Family Trusts: A Plain-English Guide for Australian Families

Discover clear and practical steps to confidently establish and manage a family trust

Family trusts can be a game-changer for protecting your assets, managing your wealth and securing your family’s financial future--but they’re often misunderstood. Family Trusts: A Plain-English Guide for Australian Families cuts through the complexity, simplifies legal and financial processes, and offers clear explanations and advice that you can really use.

This book will help you decide if a family trust is right for you, then provide simple steps that enable you to make informed decisions and confidently engage with advisers. Fully updated to reflect current laws and legislation, this sixth edition is essential for navigating the modern finance and taxation landscape.

Inside, you’ll discover how to:

• Evaluate trusts: Weigh the advantages and disadvantages to determine if a trust is right for you--and identify alternative strategies
• Navigate tax and social security: Understand tax obligations, capital gains and how trusts impact benefits
• Protect your assets: Help safeguard against creditors and bankruptcy using strategic trust structures
• Tailor your trust: Explore discretionary trusts, unitised trusts and philanthropic uses, with the help of practical case studies

This expertly written guide includes updates on trustee qualifications, hybrid trusts, non-resident beneficiaries, and key legislative changes. It is a must-have resource for anyone looking to preserve their family’s prosperity for generations to come.

N. E. Renton (d. 2010) was a consulting actuary and author, well known for his many books and articles on investment, business, taxation and retirement issues.

R. A. Caldwell is a tax accountant with over 20 years of experience as an Australian Taxation Office (ATO) advisor and a tertiary level lecturer in taxation and management accounting. Rod is the author of Taxation for Australian Businesses, Learn Small Business Accounting in 7 Days and Learn Bookkeeping in 7 Days.