Introduction Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, legislators across the states and territories have been passing temporary legislation to allow for documents to be signed and witnessed using technology. At the date of this article, Victoria (‘Vic’), New South Wales (‘NSW’) and Queensland (‘QLD’) are still the only jurisdictions to make provision for deeds [read more]
Where a relationship breakdown has occurred between spouses, the parties’ superannuation entitlements may be subject to an overall family law property settlement. Typically this involves one spouse agreeing to or otherwise being required to give up some of their superannuation benefits in favour of the other spouse based on appropriately drafted orders or financial agreements. [read more]
When considering six member SMSFs, the Senate Economics Legislation Committee has hinted at an important trap that advisers must remember. Background On 27 April 2018 the then Minister for Revenue and Financial Services Kelly O’Dwyer MP announced that the government would expand the limit on the maximum number of members in SMSFs from four to [read more]
![An important reminder when drafting deeds: Wilstead No. 5 Pty Ltd v Smyth [2020] VSC 651](https://www.dbalawyers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/An-important-reminder-when-drafting-deeds-Wilstead-No-5-Pty-Ltd-v-Smyth-2020-VSC-651-200x200.jpg "An important reminder when drafting deeds: Wilstead No. 5 Pty Ltd v Smyth [2020] VSC 651")
The recent Victorian Supreme Court decision of Wilstead No. 5 Pty Ltd v Smyth [2020] VSC 651 serves as an important reminder when drafting SMSF deeds. These days many non-lawyers — such as accountants and financial planners — draft deeds by populating websites that instantly generate deeds with no lawyer review or sign off. We [read more]
Deeds are vital to the SMSF industry. Most SMSFs will be established by deed. Subsequent variations to the deed/governing rules of an SMSF, as well as a range of other documents, will typically be contained in a deed. Accordingly, it is vital that SMSF advisers know what is required for a document to be a [read more]
Overview The prospect of six member SMSFs has moved a step further when the Treasury Laws Amendment (Self-Managed Superannuation Funds) Bill 2020 (‘Bill’) was recently introduced into Parliament. If the Bill is finalised as law in November, the increase to the maximum allowable number of members for an SMSF could commence as early as 1 [read more]
DBA Lawyers offers industry-leading pension documentation. In this article, I set out several key benefits of using pension documentation from DBA Lawyers. Our expert lawyers regularly review and revise our documents Our documents are regularly reviewed and revised to ensure they reflect the latest superannuation, tax and related practical and strategic developments. Each suite of [read more]
1 INTRODUCTION This guide can assist in the electronic execution of documents. It is general information only and does not take into account the situation in jurisdictions outside New South Wales (‘NSW’), Victoria and Queensland (‘QLD’) or the facts of each case and is no substitute for expert advice. This is a moving area of [read more]
![Sutton v NRS(J) Pty Ltd [2020] NSWSC 826: Lessons for managing lost trust deeds](https://www.dbalawyers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Lessons-for-managing-lost-trust-deeds-200x200.jpg "Sutton v NRS(J) Pty Ltd [2020] NSWSC 826: Lessons for managing lost trust deeds")
The recent decision of Sutton v NRS(J) Pty Ltd [2020] NSWSC 826 highlights the importance of having original executed copies of all constituent trust documents. It has tremendous relevance for SMSFs. Facts The facts of the case were as follows: In 17 August 1972, a discretionary trust (‘Trust’) was established for the benefit of the [read more]
On 1 July 2020, DBA Lawyers will make available the latest version of our SMSF governing rules for all Annual Update Service subscribers. In addition to covering all relevant legal changes (including superannuation law, case law and ATO materials), the latest version of our SMSF governing rules includes many value-added features such as new COVID-19 [read more]
