Asset protection

There are very little ways in which you can protect assets in family law situations. Transferring assets won't help.

There is.

And that is not to enter into a relationship!

Before you START a relationship, you need to put your assets outside your effective control.

That is very difficult to do in practical circumstances (especially in NSW). How do you find trusted individuals to act as trustee, appointor etc. ?  Will your superannuation trustees 'cave in' to unworthy relatives' demands against your binding nominations ?

However, so many people plan for wealth accumulation but neglect the asset protection and family succession planning.

It is surprising the number of people whose life's frugal hard work gets squandered on other undeserving individuals when they either die or become incapacitated.

You should start the long process of self education now because there are plenty of people who will offer inappropriate structures, wills, insurance etc. to get commissions out of you.

A good start would be an estate planning publication by the Taxation Institute Australia or similar professional body.

Cheers,

Rob

Hi Terry,

The 'notional estate' provisions of NSW FLA must be bordering on constitutional issues unless judges start to elaborate on their reasoning more specifically.

The Michael Hutchinson scenario is a prime example of the warning about advisers and promoters who are willing to structure your affairs for a fee.

The prime example is a person seeking an estate plan who is referred to a trustee company. All that company is interested in is the basic writing of a will with that company as the executor and ascertaining the fees it can charge for this service.

You think that all the financial information you are providing is for them to work out the best way to protect your assets but all they are doing is working out how much you are worth for charging fees by service or by asset value.

Cheers,

Rob

I should point out that the notion estate orders are part of the family provision section of the Succession Act in NSW and they only apply after the death of a person. What these orders mean is that assets that were associated with the deceased but now owned by them or not falling into the estate can be deemed to be part of the estate. This includes super, trust assets and assets held as joint tenants. So someone apply for a family provision order relating to a will could get their hands on these assets. Family provision claims can be made by certain eligible persons who have not been adequately provided for in a will.