The concept of a trust is one of the great inventions of English law. It was developed over the centuries to become a vital part of the modern Australian legal system.

To be put simply a trust is formed between three people, a settlor, trustee and beneficiaries. The settlor provides trust ‘property’ to the trustee to be managed for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Trusts can have several different types; discretionary, fixed (unit) or hybrid. Each can have great tax and asset protection benefits when used property as part of any strategic financial plan.

Whether you are in business or an individual this may be a solution for you and our role is to design the strategy to make sure it all works.

What is old is new again. Insurance Bonds have been revamped to give an alternative tax rate to marginal tax and superannuation. As the insurance bond is written under insurance law it sits outside these other streams and does not even require a tax file number to set up. There are some rules though, the two main rules being:

• Tax – tax on earnings within the insurance bond are taxed at the life company tax rate of 30% but provided you don’t cash in the insurance bond for 10 years you will receive the benefit free of any further tax.
• 125% rule – you can only contribute up to 125% of the previous year’s contribution, so if you contribute $0 in a year this means you cannot make another contribution without resetting the 10 years.

There are many uses for insurance bonds such as, estate planning tools, child savings plans, tax minimisation and, in some cases Centrelink/aged care planning. Also, since you can borrow against some bonds there is also flexibility for more complex investment strategies.

For more information check out this web page from one such provider IOOF

Reviewing your nominations inside super is an integral part of your estate planning. This needs to be reviewed regularly to be sure you have the correct beneficiaries nominated. There are many things to consider, like who should receive your estate, what is the tax implication of your choices, do you have other assets to consider, was your will written in line with your nominations and when does your nomination expire? We can help you fit the pieces together.