It Depends – Can I change the appointor of my trust?

In this edition of ‘It depends’, lawyer Sacha Robinson considers the question ‘Can I change the appointor of my trust?’

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to today’s edition of It depends. Today we will be considering the question of ‘can I change the appointor of my trust?’

Can I change the appointor of my trust?

It depends. The first step is to read the trust deed and figure out the process for changing the appointor of your trust. Trust deeds can have all sorts of weird and wonderful processes for changing appointors and it is important that you figure out the process for changing the appointor otherwise you may run into problems.

What are the tax and duty consequences of changing the appointor of your trust?

It depends. In most cases, there will be no trust, resettlement or adverse tax or duty consequences when changing the appointor of your trust, provided that you change the appointor of your trust in accordance with the terms of the trust deed. But again, this depends on the terms of your trust deed and whether there are any unintended consequences when changing the appointor. For example, if changing the appointor changes the beneficiaries of the trust, there may be tax and duty consequences.

When should I change the appointor of my trust?

The answer to this question depends on your specific circumstances. There are many circumstances where you may want to change the appointor of your trust. For example, if there is a family law settlement. You should carefully consider any changes to the appointor role and the succession of that role as the appointor controls who the trustee is and really has ultimate control over the trust assets. Please contact me or a member of our team if you have any questions about changing the appointor of your trust.