With the new Trusts Act 2019 that came into force on 30 January 2021, we now have a new edition (the 4th) of To Trust or Not to Trust: a practical guide to family trusts.
To Trust or Not to Trust has chapters on:
- Establishing a family trust: is this for you?
- Trusts Act 2019
- Protection given by a family trust
- Transferring assets
- Decisions to be made
- Completing your estate plan
- Family trust administration
- What will a family trust cost?
This new edition lists trustees’ mandatory and default duties and obligations. It sets out the changes the Trusts Act brings to some provisions for beneficiaries, and explains that trustees who are no longer mentally competent can be more easily replaced.
If you are thinking of how you would like your assets protected, this guide is a very good starter for you to understand how a family trust works. For those of you who already have family trusts, this 4th edition provides an update on the changes the new legislation has brought.
If you would like to talk more about asset protection or your current family trust, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The process
It has been estimated that there are between 300,000-500,000 trusts in this country. Trusts have been established for many different reasons, including estate planning, creditor protection, to ensure access to rest home subsidies, tax benefits or for protection from relationship property claims.
When the reason for a having a trust is no longer valid (there’s more on this on our article Do I still need a trust? here), it is important to bring it to an end in the most appropriate way bearing in mind the powers in the trust deed and the needs of all the beneficiaries.
This article explores the two most common ways that trusts can be brought to an end – bringing forward the date of distribution (the trust’s expiry date) and distributing all the trust assets to beneficiaries.
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Know when to walk away
When Barack Obama was US president, he made an historic visit to Africa. One of the messages he repeated was that, under the US Constitution, he could only be president for eight years and this time limit is generally a good thing.
Obama was, of course, making an indirect reference to the tendency in some African countries for leaders to have themselves declared to be president for life. This, in Obama’s view, was not only unhealthy but also an excessive burden for one person to bear for too long.
Something similar could be said of some trustees. No one should want to be trustee for life. It’s useful for trustees to think about a succession plan: which trustees should we expect to retire or be replaced and who are the likely replacement trustees? Sometimes, likely future trustees are asked to sit in on trustee meetings to understand how the trust runs. (We have an article about the process for retiring trustees here.)
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Some key proposals
In late 2013, the Law Commission completed a report recommending that a new Trusts Act replace the Trustee Act 1956. The public consultation phase began last December with the release of the exposure draft Bill. It is intended that the new legislation will be the primary source of trust law in New Zealand. We outline below some key proposals.
Definition
Most trusts in New Zealand are established with a written trust deed or other document such as a Will. These are known as ‘express trusts.’ The Bill only applies to express trusts. Characteristics of express trusts are defined in the Bill as:
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With the growth of multiple relationships and blended families many couples are having to consider ways to ringfence assets and protect inheritances. One option is to establish parallel trusts – so you each have your own trust for your share of the assets.
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The Government intends to repeal gift duty if concerns around creditor protection and social assistance targeting can be addressed, Revenue Minister Peter Dunne announced today.
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Important information for property investors here…
The latest Trust eSpeaking – hot off the press
In this issue:
- Division of Trust Assets on Separation: Family Proceedings Act can apply
- What Type of Trust do you Have? Important tax implications
- Advisory Trustees: all care and not the responsibility
The next issue of Trust eSpeaking will be published in September.
