A binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) is a direction made by a member to the superannuation fund trustee requiring the trustee to pay the member’s superannuation death benefits in a certain way, eg, to the member’s dependant(s) and/or to their legal personal representative(s) (ie, the executor(s) of the member’s will). BDBNs are usually set out [read more]
The ATO has recently updated its guidance on how the transfer balance cap (TBC) rules apply where a market linked pension (MLP) that was in place prior to 1 July 2017 has been commuted or restructured on or after that date. We examine below the ATO’s current approach (see CRT Alerts 007/2022 and 010/2022) to [read more]
The High Court of Australia has settled the debate on how long an SMSF BDBN can last for. Implicitly this judgement also provides support in answering other critical SMSF succession planning questions, such as: Can a BDBN make a pension reversion mid-stream? Can a BDBN override pension documentation? Do you actually want a BDBN to [read more]
DBA Lawyers latest SMSF governing rules and related documents include many value-added features. This article briefly explains why our SMSF documents are the best available. Recent changes to DBA Lawyers’ SMSF governing rules Our latest DBA Lawyers’ SMSF governing rules (version 2022-23) comes with the following upgrades: express exclusion of reg 6.17A given the High [read more]
The High Court has just handed down its judgement in Hill v Zuda. This is a significant decision with widespread ramifications that all SMSF practitioners, accountants, financial planners, lawyers and other advisers must be aware of! On Wednesday 22 June (12–1:30 AEST) Bryce Figot from DBA Lawyers will be presenting a webinar discussing: – what [read more]
On Friday 26 August 2022, Bryce Figot, Special Counsel of DBA Lawyers, will be presenting an SMSF Succession Planning webinar. Bryce will present a practical, step-by-step guide on how to ensure that a member’s SMSF benefits are appropriately dealt with upon their incapacity or death. It is designed for financial planners, accountants, auditors, SMSF administrators [read more]
If the relationship between SMSF members falls apart, seeking to remove a member from the fund can prove difficult and expensive. Conditional membership can assist with an exit strategy. This is important to consider before admitting a new member especially a child or a second/subsequent spouse. With a DBA Lawyers’ SMSF deed, new members can [read more]
Overview A corporate trustee is strongly recommended compared to individual trustees. However, issues can arise if the company’s compliance slips, and the company is deregistered. We examine a case here to showcase the issues that can arise where the remaining fund member died without a will and without any succession plans in place for the [read more]
On Monday 4 April 2022 the Government made new laws impacting pensions (see the Treasury Laws Amendment (Allowing Commutation of Certain Income Streams) Regulations 2022 (Cth)). Those in particular with legacy pensions should pay close attention! Over 200 years ago, on 7 March 1795, English newspaper The Hull Advertiser announced that ‘[t]he licence to wear hair [read more]
New laws provide a strategic opportunity for exiting certain legacy pensions. We will cover this opportunity in great detail in a webinar to be held at 12 noon (AEST) Thursday 28 April 2022. Those who can’t attend can watch a recorded version. To register visit https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3108445138265877264 In this article we detail the preliminary ‘ins and [read more]
