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2 May 2024
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Even though SMSF trust deeds are often generic nowadays and almost always easy to change, they’re still vital. They’re definitely not all the same so it’s important that SMSF trustees know what they’ve got.
A binding death benefit nomination makes sense if you belong to an APRA super fund, yet how about if all of your super is in an SMSF? Here are the pros and cons of having such a nomination in your SMSF.
Superannuation is a valuable investment vehicle and deciding the intended recipient of these funds in the event of death is crucial. Yet there's a significant limitation: super benefits can't be allocated to charities.
If a super benefit is withdrawn by a member over 65 or a retiree for super purposes, there is no tax. If it is paid to independent children, tax is 17%. So how do death bed benefit withdrawals work in super?
Should you give your children their inheritance before you die? It's a thorny question asked more often as Baby Boomers in Australia grow older and die richer. Do they leave larger bequests or help buy the kids a home?
An actuary warns of the frustrations he experienced as executor of his brother's will, a role he expected to be straightforward. He knew super does not automatically form part of an estate but there are traps for all to learn.
Do what you want with your estate but there can be challenges in a court. Older people are vulnerable and they can tell people what they want to hear, but carers can also be successful over family beneficiaries.
Simpler tax arrangements for investments are a key benefit of separately managed accounts, where after-tax outcomes vary from other vehicles such as managed funds and direct equities.
Some of our readers have said family trusts have little merit because of the tight limits on the amount that can be distributed to children paying low tax rates. But the use of bucket companies drives many of the structures.
The 17% tax on the taxable component of superannuation paid to non-dependants upon death acts like a death duty, and it's worthwhile finding out how to avoid it using legal means.
Many people are reluctant to plan financially for their death, and it's not simply a matter of passing money to heirs. Far more tax-effective techniques are available which can make inheritance simpler.
Carers may have a legitimate claim to an estate even if the deceased suffered from dementia when making a subsequent will. The Court seeks to establish whether testamentary capacity was disabled.
The ATO has released all the superannuation rates and thresholds that will apply from 1 July 2024. Here's what’s changing and what’s not, and some key considerations and opportunities in the lead up to 30 June and beyond.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
How useful are the retirement savings and spending targets put out by various groups such as ASFA? Not very, and it's reducing the ability of ordinary retirees to fully understand their retirement income options.
Australia will have 3.7 million more people in a decade's time, though the growth won't be evenly distributed. Over 85s will see the fastest growth, while the number of younger people will barely rise.
Investor disgust, consolidation, de-listings, price discounts, activist investors entering - it’s what typically happens at business cycle troughs, and it’s happening to LICs now. That may present a potential opportunity.
The $3 million super tax will capture retired, and soon to retire, public servants and politicians who are members of defined benefit superannuation schemes. Lobbying efforts for exemptions to the tax are intensifying.