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Estate & succession planning

Business succession planning is an ongoing process which should begin when your business does. We can work with you to project the future of your business and outline plans to ensure it ends up in a place (both physically and financially) that is comfortable for you. This includes planning for either keeping the business within the family group or planning for the successful continuation of the business after the current owner leaves. There are multiple decisions to be made within these two options, including tax implications.

Trusts
A discretionary trust is also known as a family trust. It is established when a person (settlor) provides a sum as a gift to a person/party who will act as trustee for the beneficiaries named in the trust deed. The primary advantage of a discretionary trust is the ability to distribute the income or capital of the trust between the beneficiaries in the most tax effective manner. Essentially it can be an effective means of owning assets in a protected environment. We regularly establish trusts for businesses and families as a tax and wealth management strategy.

Estate planning
Discretionary trusts may also be beneficial when considering estate planning. The benefit of the assets being held in a trust is that if, following the death of the original beneficiaries, their children are involved in a matrimonial dispute, or encounter financial difficulties leading to bankruptcy, the assets retained in the trust would not be exposed in the first instance to distribution by the Family Court, and in the second instance to sale and distribution amongst creditors.

Ultimately, discretionary trusts are beneficial because they allow you to manage income or capital in a way which is tax effective and provides asset protection.