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Superannuation Our self-managed superannuation team has extensive experience advising on self-managed superannuation fund trustees and members:
Establishment and structuring issues
- establishing, varying and administering self-managed superannuation funds, including advising on misplaced superannuation fund deeds and appointing and removing trustees
- transiting to retirement pensions, as well as commuting existing pensions, such as market-linked and lifetime complying pensions, and commencing new market-linked pensions
- structuring self-managed superannuation funds where members have lost capacity or are moving overseas
Contribution and payment issues
- contributions to superannuation, including excess contributions, salary sacrifice arrangements, spouse contributions and deductibility of contributions
- benefit payments, including advising on applicable conditions of release
Death and succession issues
- binding and non-binding death benefit nominations, reversionary income streams and enduring powers of attorney (financial)
- succession issues, including managing complex issues arising within blended families
- structuring superannuation proceeds trusts for children
- managing the payment of death benefits, including in specie distribution of benefits to dependants
- Asset protection including advising on bankruptcy and the implications from a superannuation perspective
Tax issues
- deductibility of insurance premiums and taxation of insurance proceeds establishing and maintaining reserves
- in specie contribution of property, including advising on all regulatory aspects and capital gains tax (including the availability of the CGT cap), stamp duty and GST
- liaising with the Australian Taxation Office regarding self-managed superannuation fund audits and voluntary disclosure
Investment and borrowing issues
- all aspects of, and preparing the documentation to record, superannuation fund borrowing arrangements
- structuring transactions involving self-managed superannuation fund trustees investing in related and unrelated companies and trusts, including pre-1999 unit trusts
- advising on complex existing or proposed investment structures
- preparing complex tailored investment strategies
- compliance with the sole purpose test, acquisition and in-house asset rules, requirement to deal on arm’s length terms as well as the covenants requiring trustees to formulate an investment strategy and act in the best interests of members
Superannuation issues associated with relationship breakdowns and divorce
Fiduciary duties of self-managed superannuation fund trustees
Steps required to wind up a self-managed superannuation fund
Experience
- Advising members of self managed superannuation funds on strategies to maximise contributions to superannuation.
- Advising members on dealing with excess contributions tax and preparing the documentation requesting the exercise of the Commissioner
of Taxation’s discretion to disregard the excess contributions. - Advising on and assisting in the implementation of rectification plans for in house asset breaches and potentially non compliant superannuation funds.
- Providing superannuation, capital gains tax and stamp duty (land rich) advice and undertaking the restructure of a family business involving a self-managed superannuation fund investing in a related company in order to facilitate the inter-generational transfer of the business.
- Reviewing and advising on new and existing borrowing arrangements to ensure compliance with the borrowing provisions under the
superannuation law. - Advising and preparing the documentation to implement superannuation fund borrowing structures for self-managed superannuation fund trustees.
- Advising on structuring a $30 million property development involving a self-managed superannuation fund trustee investing in a unit trust arrangement.
- Providing advice on structuring and implementing a financing arrangement for a property development involving a number of self managed superannuation funds.
- Advising employees on their ability to transfer stapled securities to be issued under an employee share scheme to the employees’ respective self-managed superannuation funds as part of a management buy out.
- Liaising with the Australian Taxation Office regarding self-managed superannuation fund audits and in particular, resolving non arm’s length income, related party loans and non compliant structure issues.
Key Contact
Adrian Verdnik
Partner
Adrian’s financial services law practice covers superannuation, managed funds, insurance, and financial advice. His work includes both advisory and...
Our Team
Related Thinking
Thinking| 29 Aug 2017
Super wealth planning opportunities
Significant changes to superannuation came into effect on 1 July 2017 which affect how much a person can contribute to superannuation, and how they can contribute.
Thinking| 15 Aug 2017
Tripping over changes of trustees
Changing the trustees of a self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is not necessarily a straightforward task, as evidenced by a recent Queensland Supreme Court case.
Thinking| 09 Nov 2015
More good news for SMSF borrowing arrangements
he Government has released its response to the Financial System Inquiry Final Report with positive news for SMSFs engaged in or considering limited recourse borrowing arrangements.
Thinking| 30 Sep 2015
When SMSFs go off the rails: play ball with the ATO or pay the cost
On 18 September 2015 the Federal Court ordered that two trustees of a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) pay the Commonwealth monetary penalties of $20,000 each.