Is your company protected?
The importance of asset protection
Have you thought about what would happen to your company/trust
(trading or trustee) if you die or become incapacitated?
- What will happen to your assets?
- Will your company fail?
- Will your company be forced into hibernation until Supreme Court legal action is taken to install a director or new trustee?
- Will your company be taken advantage of by other directors ( where there is more than 1 director )?
- Will lawyers seeking to make claims against your Estate lock up the company or appoint their favourite director?
- Will the ATO install their own directors (if you are a self-managed super fund)?
Any of the above eventualities can leave you open to unnecessary risk and spell disaster for your company, trust or SMSF. If you are a sole director or part of a co-directorship, it is important to note:
- Even if you appoint an alternate director, this directorship ceases when the director incapacitated or dies.
- Enduring power of Attorney (if in place) likewise ceases in cases of death or incapacitation.
- An Executor of Will can appoint a director, BUT it takes time AND a family provision claim may create hurdles.
- If there is NO sole director or trustee successor, you can be left with NO director and NO trust.
If there is NO director or trustee in place on 30th June to approve trust distributions, your trust’s profit may be taxed at top marginal tax rates.
What can I do to protect my company’s future?
At Condor Asset Protection, we are aware of companies being run into the ground in a short space of time because of poor succession planning. In many cases, this happens when there is no director and the accountants and lawyers of the company do not realise that the director’s will may be ineffective to appoint a successor.
For this reason, we advise all company directors to ensure that a successor director and successor appointor have been appointed. If you’re looking for long-term asset protection, then contact our asset protection team today.
