Trust services
Trust services.
Trust deeds decide who controls family wealth, who can benefit, what duty is payable and what happens when someone dies. CMK Legal drafts, varies, rectifies and vests trusts for Melbourne families, investors and business owners, with the duty and tax consequences considered before anything is signed.
Lawyer prepared
Deeds drafted and settled by a lawyer, not a form generator.
Fast turnaround
Standard deeds prepared within one business day of instructions.
Fixed fee, quoted first
Fixed fee quoted first, with any duty payable set out up front.
Compliant documents
Trustee Act, Duties Act and ATO practice considered on every deed.
Our trust services.
What our trust services team does.
We establish discretionary, unit, hybrid, bloodline and pharmacy trusts, and we fix existing ones: changes of trustee and appointor, beneficiary exclusions, variations for borrowing or streaming, rectification of drafting errors, name changes, and vesting or wind-up.
We also deal with the revenue side, Victorian and NSW duty on deeds and transfers, foreign purchaser surcharge exposure, and the absentee owner surcharge that catches ordinary family trusts by default.
Most trust problems we see began with a template deed that nobody read. The cost of reading it properly at the start is a fraction of the cost of a resettlement or a surcharge assessment.
Why it pays to have this done properly.
Documents prepared by a lawyer
Every deed, constitution and resolution is drafted or reviewed by a commercial lawyer, not generated from a form.
Fixed fees, quoted first
You know the professional fee and the government charges before we start work.
Lodgements handled
ASIC, State Revenue Office and ATO lodgements are attended to as part of the engagement.
Is this you?.
- You are establishing a trust to hold a business or investments
- A lender, auditor or the SRO has raised a question about your deed
- Control of the trust needs to pass to the next generation
- The vesting date is approaching or the deed contains an error
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 03
We prepare and lodge
We draft the documents your matter requires, send it for signing with clear instructions on who signs what and when, and attend to any ASIC, State Revenue Office or ATO lodgement.
- 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.
Trust deeds, variations and rectifications are fixed fee and quoted before we start. Duty and lodgement costs are itemised separately at cost.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
Still unsure? Call us on (03) 9008 7224 and speak to a lawyer, not a call centre.
How quickly can a trust deed be prepared?
Will changing my trust deed trigger tax?
Do you handle stamping?
Related services.
Ready to get started with trust services?.
Start online or book a consultation with a CMK Legal commercial lawyer in Richmond, Melbourne.