OPPORTUNA LEGAL

A will and a family trust deed are separate instruments. Where someone controls a discretionary family trust, the assumption that a well-drafted will settles the question of what happens to their assets on death is not correct. ​ For assets held personally, that assumption is broadly correct, setting aside any family provision claims. For assets held in a discretionary trust, it is wrong, and a recent Supreme Court decision shows how that mistake can persist for more than a d

The Talgarno Trust was a discretionary family trust established in 2004 by the late Mr John Stoate. It held all the issued shares in a company that operated a pastoral lease in regional Western Australia. Mr Stoate had three children and a number of grandchildren. The trust deed defined the grandchildren as "primary beneficiaries" and a wider class, including his children, as "general beneficiaries." The trustee, Mainray Nominees Pty Ltd, held an absolute discretion to distri

Giuseppe Vartuli was a greengrocer who provided for his family through hard work and careful planning. In 1986, he settled a discretionary family trust, naming himself as both settlor and appointor. A corporate trustee, Deemhire Pty Ltd, held commercial property in Cabramatta and Liverpool along with a portfolio of listed shares. Four children, a growing number of grandchildren, and eventually great-grandchildren stood to benefit from the trust. For 25 years, nobody had reaso

Outlines the options available to shareholders to access company books.

Cody v Live Board Holdings Limited demonstrates that a shareholders’ agreement with an inconsistency clause, will not automatically take pre

A shareholders agreement set out the rights and obligations between the parties to the agreement including the company shareholders and...