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3 May 2024
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Single-member SMSFs face challenges where the eventual beneficiaries (or support team in the event of incapacity) will be the member’s adult children. Even worse, what happens if one or more of the children live overseas?
The ways to avoid family disputes in a business is to have good communication, adequate preparation and helpful dispute resolution. Equality without governance and consensus can leave a business exposed.
An SMSF’s governing documents, including the trust deed, should specify trustee structure in the event of the death of a member, to ensure that the deceased’s estate plan is realised.
The merit of appointing an internal or external CEO depends on the company's circumstances. Internal appointments tend to be more successful, although alignment of interests with shareholders is critical.
Only 22% of SMSFs have a corporate trustee, with the rest using individual trustees. The benefits of a corporate trustee are not widely appreciated or adopted, but they will be realised when it's too late.
A compilation of answers to readers’ questions covering powers of attorney, enduring guardianship, succession planning and limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBAs) within an SMSF.
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.