most common choices are:

• A Pty Ltd company controlled by the person who wants to set up the trust (preferably a company not involved in other “at risk activities”)
• An individual (or individuals)

Beneficiaries - these are those who you may want to benefit from the wealth of the trust. The most common choices are:

• Husband and wife
• Children
• Grandchildren
• Spouses past and present
• Not for Profit Organisations chosen by the trustee from time to time

Note: these are potential beneficiaries. The list should include those you are going to want to be likely to distribute to. The trustee is not obliged to distribute to anyone. Just because someone is named in a discretionary trust as a potential beneficiary does not mean that they have a claim on the trust property.

Appointer - this is the person or persons with power to hire and fire the trustee. They therefore hold all the power.

Settlor - this is the person, often your lawyer or accountant who initially sets up the trust and then steps away.

Establish a lawyer certified online Discretionary Trust 24/7

More trust resources can be found at www.onlinelegal.com.au