Testamentary trusts - my favourite estate planning tool

[@julied213]

Everything I have been fonding says this mostly benefits Attorneys because it forces the will to go through probate. Also it doesn't mean that the beneficiaries will get what the grantor wanted them to have. The trustee and put whatever they want in there and then charge the trust for cost to handle the estate, court cost for the probate process, the attorneys. So if their are heir, minor children the trustee can basically take everything on that life insurance policy that was suppised to go to the kids. When the trustee does not notify the beneficaries of anything, the kids have no recourse to even find out if they are doing the wishes of their dead loved one. Research people.

[@taralucke]

Hi @julied213 from your comment it sounds like you are based in America. This video is about an estate planning strategy for Australian assets and residents. The tax and estate planning rules in America are completely different. Please obtain specific legal advice for your own circumstances

[@tonyf7997]

Great info- after selling a business interest, our adviser had us do new wills and TT only recently as part of our new direction in estate planning. Well worth the cost of setting things up!

[@taralucke]

Great to hear you are using TTs in your estate plan and now have that extra peace of mind Tony!

[@habibesmaty8634]

great video, thanks for sharing it Tara!

[@jerrysamuels8716]

Very interesting, highly informative. Thank you.

[@nooshy9704]

I loved your video. Thank you. Can you do a video on how it’ll work if the parents already have few discretionary trusts which they hold investments properties in and would like to transfer all those trusts into a PD trust ? Thank you

[@taralucke]

Thanks for watching my video. What do you mean by a "PD" trust? Transferring assets out of an existing trust will typically result in stamp duty and capital gains tax in Australia.

[@pauljacobs346]

best video on this subject

[@hollygreer2677]

I would love to know the artist of the work hanging behind you! lovely!

[@taralucke]

She's an Australian artist called Annie Everingham :)

[@one4320]

Thanks for this info Tara, much appreciated. I'm wondering if you can point me to more info where, eg in my case, there are no heirs and I'd like to leave it all to a non-profit organisation, with some (I guess constrictive) conditions as to the use and development of my real estate. Tks.

[@taralucke]

hi there, thanks for watching the video. I would recommend working with an experienced estate planning solicitor for your estate plan. Leaving your estate to a non-profit organisation is reasonably straight forward but it gets more complicated once you want to add in conditions for the use of funds.

[@The_goat59]

Hi Tara Nice and Informative can you please advise about setup costs and whom to contact to set this up ?

[@taralucke]

Thanks for watching. You’ll need to work with a lawyer who specialises in estate planning. Let me know where you are located and I can suggest some lawyers

[@fredfromoz2788]

Thank you Tara I now have more questions for my circumstances I am really not sure which way to go where can I start please
I have an existing will but I am not happy with it at all

[@taralucke]

Thanks for watching. I recommend working with a lawyer in your local area who is experienced in testamentary trusts. If you can tell me where you are located I can suggest some law firms for you

[@rgriffin510]

Hi Tara! I enjoyed your info.. I actually haven't heard of a Testamentary Trust; mostly Revocable and Irrevocable Trust. My husband has a house in NC that he's placing in Trust for his minor (I have no problem with that. We're both leaving a property to our daughters. My daughter is an adult 25 yrs old). The problem I'm having is my husband wants his ex-wife (the minor's mom) to be her trustee because that's her mom. To me, that doesn't seem wise at all....

[@taralucke]

Hi R, this video relates to trusts in Australia… it sounds like you’re based in a different country? I recommend speaking with a lawyer/solicitor/attorney in your jurisdiction to get specific advice for your circumstances and the options available for the choice of trustee

[@rgriffin510]

@@taralucke Yes, I'm based in another country. Will do as you suggested; and thank you so much for your quick response!!!

[@pgphil]

Is it possible to to have a combination of discretionary testamentary trust and fixed testamentary trust? For example, say the wife dies but husband survives. On the wife's death a discretionary testamentary is trigged appointing the husband as the trustee. But then if both the wife and husband die a fixed testamentary trust is trigged appointing a trusted (but not fully trusted perhaps) family member as trustee with the children of the husband and wife as fixed beneficiaries of the testamentary trust? This is to ensure the estate goes to the children and is not squandered by the family member trustee.

[@taralucke]

This is certainly possible from a legal and trust law respective however the fixed trust structure (after both husband and wife have died) would not provide asset protection or income tax flexibility for the children. It is a trade off between certainty versus asset protection and tax planning. I prefer to keep the trust fully discretionary and make sure the trustee & appointor roles have the appropriate controls and protections

[@pgphil]

@@taralucke Thanks for the fast reply that helps. I'm in WA and wish you were over here. Your videos are really good.

[@MerrittW]

What if a named beneficiary does not legally fit the criteria / purposes of a these trusts left to via a Protected testamentary Trust and a special disability trust?

[@taralucke]

Thanks for watching the video. The types of trusts discussed in this video are not protected trusts/speical disability trusts. I would recommend obtaining specific legal advice from an experienced estate planning lawyer on how the particular circumstances fit within the terms of the relevant trust deed that you are dealing with, as trust deeds can have wildly varied terms and you can never assume what they say without reading them fully

[@jackiecampbell1513]

I live in Ipswich QLD. Any recommendations for an estate planning lawyer?

[@taralucke]

Hi Jackie, check out Lana at Lavenia Law in Ipswich

[@kathri1006]

Can a trustee live abroad or should they be resident in Australia

[@taralucke]

It’s best practice to have at least one trustee who is an Australian resident for tax purposes. If you are considering having a trustee who lives abroad, I would suggest you raise this with your lawyer preparing the testamentary trust & get specific advice from them, as there are a few practical issues to work through

[@kathri1006]

@@taralucke Thank you so much. I understand the tax implications and non resident status.Will consider joint trustees with one Australian, I suppose the tax return will have to be filed jointly.

[@tamarakennedy4976]

That does not sound great at all, what if that trustee has personal issues with beneficiaries especially if the trust is only set aside for specific persons how then can it be said no beneficiary has any right only to be considered if at all and then to how much and when again if and only if the trustee wants to release anything at all. What a nightmare.

[@taralucke]

Tamara Kennedy as you have identified, choosing the appropriate trustee/s is a critical element of this strategy

[@PeteP6441]

20:49 untrue!!!

[@taralucke]

Pete n which part are you referring to?

[@tamarakennedy4976]

I do not believe these laws apply to the united states of america. We are given no tax breaks.

[@taralucke]

Tamara Kennedy that is absolutely correct, this video is specific to Australian law only

[@PeteP6441]

13:02 What about a Special Disability Trust? You are dangerously negligent!

[@taralucke]

Pete n thanks for your comment. All testators need specific tailored legal advice when implementing their estate plan, and a testator who wishes to benefit a disabled beneficiary should certainly consider a special disability trust, however not all disabled beneficiaries satisfy the eligibility criteria in the Social Security Act to be a principal beneficiary of a special disability trust, and a special disability trust is a very restrictive trust structure that is not always appropriate. As I’m sure you can appreciate, it’s not possible to cover all strategy permutations in a high level video like this