Webinar: Keeping Trust in Trusts
The industry has been inundated with guidance regarding trusts, raising the question: what steps can be taken to mitigate risk for trustees and advisors? […]
Emily Pritchard, current as of: 2 August 2022.
The primary concern around using a corporate trustee is one of asset protection. The overriding principle is to separate risk from assets.
As trusts are not considered to be legal entities, when trusts operate there must be a person or other legal entity that becomes primarily liable for the debts of the trust and who can act on behalf of the trust. This is the trustee, of course, but the problem with trustees is that they incur personal liability for the debts of the trust. The trustee is, however, entitled to be indemnified for any personal liability by recouping any such amount out of the assets of the trust.
But what happens if the trust does not have sufficient assets to pay that liability for the trustee? The fact is the trustee is responsible for those liabilities whether or not the trust has sufficient assets. Any trustee who cannot claim against the indemnity has his or her personal assets exposed to the claims of creditors of the trust.
Similarly, a number of cases (e.g. Richstar) have highlighted the need for separation of the “at-risk” person in a trust situation from trust assets.
The use of a company as the trustee of a trust can provide a greater level of asset protection than the appointment of an individual as trustee, because doing so separates risk from assets.
While the same asset protection issues exist for SMSFs, there are additional reasons for using a corporate trustee in your SMSF:
If you have any queries regarding the benefits of using a corporate trustee, please call us toll-free on 1800 773 477.
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