Key words: Change of Trustee, Trustee, Changing Trustee, SMSF
Question
How can I change the Trustee of an SMSF?
Answer
The "Change of Trustee" document allows you to appoint, remove or change the Trustee of the SMSF.
Select the "SMSF Change of Trustee" form under the "Trustee/Members" menu from within the SMSF Profile. (
Note: If you are not using NowInfinity's SuperComply, select the "Change of Trustee" document from the "Create Document" page, under the "Self Managed Superannuation Fund" heading.
Important:
- The Change of Trustee form is not a Deed of Variation, it is a supporting document that accompanies the original Trust Deed as proof of the amendment.
- The form can only be used to Change Trustee, if the concerned person is leaving as a Member as well, a Member Exit form must be completed.
- This Deed of Change of Trustee takes the approach of retiring or removing all existing Trustees (including any that intend to continue as Trustee) and then appointing new Trustees (again, including any wishing to continue).
- The Change of Trustee only changes the Trustee of a Fund it does not update the rules of the Fund. It does not require the adaption of a new set of governing rules unless the deed is out of date. If you need to update the rules of the Fund you will need to order an SMSF Deed of Variation.
Date of Variation
The "Date of Variation" field is completed if there was a Deed of Variation created for this SMSF. The "Date of Effect" is not until the deed has been signed, and cannot be backdated from NowInfinity.
Action Type
Removal
The Trustee is terminated by the Members. This is normally used in the case of death of the Member or the Member is leaving the Fund (rollover to another Fund), whereby that Member will not be replaced. If required, the Customer Service Team can manually amend the document for you, to reflect the Legal Personal Representative (LPR) of the deceased Trustee.
If you are changing from an Individual to a Corporate Trustee, this action can be completed as a "Removal" (but any of the three would perform the required action). Removal is the most common action for Changing the Trustee structure.
Retirement
A change for a Member paying out all their benefits, effectively the pension balance is NIL (under SIS act a Member cannot have NIL balance).
Resignation
The Trustee has requested to leave the role of their own accord. Normally used where the Trustee is a Non-Member, and most likely will be replaced.
Dismissal
Where the Trustee is forcibly to be removed.
Appointment and Resignation clauses
To find the relevant appointment and resignation clause, you will need to refer to the most current Deed of the SMSF. If required, you can contact NowInfinity's Legal Service Providers for assistance.
Does this fund have extra parties i.e. Principal Employer?
In the "Additional Party" section of the SMSF Change of Trustee form, where it asks for the name of the party, enter the Company details only if the original deed has mentioned the name of the Company, otherwise, leave this blank.
For Super Comply users
Once completed, and the documents have been signed by the client, you will need to mark the document as signed. Once this has been done, the new Trustee changes will be updated on the Fund Profile.
If required, you can contact NowInfinity's Legal Service Providers for assistance.