SMSF administration developer BGL Corporate Solutions and SMSF specialist firm Heffron SMSF Solutions have announced the availability of Heffron’s actuarial certificate service through BGL Simple Fund 360.

Legal document provider Topdocs has released a new platform that enables financial planners and accountants to request online and full-service estate planning documentation and other services, including wills and enduring powers of attorney (EPOA).

Legal document provider Topdocs has announced a new integration with SuperMate that will enable users to generate their SMSF documentation using the fund data stored in their SuperMate account.

The unintended action of triggering a resettlement as a result of an amendment to a trust deed, when a family trust is set up to provide for family beneficiaries, ranks as one of the top SMSF “stuff ups”, according to a legal executive.

The SMSF Association has made a white label document available to its members to assist them in the review of trust deeds in light of the super reforms introduced on 1 July, particularly to address benefit payments and estate planning.

An SMSF is a type of trust that, like all trusts, is ‘run’ by its trustee. Case law tells us that one of the most fundamental duties of a trustee is that they obey the rules of that trust. The rules of the trust (sometimes referred to as the governing rules) are usually found in or annexed to the trust deed.

SMSF advisers and trustees must be aware that notifying the ATO about the use of the capital gains tax (CGT) relief provisions, included as part of the superannuation reforms introduced on 1 July, cannot be done via the annual return of the fund.

A commonly overlooked trap with transition-to-retirement income streams (TRIS) and documents is that they are not prescriptive and do not necessarily force an SMSF trustee or member to act in a certain way.

Many existing SMSF trust deeds may not include clearly stipulated terms required for funds to properly deal with reversionary pensions under the incoming superannuation rules, according to a technical expert.