A Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) is a term which includes a variety of different financial arrangements made during a relationship. A BFA is essentially the Australian version of a pre-nuptial agreement, it is an agreement between de facto (inclusive of same-sex unions), soon to be married or already married couples.

This month’s Wealth Pipeline is on Power of Attorneys.  A power of attorney (PoA) is a formal document giving another person the authority to make legally binding decisions on your behalf.  There are two types of power of attorney: general power of attorney and enduring power of attorney.  Broadly, an PoA authorises an attorney to do whatever legally and/or financially the donor of the power can do.

One of the most important and valuable assets that an individual will ever purchase is their own home. From a tax perspective, one of the biggest advantages of a taxpayer owning their own home is the main residence exemption.

Trust property is held on trust by the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiaries.  This means, the trustee is the legal owner of the trust property.  Beneficiaries are entitled to the benefit of the trust property.  There are many obligations imposed on trustees, including acting in the utmost good faith and avoiding conflict transactions.  Conflict transactions arise where the trustee has personal interests, which do not align with the best interests of the beneficiaries.  Trusts are governed by relevant legislation and the terms of the trust deed.

In this month’s Wealth Pipeline, we outline some of the proposals contained in the Federal Government’s 2015/16 Budget. Specifically, we detail changes to age pension entitlements, small business reforms, childcare support and car expense deductions.