Trust services

Discretionary (family) trust.

A discretionary trust lets a trustee decide each year who receives income and capital from a defined class of beneficiaries. It remains the most common structure in Australia for holding a family's investments and, often, a family business.

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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.

What a family trust does.

We prepare the trust deed, appoint the trustee and appointor, define the beneficiary class, settle the trust with the settlement sum, and provide the establishment minutes and register. Where a corporate trustee is preferred, we register that company at the same time.

The deed governs everything that follows, who can be added or excluded, whether streaming of franked dividends and capital gains is permitted, when the trust vests, and who controls the trustee. Generic online deeds routinely fail on these points.

The appointor, not the trustee, holds real control, they can remove and replace the trustee. Choosing the appointor and their succession is the most important decision in the deed.

Why it pays to have this done properly.

Flexible distributions

Income and capital can be allocated between beneficiaries each year according to circumstances, within the terms of the deed.

A layer of asset protection

No beneficiary owns trust assets outright, which can help insulate family wealth from a beneficiary's business or personal risk.

Succession built in

Appointor succession lets control pass on death or incapacity without the assets forming part of an estate.

Is this you?.

  • You want to hold investments or a business outside personal names
  • Your accountant has recommended a family trust for distributions
  • You want family wealth protected from a business risk
  • You are buying an investment property in a trust structure

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 trust deed, establishment minutes and beneficiary register, 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 establishment pack. Victorian duty on the deed and any corporate trustee registration 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.

Is stamp duty payable on a Victorian family trust deed?
Victoria charges nominal duty on a declaration of trust over the settled sum. Duty differs in other states, NSW, for example, charges a fixed amount payable within three months.
Should the trustee be a company or individuals?
A corporate trustee is usually preferable, it separates trustee liability, simplifies succession and avoids retitling assets when people change.
Can beneficiaries be added later?
Only if the deed permits it. Adding beneficiaries can trigger duty or resettlement issues, so it should be done by a properly drafted variation.
Who are the parties to a family trust, and who is in control?
A family trust usually has four roles. The settlor settles a small sum to create the trust and then steps away, and is normally someone independent rather than a beneficiary. The trustee, often a company, holds and manages the assets and decides the distributions each year. The appointor, sometimes called the principal, holds the real control, because they can remove and replace the trustee. The beneficiaries are the family members and entities who can receive income or capital. Who holds the appointor role, and who takes it over on death or incapacity, is the most important thing the deed decides.
What makes a trust valid?
A trust needs three certainties: a clear intention to create the trust, certainty about the property being held on trust, and certainty about who the beneficiaries are. It is usually created when a settlor, someone independent of the family, gives a small sum to the trustee to hold for the beneficiaries, and the deed then sets out the rules. Getting these foundations and the deed right at the start is what makes everything the trust later does defensible.
What are the trustee's responsibilities?
The trustee is the legal owner of the trust assets and holds them for the beneficiaries, so it must act in line with the deed and trustee law, keep trust assets separate from its own, and act in the beneficiaries' interests. A trustee is personally liable for the trust's dealings, but is normally entitled to be indemnified out of the trust assets, which is why the right of indemnity in the deed matters and why many families use a company as trustee.

Related services.

Unit trust (fixed/hybrid)

Fixed or hybrid unit trust deeds for joint ventures and property holdings.

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Bloodline family trust

A family trust deed that keeps capital within your direct descendants.

Learn more

Change of trustee/appointor

Retire and appoint trustees or appointors without triggering a resettlement.

Learn more

Ready to get started with discretionary (family) trust?.

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

Start onlineBook a consultation