Hi everyone,
People have been throwing around figures of $2000-$5000 to set up a company, pay ASIC fees, pay accountants etc in order to set up a company to act as a corporate trustee to a discretionary trust…
From my quick internet search, I found two Australian websites that claim to do the whole setup (although be it off the shelf) for $499 and $599 respectively. These sites are:
http://www.incorporate.net.au/ AND http://www.incorporator.com.au/
Does anyone have any experiences with this type of off the shelf setup, and can anyone explain if these would be suitable for the application of acting as a corporate trustee?
I keep thinking that $2000-$5000 is not really a lot to pay to give me peace of mind that I am structuring myself correctly, however $499 would be much nicer if it could achieve the same objective. Thoughts appreciated.
Cheers,
.
aaabbbccc also check out lawcentral.com.au and cleardocs.com.au
Richard Taylor | Australia's leading private lender
If you go into ASIC you can fill in the forms yourself and get it done for about $400.
I have formed some using law central and you get nice forms and minuites, but really you are paying for them to fill in the ASIC forms for you and to give you a bit of advice with each question – which is good if you don't know much about forming a company. I would suggest you register there and go and make the company and read all the tips – you only pay at the end.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Terry,
When you say "go into ASIC", can this be done online, or are you referring to lodgement of forms physically over the counter at th ASIC office?
Stupid question… but never formed a co before
Thanks
YIYou can post the forms in or do it online now I think
form 201http://asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC.NSF/byHeadline/Starting%20a%20company%20or%20business
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Assuming you have had all the proper conversations regarding "the right structure for you", is there any way that an online application could leave out a piece of the company or trust structure that was vital?
Or is it a case of "Once you've seen one discretionary family trust, you've seen 'em all"
Yes, there was a guy posting on here some time back that made a serious mistkae with his trust set up – I forget the details now, but ti fix it would have cost more than the trust set up.
Also one of my clients had his son as appointor – which meant that his son could never receive a distribution from the trust.
One of the biggest mistakes it putting 2 trustees down – husband and wife. This doubles the risk and serves no purpose – but this is what my accountant recommended me to do with my first trust too.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
sounds like doing it online is okay as long as you avoid the major mistakes…
ie: there aren't 100 different types of DFT's to choose from and you should be okay as long as you have a basic idea…
having said that… i'm not trying to hold you to any of your advice if I end up being one of the prople that posts their mistakes on this forum
Actually trusts terms depend on the wording of the deed. Some deeds have been recycled by accountants, breach copyright and are so old that they don't incorporate GST. So you do have to be careful. Even the good deeds – they will vary in wording from lawyer to lawyer.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Bleh… sounds like I will need to vist an acctant, solicitor or broker and pay through the backside.
still… if the advice is good then it's worth the cash…
Does this mean the appointor cannot be a beneficiary?
Sorry aaabbbccc, I meant Settlor. will change it above.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Terryw wrote:Yes, there was a guy posting on here some time back that made a serious mistkae with his trust set up – I forget the details now, but ti fix it would have cost more than the trust set up.Also one of my clients had his son as appointor – which meant that his son could never receive a distribution from the trust.
One of the biggest mistakes it putting 2 trustees down – husband and wife. This doubles the risk and serves no purpose – but this is what my accountant recommended me to do with my first trust too.
Sorry, made a mistake. An appointor can be a beneficiary, but the settlor cannot. I had a client who made his son settlor and therefore the son could never be a beneficiary of the trust.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi Terry, thanks for the clarification. I just pulled out my trust deed and saw myself as appointor and got a little worried!
As per your comment above, it now makes sense that my accountant is listed as the settlor.
Cheers,
.
Yep, sorry about giving you a heart attack! You wouldn't want to give you accountant money anyway so thats ok
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
$2000 to $5000 sounds like a lot. For a straight forward company and trust setup, you could get it done, with accountants advice for about $1100 to $1400, depending on the level of advice.
For a first time setup, I wouldn't advise setting it up yourself, mainly because an accountant or lawyer will be able to advise the best way to set up the structure, for tax and asset protection purposes.
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