The SMSF sector can expect estate planning lawyers to pounce on the “treasure trove” of SMSF estate planning money for easy fees and wins, an industry expert has warned.
I Love SMSF chief executive Grant Abbott said more than 48 per cent of SMSFs have an account-based pension, representing more than $400 billion in wealth for those aged over 60.
“More and more SMSF advisers, accountants, financial planners and administrators are experiencing clients passing away. It is not surprising that many have invalid estate planning directions, allocations, binding death benefit nominations (BDBN), or any plan at all,” Abbott noted.
“There are now more than 15 cases where BDBNs have proven invalid and that is just the tip of the iceberg with thousands more undiscovered.
“With the negligence case of Cam & Bear v McGoldrock [2018] NSWCA 110 impinging on all our actions, expect smart estate planning lawyers to pounce on the treasure trove of SMSF estate planning monies for easy fees and wins.”
This issue, as well as other key SMSF estate planning challenges, is the topic of the upcoming I Love SMSF strategy event on 12 September.
The advanced session for practitioners will address how to build comprehensive, secure and certain estate planning into a family SMSF, including a will and an enduring power of attorney, on top of reversionary pensions, SMSF wills and family SMSF proceeds trusts.
The session will include how-to guides, case studies and real-life examples.
