Estate Planning Case Study

Tax + Legal Estate Planning Case Study The following case-study is an adaptation of a real-world solution provided by the Roberts + Morrow Tax + Legal team. Background Jeremy and Lisa have recently considered their succession and estate plans, approaching Roberts + Morrow’s Tax + Legal team to develop strategies to achieve their objectives. Their circumstances were as follows:

• Jeremy and Lisa are married, and their children are Kaleb, Gerald and Charlie.
• Kaleb, Gerald, and Charlie are all married with children.
• Jeremy and Lisa are equal partners in the Clarkson Partnership which carries on a primary production business.
• Jeremy owns shares in Grand Tour Pty Ltd.
• Lisa owns real property knows as Top Gear Drive.
• Kaleb is the primary beneficiary of the Kaleb Property Trust.
• Jeremy and Lisa have decided to gift properties to Kaleb Property Trust and Charlie, as well as to gift money to Kaleb during their lifetimes.

  Succession Plan Jeremy and Lisa decided that during their lifetimes they intend:

• to transfer their farm ‘Diddly’ to the Kaleb Property Trust;
• to transfer their farm ‘Squat’ to Charlie; and
• Jeremy and Lisa intend to lend $1,500,000 to Kaleb and forgive the debt upon their death.

  Estate Plan Jeremy and Lisa decided to update their wills and direct their remaining assets firstly to each other, and then as follows:

• Grand Tour Pty Ltd shares will pass to Charlie on Jeremy’s death;
• Lisa will draft her will so that her real property Top Gear Drive will pass to Gerald on Lisa’s death; and
• The Partnership assets are to be leased during lifetime to Kaleb and/or Charlie on their respective related entities.

  Our Tax + Legal Team were able to assist Jeremy and Lisa to achieve and provide:

• Tax advice on the transfers of ‘Diddly’ to the Kaleb Property Trust and ‘Squat’ to Charlie to develop a tax-free strategy.
• Conveyancing services to transfer ‘Diddly’ to the Kaleb Property Trust and ‘Squat’ to Charlie.
• Stamp duty exemption applications with Revenue NSW to ensure Kaleb and Charlie receive ‘Diddly’ and ‘Squat’ without incurring Stamp duty.
• Deed of family arrangement between Jeremy, Lisa, Kaleb and Gerald to provide all parties clarity and certainty on Jeremy and Lisa’s intentions.
• The preparation of wills for Jeremy and Lisa to give effect to their drafting instructions.
• The preparation of enduring powers of attorney and guardianship in the event Jeremy or Lisa loose capacity to manage their financial or personal affairs during their lifetimes.
• The preparation of a vendor finance loan agreement between Jeremy, Lisa and Kaleb for part of the value of ‘Diddly’ to provide them with ongoing recourse and asset protection.

If you would like the assistance of the Tax + Legal team in dealing with your estate and succession planning needs, please contact us.