Question 1

Can the SUIT have borrowings?

Accepted Answer

The SUIT, provided there is no breach of the in-house assets is like any unit trust and may accept bank and non-bank borrowings for underlying projects or investments.

Question 2

Can the SUIT run a business?

Accepted Answer

The SUIT, provided there is no breach of the in-house assets is like any unit trust and may run a business or invest in a project.

Question 3

What are potential in-house assets problems?

Accepted Answer

There are anti-avoidance provisions in section 85 of SISA 93 which may look through the SUIT to qualify a breach where an asset is used by a member of the Fund – such as residential property.

Question 4

How long does this document take to assemble?

Accepted Answer

Depending on the complexity of the data, this document should take approximately 30-50 secs to assemble. If you experience timing outside of this please contact Support via the Surge app, alternatively please read this article for troubleshooting tips https://info.lightyeardocs.com.au/supportcentre/troubleshooting-longer-assembly-times-timeouts .

Question 5

Stamping and Lodgement of Trusts

Accepted Answer

The fees and stamping requirements for establishing a trust deed vary throughout Australia, and the duty payable also varies depending on the type of property that is held by the trust. Please contact our partners at Eventum Optimum (EO) on info@eventumoptimum.com.au for more information on when stamping is required (in what jurisdictions) and the fees/duties payable. EO are able to provide this service to you.

Question 6

Can we get a tailored SUIT for larger developments and acquisitions?

Accepted Answer

The SUIT may be tailored to specific circumstances of a particular project, business, set of investors or external borrowing. Abbott & Mourly can prepare the relevant SUIT to meet specific needs and in addition a unitholder’s agreement. For a quote please contact our legal team: tanamourlis@tgalegal.com.au.

Question 7

What are the taxation consequences?

Accepted Answer

Where a superannuation fund holds more than 20% of the underlying capital of the SUIT, it may see the SUIT taxed as a company. For more information please email: tanamourlis@tgalegal.com.au.

Question 8

Is this document a legal document?

Accepted Answer

All master documents have been signed off by LY Legal lawyers. Tony Anamourlis of LY Legal advises that “at no time, due to inbuilt legal protection and security measures can a user change or amend a document on the LYD platform that has been signed off by a practicing solicitor. To do so would result in the user drafting a document of a legal nature and engaging in the provision of legal services. In addition, it would be a breach of copyright. In our opinion when completing the form fields through the LYD platform, users and their employees are merely carrying out an administrative task which is not the provision of legal advice.”

However in some complex areas such as the insertion of a varied range of client instructions into a Will or other such documents the user must be mindful of the extent to which a document is being drafted by the user rather than merely the administrative task of completing a form where the relevant fields are inserted into the reviewed and signed legal document provided by LY Legal.

The above advice is born out of numerous cases dating back to Re Sanderson, Ex parte Law Institute of Victoria [1927] VLR 394, 397 where the Court held:

“if a person does a thing usually done by a solicitor, and does it in such a way as to lead to the reasonable inference that he is a solicitor – if he combines professing to be a solicitor with action usually taken by a solicitor – I think he then does act as a solicitor.”

Likewise in ACCC v Murray (2002) 121 FCR 428, 448 where Murray was building a franchise business that involved the legal writing and drafting of Wills from scratch based on the client’s personal circumstances. The Court held that this process was legal work.

Question 9

Is the document easy to read?

Accepted Answer

All LYD products are written in plain English and assessed for readability. If at any time you come across any errors, please contact support@lyd.com.au.

Question 10

What lawyers sign off on LYD documents?

Accepted Answer

All LYD documents are prepared and signed off by LY Legal.

Question 11

Are the LYD documents reviewed regularly?

Accepted Answer

All LYD documents form part of the LYD internal review process. We review all documents at least annually or when required to do so due to changes in legislation. Further details of this process and a review schedule is include on this website.

Question 12

Can I get a sample of this document?

Accepted Answer

Yes, please email support@lyd.com.au to request a sample document for you to review.

Superannuation Unrelated Investment Trust (SUIT)