Having an up-to-date enduring power of attorney is important, and particularly for those people with a self-managed superannuation fund. Given the practical implications, deciding whether the power of attorney should commence immediately or only on loss of capacity should be given careful consideration. When reviewing your enduring power of attorney, you should consider whether your attorneys are going to be able to act when you need them to.

The ATO will be increasing its focus on SMSFs that have stopped lodging returns in pension phase in order to identify issues with member/trustee capacity.

Discretionary trusts that own ‘residential land’ in New South Wales or hold an ownership interest in a company or unit trust that owns residential land in New South Wales must amend their trust deeds to exclude foreign persons as beneficiaries, otherwise foreign land tax and duty surcharges may apply.