You Have Decided to Separate… Now What?

divorce-lawyers-perth

With the increase in sophisticated financial plans and the heightened awareness of the benefits of asset protection strategies, what seems like a simple question actually requires careful consideration – what do you own?

This question is important when considering your estate planning objectives. Is it your vision for your children to take over the family business? Have you taken out life insurance to ensure that your spouse can pay the mortgage? Who will take control of your family trust after your death? When you own, or have an interest in, what are commonly referred to as ‘Non-Estate Assets’, additional planning is required.

An ‘Estate Asset’ is an asset owned personally in your name.  You may transfer ownership of Estate Assets in your Will to your preferred beneficiaries.  An Estate Asset includes any asset that you own solely in your personal name or (if with someone else) as a tenant in common.  Estate Assets can include real estate, personal belongings, shares, investments and/or cars.

If you do not own an asset in your personal capacity (i.e. in your name) then that asset is a ‘Non-Estate Asset’. Non-Estate Assets include:

  • assets owned with someone else as a joint tenant;
  • assets owned by a Trust;
  • superannuation or life insurance proceeds (subject to binding nominations and trustee discretion); and
  • assets owned by a company.

It is not possible to transfer ownership of a Non-Estate Asset by your Will as technically it is not yours to give away.  For example, company assets belong to all of the shareholders of a company, trust assets belong to all beneficiaries of that trust and superannuation does not automatically form part of your estate.

So, how do you deal with Non-Estate Assets and achieve your estate planning objectives? It is crucial to seek appropriate legal and financial advice with respect to succession of these entities and distribution of the relevant assets. Your lawyer and financial adviser will often work together with you in order to create a strategy to reach your goals and ensure that your legacy is passed on in accordance with your wishes.

PLEASE CONTACT

Contact us at bbv@bbvlegal.com.au if you wish to discuss this matter further.

Landlords – Back to Basics

court gavel and law books

The starting point for all Landlords should be ensuring that they have an appropriate and well drafted lease for their commercial premise. It is a crucial step for Landlords as a poor lease or a bad leasing decision can be a costly mistake. The lease is central to the goodwill, value and future sale of a business.  A well drafted lease can avoid or assist the Landlord in resolving disputes that they may have in the future with tenants.

In Western Australia, the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985regulates many retail shop leases. Landlords should understand their rights and obligations in relation to the lease and what procedures to follow in the event of any disputes.

In October 2015, the commercial leasing vacancy rate in the Perth CBD was 19.6%. This figure was expected to grow in early 2016 as final completions of new developments came onto the market and leasing space that was taken up during the boom, was handed back as businesses have downsized.

At its meeting today, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.0 per cent. The reasoning behind the decision was that recent information suggested the global economy is continuing to grow, though at a slightly lower pace than expected. This is the ninth month in a row that Australia’s official interest rate has remained unchanged at a record low 2 per cent.

The ramifications for Landlord’s entering into a bad or hastily drawn lease in this current climate is that they may find that they have an invalid lease or they may experience significant disputes and as well as potential litigation in later years as a result. When interest rates do start to rise in the coming years, we are likely to see a large number of disputes concerning rent reviews.

Legal and commercial advice should therefore be obtained before:

  • making any commitments to lease, take on an assignment or incur any other obligations;
  • signing an offer to lease or any other lease related document;
  • payment/receipt of any deposit or other monies; or
  • occupying the leased premises.

If you are a Landlord looking to lease in this competitive market, you should begin by considering your leasing requirements with the main goal to develop a profitable business. Once you have identified your leasing requirements (i.e. the lease term, annual rent, rent reviews, etc) you must then seek to include as many of these requirements as possible when negotiating the terms of a new lease or the renewal of a lease with the tenant.

PLEASE CONTACT

Contact Les Buchbinder at lbuchbinder@bbvlegal.com.au if you wish to discuss this matter or your estate planning objectives further.

My Will Is My Business – The Essential Connection

company-director-duties

We are constantly reminded of the importance of having a Will. The reality is, no adult is too young to make a Will and we must all confront our reluctance to plan for our succession.  Whilst the majority of us want to ensure that we provide security to our loved ones and our own legacy, many people never get around to actually doing anything about it.

So, what happens if you never execute a Will? Well, there are risks…

The most obvious risk is the complete loss of control of the distribution of your estate. If you die intestate, your estate is distributed in accordance with State Government Legislation. This means that your wishes or intentions have no relevance – the laws of intestacy dictate who gets your estate. Not only do you not have a say in who receives your estate, but you also lose control of imposing terms and conditions, such as age restrictions for beneficiaries to control their inheritance, implementing testamentary or special disability trusts or considering a fair and reasonable distribution between beneficiaries.  This gap between what the law says and what you might have wanted for your beneficiaries may quite possibly result in disharmony between beneficiaries and hardship for your administrator, as they try to navigate through administering an intestate estate.

Without giving thought to your estate planning, you also do not have a chance to properly consider binding death benefit nominations for your superannuation, Enduring Powers of Attorney for your financial affairs or Enduring Powers of Guardianship for your health and lifestyle needs.

Beyond considering your personal estate is the need to consider any assets that your business entities may own.  There is a wide misunderstanding about who owns assets that form part of any business entity.   If you operate as a sole trader, your business assets are your personal assets and accordingly do form part of your estate. On the other hand, assets owned by (for example) a trust or company belong to those separate legal entities and not to you personally.

The question then is, how do you ensure that your loved ones benefit from your business assets? Those persons in control of your business entity decide how the assets are dealt with.  It is therefore important to pass control of these entities to the right people, so that your intended beneficiaries eventually do receive the benefit of those assets.  This entails giving careful consideration to such mechanisms as gifting shares in a company or giving units in a unit trust to your intended beneficiary, or appointing that beneficiary as the successive appointor of your family trust.  If you die intestate and do not take the opportunity to give thought to whom or how you will pass control of these entities, you may leave your business (and possibly your family’s source of income) floundering.

As a shareholder of a company with multiple shareholders, it is vital to remember that if one of your fellow shareholders passes away and the shareholders haven’t addressed a succession plan for the company, then you could end up being in business with whomever inherits the deceased’s shares.  This may be his or her spouse, children or even someone entirely different. This can lead to significant disharmony and in turn could also lead to the company suffering financial loss and other prejudice because of a lack of proper management.  By implementing a business succession agreement (and the right insurances if necessary) or a shareholders agreement, one is able to ensure that they know exactly who they will be doing business with in the future and ensure the positive ongoing operation of the company and its officers.

It is quite clear – estate planning goes hand in hand with good business planning!

PLEASE CONTACT

Contact us at bbv@bbvlegal.com.au if you wish to discuss this matter further.