The term ‘trust’ applies to a situation where a person or organisation is appointed to hold money or property on behalf of another.

Trusts can be established for a number of reasons including the preservation of assets, tax planning, providing for children and charitable causes. The Public Trustee will facilitate the creation of a trust when it is appointed as the trustee. Assistance will also be provided if you choose to establish a trust through a will made with The Public Trustee.

The process of establishing a trust is made easy with The Public Trustee of Queensland. We will help you safeguard the future financial security of your loved ones by ensuring the validity and appropriateness of any terms in the trusts.

You may wish to make provision in your Will to leave a secure deposit for children, to be held until they turn a certain age. Alternatively, you may need to make provision in you Will for a person unable to look after themselves financially. Our experienced and professional staff will help you decide which trust is most appropriate to your situation.

Infant Trusts

• These are generally created in Wills and are managed for children until they attain 18 years or more.
• The fund is used for the children’s benefit eg living expenses and education.
• The Public Trustee can help you by providing income to your children that is tax effective.
• These trusts are usually created to take effect if both parents die.
• The choice of a reliable trustee is essential.

Trusts for incapable beneficiaries
These are trusts managed for the lifetime of someone who cannot manage their own financial affairs.

Benefit is the key word and a Trustee will have to be sympathetic to all needs, yet maintain a long-term goal for investment security.

The trustee can use capital or income or a mix of both to balance the person’s financial needs against other sources of income. The choice of trustee is vital, as the demands are ongoing and level of responsibility onerous.

Life Estates
These trusts are set up to provide for accommodation and income stream for the lifetime of a close relative or friend. They are often used by people who have remarried and want to provide ultimate ownership of assets to their children rather than their second spouse, whilst enabling the spouse to make us of the assets during their lifetime.

Discretionary Trusts
These trusts enable the trustee to use his/her discretion to split income between a family group for a period.

These trusts are tax effective as the Trustee can vary the income paid depending on how much other income the beneficiary receives.

Although these trusts can be created in your lifetime, often your assets will be greater after death (superannuation, life insurance) giving you greater scope for this type of estate planning. There are tax advantages in establishing a trust through a Will.

The trustee needs to be responsible and flexible, while working together with your beneficiaries.

Charitable Trusts
You may wish to provide long term benefit to charity by providing income from your estate, rather than giving an immediate gift.

As these trusts can be long term or even perpetual, it is in the interests of you and the charity to use The Public Trustee.

The Queensland Community Foundation is the answer for anyone wishing to establish a charitable trust. The Queensland Community Foundation is a trust set up and managed by The Public Trustee of Queensland. It is committed to serving our State’s communities by providing a permanent funding source for charity.

You will need to consider very carefully when deciding on the person or organisation you appoint as Trustee. Trustees require at the very least, an understanding of law and accounting. An inexperienced or unqualified trustee may make imprudent investments, spend allowances irrationally and generally deplete trust funds inappropriately.

The Public Trustee offers a professional administration service. You can elect to have our financial specialists manage your trust. We have over 85 years experience in managing both personal and corporate trusts. We are impartial and are audited by the State Government. Most importantly, The Public Trustee is permanent which is essential considering the length of time a trust may have to be managed.

As you can see from the above, the responsibility of a Trustee is ongoing, complex and often onerous.

If you are a trustee or Executor, you can approach The Public Trustee to take over the administration of the trust. This will mean that the beneficiaries will get the benefit of a professional trustee for the term of the Trust.

As the appointed Trustee of your established trust, The Public Trustee’s experienced team will closely follow the terms of the trust. Depending on these terms, we may be required to use the funds for the support, education or benefit of a child. Other trusts may require us to invest the money for a period of years. As Trustee, we have a duty to ensure the trust remains in a sound financial position and the needs of the person benefiting from it are being met.

A personal Trust Officer will be appointed to manage the trust. These officers can be contacted directly to discuss any issues relating to the trust. They have access to a range of specialist support services in areas such as investments and financial planning, property, legal and taxation.

• During your free Will-making appointment at your local Public Trust Office, tell our staff that you would like to know more about setting up a trust. They will be able to provide you with all necessary information to help you decide what sort of trust you will need to establish.

• Contact your local Public Trust Office and make an appointment with one of our Officers to discuss establishing a trust.
  

The Public Trustee provides a wide range of professional and reliable trustee services to Queenslanders. Our years of experience and competitive prices make us leading competitors our fields. These include:

1. Free Will-making
2. Safe custody of Wills and other important documents
3. Administration of Deceased Estates
4. Preparation of Enduring Powers of Attorney
5. Acting as Attorney for financial matters
6. Disability & Aged Support Services
7. Investment services
8. Property and motor vehicle auctions
9. Trustee of unclaimed money and property
10. Taxation services
11. Conveyancing in the Gladstone and Mt Isa areas