BOOK REVIEW of the first edition
from Personal Investment, January/February 1998
Industry insiders claim there are more than a million family trusts in Australia. Quite a substantial figure, reflecting the power of informed financial planning.
There's no doubt establishing a trust can be time-consuming and requires a strong measure of understanding, even if the ongoing administration is left to a trustee.
Renton is renowned for his knowledge of the finance industry. His foray into the world of family trusts is extensive.
Sub-titled A plain English guide for Australian families of average means, the book outlines key principles of establishing a trust without being weighed down too greatly in the complexities of tax and administration.
BOOK REVIEW of the second edition
by Andrew Scott
Nick Renton has again written a very detailed book to help investors understand the intricacies around an aspect of Australian law. This is the most popular general book for understanding how to use trusts, but it has a bias heavily towards family trusts, as indicated by the title.
So if you aren't interested in setting up a family trust, you will have to wade through much irrelevant material. Another issue is the dynamic situation with respect to taxation of trusts recently. This book was completed after it was determined that legislation to tax trusts as companies was to be postponed indefinitely, but not all of paragraphs in this book are as recent - this minor fault is not a concern if you read the whole book. Until specialist books or pamphlets are prepared for different investors and their needs concerning trusts, this is an essential text to read before meeting with your accountant or solicitor.
TYPICAL UNSOLICITED READER COMMENTS
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"I have recently read your book on family trusts and I wish I had known the book many years earlier."
"I got more sense out of reading Family Trusts than I got from the professionals I consulted when setting up my trust some years ago."
CONTENTS
About the Author
Foreword by Patricia E Feilman
Preface
Chapter 01 The Concept of a Trust
Chapter 02 Modern Family Trusts
Chapter 03 Advantages
Chapter 04 Disadvantages
Chapter 05 Types of Trustee
Chapter 06 The Trustee
Chapter 07 The Trust Deed
Chapter 08 Discretionary Trusts
Chapter 09 Unitised Family Trusts
Chapter 10 Administrative Aspects
Chapter 11 Investment Principles
Chapter 12 Investment Categories
Chapter 13 Income Tax
Chapter 14 Capital Gains Tax
Chapter 15 The Taxation of Discretionary Trusts
Chapter 16 The Taxation of Unitised Trusts
Chapter 17 Other Tax Issues
Chapter 18 Social Security
Chapter 19 Alternatives to Family Trusts
Chapter 20 Trusts for Children with a Disability
Chapter 21 Estate Planning
Chapter 22 Family Issues
Chapter 23 Some Further Thoughts
Chapter 24 The Goods and Services Tax
Chapter 25 Charities and Philanthropic Trusts
Chapter 26 Winding up a Trust
Chapter 27 The Abandoned Tax Changes
Chapter 28 Selected Questions and Answers
Chapter 29 Miscellaneous
Appendix A Outline of a Simple Inter Vivos Trust
Appendix B Wills and Trusts Compared And Contrasted
Appendix C Model Resolution for Trust Distributions
Appendix D Marginal Income Tax Rates
Appendix E Average Income Tax Rates
Appendix F Ralph got it Wrong
Appendix G Differences between Trust Deeds and Powers of Attorney
Appendix H Numbers of Trusts
Appendix I Useful Internet Links
Appendix J Numerical Examples
Appendix K The Financial Services Reform Act 2001
Appendix L Further Information
Glossary
Index
