LIFE CHANGES. HAS YOUR STRUCTURE KEPT UP?

Investment structures are often established for good reasons.

A trust may offer flexibility.
A company may suit a growing business.
Superannuation may support a retirement plan.

The challenge is that structures can remain unchanged long after the reasons behind them have shifted.

A review does not assume something is wrong. It asks whether the arrangement still supports your goals, family, business and future plans.

Here are five moments when that conversation may be valuable.

1. Your business has grown or you are considering an exit
A structure established when a business was small may not suit a larger operation, new owners or a future sale.

Growth can introduce additional risks, assets, retained profits and succession questions. A proposed sale may also bring capital gains tax, superannuation and estate planning into the same conversation.

Restructuring shortly before a transaction may limit choices or create unnecessary costs. Starting earlier allows your professional team: accountant, financial planner and legal adviser, to understand the intended outcome before decisions become urgent.

Consider whether the structure still suits the business, who should hold control in the future and whether a sale could create tax or cash flow consequences.

2. Retirement is moving closer
Retirement changes the purpose of many assets.

During the wealth building years, the focus may be growth and reinvestment. Later, reliable income, access to capital, tax efficiency and estate planning may become more important.

Assets held in a company, trust, super fund or personal name can behave differently when income needs change.

A review can help clarify where future income may come from, how easily funds can be accessed and what may pass through an estate.

Our team of specialised advisers can work together to identify tax and structural considerations, and review your investment and retirement strategy.

3. Your family circumstances have changed
Children grow up. Relationships begin or end. New generations arrive. Adult children may become involved in the business.

A trust deed, company shareholding or succession plan created many years ago may no longer reflect today’s relationships or intentions.

For illustrative purposes only.
A family trust may have been established when children were young. Years later, those children may have different incomes, careers and levels of involvement in the family business.

The trust may still be appropriate. The review is about confirming its purpose, understanding who holds control and checking that the broader estate plan tells the same story.

4. You receive an inheritance or make a major investment
An inheritance, property purchase, business acquisition or significant asset sale can materially change your financial position.

One question is:
What should we invest in?

An equally important question is:
How should the asset be owned?

The answer may affect tax, control, asset protection, borrowing, future income and estate planning.

Making the ownership decision after a contract has been signed can be too late or expensive to unwind.

Bringing our team of accountants, advisers, finance specialists and legal advisers into the conversation early can provide clarity before commitments are made.

5. The rules or tax settings have changed
Recent reforms and proposals affecting capital gains, residential property, discretionary trusts and larger super balances may alter the assumptions behind long term strategies.

That does not mean every structure needs to change. It does mean relying on an explanation received many years ago may no longer be enough.

A minimum 30 per cent tax on taxable income from discretionary trusts is proposed from 1 July 2028, subject to exclusions, consultation and final legislation. Three years of rollover relief are proposed from 1 July 2027 for
eligible taxpayers considering a restructure.

The Government expects most active small businesses will not be affected in any given year. Even so, owners of discretionary trusts may benefit from understanding whether the proposal applies and whether the structure
still serves its intended purpose.

The aim is review, not reaction.

Questions to take into your conversation

• Why was each structure originally established?
• Does that reason still apply?
• Have our family, business or retirement goals changed?
• Could an upcoming transaction create tax, duty or finance consequences?
• Do our advisers share the same understanding of our plans?
• Is there enough time to consider alternatives before 1 July 2027?

Key takeaway
A structure should support the strategy, not become a strategy by default.

Business growth, retirement, family changes, major transactions and new tax settings can all provide a valid reason to look again.

The outcome may be confirmation that the current structure remains appropriate.

That confirmation can be just as valuable as identifying a need for change.

Let’s start the conversation before the deadline.
We look forward to helping you review your strategy now, well before 1 July 2027 arrives.

Reach out
Where financial, investment or legal advice is required, we can work alongside your other advisers to help create a coordinated view.