We have recently seen the Tax Office scrutinise the capital gains tax treatment of unpaid present entitlements as part of their audit activity into high net worth individuals, particularly where UPEs have been either forgiven or assigned rather than satisfied by the trustee. The CGT treatment of UPEs is…

Mercanti v Mercanti [2016] WASCA 206 was a decision of the Western Australia Court of Appeal which is relevant when assessing whether a trust deed’s power to vary is sufficiently broad to permit a variation to the schedule of the deed. The case involved purported variations made to two trusts, the…

As discussed in some of our previous articles https://cloverlaw.com.au/tax-relief-for-matrimonial-breakdown-what-are-the-requirements. Tax relief for matrimonial breakdown – what are the requirements https://cloverlaw.com.au/matrimonial-breakdowns-is-cgt-relief-available-on-the-transfer-of-assets-to-trusts-or-companies. Matrimonial breakdowns – is CGT relief available on the transfer of assets to t...

We commonly encounter deeds of variation which purport to amend a provision in the schedule of a trust deed, such as changing an appointor or removing a beneficiary. Unfortunately, a number of these variations are invalid as the power to vary the trust deed which was relied upon does not permit…

When a trust is established with a vesting day shorter than the 80 year period permitted by law in most jurisdictions, there will often be a desire to extend that vesting day. Typically, the trustee of the trust will exercise a power of variation under the trust deed to amend the…