Will Drafting and Planning

Wills are a common part of most people’s estate plan. Wills come in may shapes and forms, Under the Succession Act 2006, parties now have much greater flexibility with the design of their Estate Plan to incorporate Testamentary Discretionary Trusts.

A Trust is a legal entity where one person holds the title of a property for the benefit of another person. A trustee is a person who takes the ownership in “trust” for another person (the beneficiary). A Testamentary Discretionary Trust is created in a will, which gives trustees control over the distribution of assets to beneficiaries.

The advantages of setting up a Testamentary Discretionary Trust in your will include:

There are many types of Testamentary Trusts, a couple of common examples include:

Discretionary Testamentary Trusts

This type of trust allows the beneficiary the option to take part or all of their inheritance via the trust. The primary beneficiary also has the power to remove and appoint the trustee and can also appoint themselves or a company they control as trustee to manage the inheritance inside the trust.

Protective Testamentary Trusts

Under this type of trust, the beneficiary must take all of their inheritance via the testamentary trust and the primary beneficiary does not have the power to appoint or remove trustees.

It is important to recognise that testamentary trusts are not suitable in all circumstances. But if you wish to set up a testamentary trust or want to learn more, contact Streeterlaw Sydney lawyers, who have the expertise to set up a trust tailored to your individual circumstances.