The Supreme Court of Qld has allowed 2 discretionary trusts to amend the vesting dates in their deeds to expire 80 years from the settlement date of the trust deed.
Trustees of the 2 discretionary trusts sought orders, pursuant to s 94 of the Trusts Act 1973 (Qld), to amend the vesting date of each trust to a later date. Each trust had a vesting date of 16 February 2017. The trustees sought the change as there would be substantial tax consequences if the vesting date remained and the trust property (comprising real estate with a total value of over id=”mce_marker”5m) was distributed.
The Court examined the relevant provisions and case law, and noted there was no proposed transaction in the sense of dealing with another person but rather, a desire to avoid the need to deal with the trust property upon the vesting date. The Court was of the view however, that the amendment of the trust deed to change the vesting date “could fairly be characterised as a transaction”. The Court concluded that there was a discretion to make the orders sought, taking into account the substantial impact of taxes and duties on the trust funds, and the unanimous approval of all classes of beneficiaries. The Court therefore made the orders sought by the trustees under s 94 of the Trusts Act.
(Re Arthur Brady Family Trust; Re Trekmore Trading Trust [2014] QSC 244, Supreme Court of Qld, McMurdo J, 30 September 2014)
[LTN 190, 1/10/14]