SMSF services

Changes to SMSF trustees.

Membership and trusteeship of an SMSF move together. A member joining, leaving, dying or losing capacity requires deeds, ASIC lodgements and, with individual trustees, retitling of every fund asset.

Lawyer prepared

SMSF documents prepared by a lawyer with your auditor in mind.

Fast turnaround

Establishment packs and deed updates in one to two business days.

Fixed fee, quoted first

Fixed fee quoted first, including any trustee company costs.

Compliant documents

Drafted to the SIS Act and current ATO positions.

What a trustee change involves.

We prepare the deed of change of trustee, consents and trustee declarations, member applications or cessations, and the ASIC notifications where a corporate trustee is involved. We then deal with retitling fund assets and updating the fund's records.

Converting from individual trustees to a corporate trustee is the most common change we handle, and it is usually worth doing at the same time as any other membership change.

New trustees and directors must sign the ATO trustee declaration within 21 days of appointment and keep it for ten years. Auditors ask for it.

Why it pays to have this done properly.

Corporate conversion done once

Retitling assets is unavoidable when trustees change, doing it while moving to a corporate trustee means never doing it again.

Compliance maintained

Member and trustee alignment, declarations and lodgement deadlines all met, so the fund stays complying.

Death and incapacity handled

Legal personal representatives, enduring attorneys and death benefit payments dealt with in the right order.

Is this you?.

  • A member is joining or leaving the fund
  • A member has died or lost capacity
  • You are converting from individual to corporate trustee
  • A child is being admitted to the family fund

If any of these sound familiar, a short conversation will tell you whether this is the right document, and what it costs, before you commit.

How it works.

  1. 01

    Tell us what you need

    Start online or call us. We take short instructions, names, roles, structure and timing, and confirm this is the right document for what you are actually trying to achieve.

  2. 02

    We check the detail

    We confirm eligibility, consents, existing documents and any tax or duty consequence before drafting, so nothing is discovered after lodgement.

  3. 03

    We prepare and lodge

    We draft the change of trustee deed, declarations and ASIC lodgements, send it for signing with clear instructions on who signs what and when, and attend to any ASIC, State Revenue Office or ATO lodgement.

  4. 04

    You get a complete file

    You receive executed documents, registers and confirmations in a single organised pack, plus a short note on what to keep and what happens next.

Fees.

Fixed fee for the deed and declarations. Corporate trustee registration, ASIC fees and land title transfers are itemised separately at cost.

Request a fixed-fee quote

FAQs

Frequently asked questions.

Still unsure? Call us on (03) 9008 7224 and speak to a lawyer, not a call centre.

What happens when a member dies?
The legal personal representative can generally act as trustee while the death benefit is being paid. The deed and any binding nomination govern where the benefit goes.
Can a member be a trustee if they live overseas?
Residency rules can cause the fund to fail the central management and control test. Advice is essential before an extended move overseas.
Do the assets have to be retitled?
With individual trustees, yes, every asset. With a corporate trustee, only the directors change, which is the main reason to convert.

Ready to get started with changes to smsf trustee?.

Start online or book a consultation with a CMK Legal commercial lawyer in Richmond, Melbourne.