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Trusts

Managing assets on behalf of the beneficiaries

A trust is a way of managing assets (money, investments, land or buildings) for other people. There are different types of trust and they are taxed differently. Trusts involve settlors, trustees and beneficiaries.

Trusts are usually setup to control or protect family assets, because someone is too young to responsibly handle their own affairs, to pass on assets whilst you are still alive or even to protect the assets of an incapacitated individual.

 The settlor creates the trust and decides how it should be used. The trustees are the legal owners of the trust and manage it on a day-to-day basis and the beneficiaries receive the income and sometimes the capital of the trust.

You can put money, investments or other assets into a trust. Depending on the type of trust you use, it may have to pay tax and the trustees may also need to complete tax returns.

Essendon Tax can advise you on using trusts tax efficiently and can help connect you with the right legal team to setup and manage the trust when you’re gone.