Discretionary Trust Distribution Minutes

About Product

Trustees of Discretionary Trusts MUST resolve each year, on or before 30 June, what the income of the trust is, who the beneficiaries of the trust are, and importantly how they want the income of the trust to be distributed to the beneficiaries.

The LightYear Docs Trust Distribution Minutes provide the required resolutions and minutes in relation to this process.

Note: you will need a copy of the trust deed to provide you with the appropriate information, to enable you to complete the interview questions for this document.

► $129.00 (inc GST) - OR provided under your unlimited membership

► The master document has been signed off by Abbott & Mourly and is congruent with Australian law.

General Information

This is a minute for a discretionary trust that records the annual required meeting of trustees of a trust, for the purposes of making appropriate resolutions in relation to the distribution of the net income of the trust, to the eligible beneficiaries.

Note: you will need a copy of the trust deed to provide you with the appropriate information to enable you to complete the interview questions for this document.

Benefits

Ensures the trust is compliant with the requirements of the Australian Taxation Office;
Failure to do so may result in additional tax being by the trustee and/or beneficiaries.
Covers off any variation in the future of income of the trust.
Ensures the trustees are aware of their requirements in relation to the calculation and distribution of the net income of the trust.

Frequently Asked Legal Questions

Do the trustees have to meet and make resolution before 30 June?

Yes. This process must be completed before 30 June each year. The trustees must determine the net income of the trust before 30 June, which of the eligible beneficiaries will receive the net income, and how much each beneficiary will receive.

What happens if the trust has franked dividends and/or capital gains to distribute?

No beneficiary would be specifically entitled to this income as it would not be included in the income of the trust. However under the LightYear Docs Trust Distribution Minutes the proportionate approach is applied. The beneficiaries would need to include the amounts in their taxable income, proportionate to their entitlements to the income of the trust as resolved by the trustees and recorded in the minute.

How long does this document take to assemble?

Depending on the complexity of the data, this document should take approximately 5-10 secs to assemble. If you experience timing outside of this please contact Support via the Surge app, alternatively please read this article for troubleshooting tips https://info.lightyeardocs.com.au/supportcentre/troubleshooting-longer-assembly-times-timeouts .

Is this document a legal document?
All master documents have been signed off by Abbott & Mourly lawyers. Tony Anamourlis of Abbott & Mourly advises that “at no time, due to inbuilt legal protection and security measures can a user change or amend a document on the LightYear Docs platform that has been signed off by a practicing solicitor. To do so would result in the user drafting a document of a legal nature and engaging in the provision of legal services. In addition, it would be a breach of copyright. In our opinion when completing the form fields through the LightYear Docs platform, users and their employees are merely carrying out an administrative task which is not the provision of legal advice.”

However in some complex areas such as the insertion of a varied range of client instructions into a Will or other such documents the user must be mindful of the extent to which a document is being drafted by the user rather than merely the administrative task of completing a form where the relevant fields are inserted into the reviewed and signed legal document provided by Abbott & Mourly.

The above advice is born out of numerous cases dating back to Re Sanderson, Ex parte Law Institute of Victoria [1927] VLR 394, 397 where the Court held:

“if a person does a thing usually done by a solicitor, and does it in such a way as to lead to the reasonable inference that he is a solicitor – if he combines professing to be a solicitor with action usually taken by a solicitor – I think he then does act as a solicitor.”

Likewise in ACCC v Murray (2002) 121 FCR 428, 448 where Murray was building a franchise business that involved the legal writing and drafting of Wills from scratch based on the client’s personal circumstances. The Court held that this process was legal work.

Is the document easy to read?

All LightYear Docs products are written in plain English and assessed for readability. If at any time you come across any errors, please contact support@lightyeardocs.com.au.

Can I get a sample of this document?

Yes, please email support@lightyeardocs.com.au to request a sample document for you to review.

What lawyers sign off on the LightYear Docs documents?

All LightYear Docs documents form part of the LightYear Docs internal document review cycle. All documents are scheduled to be reviewed at least annually or when required to do so, due to changes in legislation. The LightYear Docs review cycle ensures all of our documents remain current and accurate.

Stamping and Lodgment of Trusts

The fees and stamping requirements for establishing a trust deed vary throughout Australia, and the duty payable also varies depending on the type of property that is held by the trust. Please contact our partners at Eventum Optimum (EO) on info@eventumoptimum.com.au for more information on when stamping is required (in what jurisdiction) and the fees/duties payable. EO are able to provide this service to you.

Are the LightYear Docs documents reviewed regularly?

All LightYear Docs documents form part of the LightYear Docs internal review process. We review all documents at least annually or when required to do so due to changes in legislation. Further details of this process and a review schedule is include on this website.