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    Discretionary Family Trust Deed Drafting

    Draft an Australian discretionary family trust deed with Cassandra. Collect the settlor, trustee, appointor and beneficiary details for a standard deed and clause review.

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    Build a discretionary family trust deed draft from the proposed settlor, trustee, appointor and beneficiary details. Cassandra's conversation collects the establishment instructions and populates a standard template, with a brief recording requested clause changes. The deed's beneficiary definitions and control provisions deserve particular attention, including its exclusion of foreign persons. Use the AI-generated draft as a format for review; it does not select a suitable structure, establish tax outcomes or complete the steps needed to put a trust into operation.

    Use the workflow below to prepare the relevant facts and identify the parts of the output that need your review.

    Ways to use Discretionary Trust

    • Populate a standard discretionary trust deed from a client's instructions.
    • Record the settlor, appointor and up to five named beneficiaries.
    • Maintain requested changes to standard deed clauses through follow-up instructions.

    What to bring to the conversation

    • Trust name, settlor, trustee and appointor identities and relevant addresses.
    • Beneficiary names and addresses, settled sum and governing jurisdiction.
    • Deed and execution dates, director, witness and preparing practice details.

    What to check before using the output

    • Confirm the appointor, beneficiary definitions and requested clause changes match the intended structure.
    • Complete missing fields and review execution, duty and tax implications before signing.

    People, control and the settled sum

    Identify the settlor and settled sum, the corporate trustee, the appointor and up to five named beneficiaries. Read these roles separately: the trustee administers the trust under the deed, while the appointor holds the appointment and removal powers specified there. Check the succession provisions and any overlap between roles with your legal practitioner.

    Beneficiary definitions and exclusions

    Review the entire beneficiary definition, including classes of general beneficiaries and excluded persons, rather than only the names supplied in the conversation. Cassandra's current standard deed excludes foreign persons and makes that exclusion irrevocable under its variation provisions. Obtain specific review if a proposed beneficiary has an overseas connection or the trust may acquire property.

    Review, execution and ongoing decisions

    Check dates, the governing jurisdiction, settlement details and every requested amendment before arranging execution. Duty assessment, tax registrations and any family trust election require separate consideration. A deed also does not make future distribution decisions: trustees need to administer the trust and document decisions under the reviewed deed and applicable law.

    Discretionary Trust: frequently asked questions

    It prepares an AI-generated draft from Cassandra's standard discretionary trust template, populated with the details you supply. The conversation collects the settlor, trustee, appointor, settled sum, governing jurisdiction and up to five named beneficiaries. It can also record requested changes to identified standard clauses for review.

    The settlor contributes the settled sum described in the deed. The trustee holds and administers the trust property under its terms. The appointor has the trustee appointment and removal powers set out in the deed. Cassandra's standard template excludes the settlor from benefiting. Ask a legal practitioner to check the proposed people, control arrangements and succession provisions for your circumstances.

    The standard deed gives the trustee discretion to allocate income and capital among eligible beneficiaries under its terms. Naming a beneficiary does not by itself give that person a fixed annual percentage. The deed also contains default provisions, so review what happens when the trustee does not make an effective decision as well as the express distribution powers.

    Not necessarily. The intake accepts up to five primary beneficiaries, but the standard deed also defines classes of general beneficiaries and exclusions. The whole definition determines who may benefit. Review the family relationships, related entities and excluded persons in the resulting document rather than assuming the named schedule is exhaustive.

    The current standard discretionary deed excludes foreign persons and states that this exclusion cannot be removed or changed under its variation provisions. Do not assume that naming someone overrides it. A legal practitioner should review the proposed beneficiaries and any overseas connections. The clause does not, by itself, confirm exemption from foreign purchaser duty or land tax surcharges in a particular jurisdiction.

    No. A family trust election is a separate tax election with its own requirements and consequences. Describing the document as a family trust deed or signing it does not make that election. Obtain tax advice on whether an election is appropriate and on the implications for future distributions before making one.

    Check all identities, beneficiary classes, exclusions, appointor succession, the settled sum, dates and any clause amendments. Arrange review of execution formalities, any duty assessment or lodgement, and the intended activities and property. Generating the draft does not transfer the settled sum, complete a registration or make a future trust distribution resolution.

    No. The deed is an AI-generated draft akin to a document format or template. Cassandra does not provide a legal service or confirm the structure's suitability or tax outcomes. You may contact a legal practitioner for further support and assistance with the wording, establishment and use of the trust.

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