Insights
Insights
Notes on technical changes, court decisions and structuring questions as they come up in our work. Written for clients, accountants and advisers who want the detail rather than the headline.
- Are Discretionary/Family Trusts Dead?The proposed 30% minimum tax weakens the income-splitting case for a discretionary trust. It does nothing to the asset-protection case, and for many clients that was always the stronger reason to have one.
- Your unit trust probably isn't 'fixed' — and it will cost you 30%.Most Australian unit trust owners assume the new 30% minimum trustee tax doesn't apply to them. Most are wrong. Kallan Lawyers explains why.
- The trust reform isn't law yet. Don't buy a fix yet either.Template deed amendments and 'restructure kits' are about to flood the market in response to the 2026 Budget trust reform. Most will cost more than they save. Here's why.
- Converting your trust? Beware the state duty trap.The federal CGT rollover for restructuring out of discretionary trusts doesn't touch state stamp duty. For trusts holding land, that's where the real planning cost sits.
- Federal rollover, state duty: the mismatch every adviser needs to model.The federal CGT rollover for restructuring out of discretionary trusts has no operation in respect of state stamp duty. Advisers should not advise on one without modelling the other.