The recent decision of Re Narumon Pty Ltd raises the question of what a trustee’s obligation is when continuing to pay a pension to a nominated reversionary beneficiary, or otherwise paying a death benefit, in circumstances where documentation is missing or incomplete.

As a general rule, the trustees and beneficiaries of a deceased estate are able to disregard any CGT implications from the sale of a deceased person’s principal residence, provided the sale of that property settles within two years of the deceased’s death.

We previously reported on the draft taxation determination 2018/D3 released by the ATO. That draft set out the view of the ATO that a ‘trust split’ may trigger CGT consequences.