ADVICE
We offer a specialised and personal advice service in addition to our administration, auditing and compliance services through our sister company, Lighthouse Super Advice Pty Ltd. Lighthouse Super Advice Pty Ltd was established specifically (and more importantly is appropriately licensed) to provide advice in relation to your self-managed superannuation ranging from the establishment of your fund, contributions planning, pension/retirement planning and if the time comes, winding up your self-managed super fund.
Now for the legal bits...
LICENSEE
Lighthouse Super Advice Pty Ltd ABN 41 612 160 620 is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 1243667) of Capstone Financial Planning Pty Ltd. ABN 24 093 733 969. Australian Financial Services Licence / Australian Credit Licence No. 223135.
Capstone Financial Planning Pty Ltd
Level 1, 607 Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Ph: 03 8622 0700 | Email: info@capstonefp.com.au | www.capstonefp.com.au
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FUND
ESTABLISHMENT
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Facilitating preparation of the trust deed drafted by a legal firm (Maddocks)
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Minutes establishing the fund, admitting members and formulating an investment strategy.
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Membership application forms.
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Death benefit nomination forms (binding or non-binding).
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Product Disclosure Statement.
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Consent to act as trustee declarations.
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Sample Investment Strategy.
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A checklist of various do’s and don’ts regarding your SMSF.
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Application for an Australian Business Number (ABN) and Tax File Number (TFN) and when applicable, Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the ATO.
If you choose to have a corporate trustee instead of individual trustees then we can also organise for a corporation to be established and registered with ASIC.
The turnaround time for the establishment of a SMSF and corporate trustee if applicable is typically 1-3 days. Once the paperwork is signed by the trustees, the ATO usually issues an ABN and TFN within 28 days.
AUDIT
All SMSF's are required to undertake an annual audit on both the financial and compliance aspects of the fund. Our audit procedures are designed to not only ensure the fund is complying with the law, but to assist trustees that may have breached the rules.
We also offer an ‘audit only’ service for trustees or accounting firms which are unable to meet the independence requirements set out by the various professional bodies and ASIC.
ADMINSTRATION/
COMPLIANCE
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Preparation of annual financial statements (or ad-hoc reporting/statements when required).
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Preparation of member statements detailing preservation components as well as tax free/taxable components.
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Preparation and lodgement of the SMSF Annual Return.
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Maintenance of minutes relating to trustee decisions.
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Reviewing investment strategy to ensure that investment decision are made in accordance with the strategy.
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Liaising with the ATO when required relating to income tax matters, lodgement obligations and any audit requests made by the ATO.
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Maintenance of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) transactions including dates and amounts relating to asset acquisitions/disposals.
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Recording and maintaining details relating to tax free and taxable components of member benefits via contributions or previous rollovers from other super funds/employers.
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Ensuring minimum/maximum pension obligations have been met.
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Responding to routine queries from trustees/members regarding any facet of the SMSF. Phone calls, E-mails or faxes are responded to promptly.
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Ensuring the fund is conducted in accordance with its rules (trust deed).
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Liaise with the fund Actuary (when required) regarding exempt pension income and various complying pensions.
ESTATE PLANNING
For many people, superannuation is often their largest asset aside from the family home. Therefore, an important consideration is how your remaining superannuation will be distributed to beneficiaries following your death. Questions routinely asked are usually along the lines of Who will inherit my money? How much tax will be paid? How do I protect my assets? Depending on your estate planning requirements, we will guide you through the process and partner with your own lawyer or one of the lawyers on our panel (specialising in the area of estate planning) in order to help achieve your desired outcome.
WHAT IS ESTATE PLANNING?
Estate planning essentially involves creating a plan to distribute assets tax-effectively to your intended beneficiaries upon death. Having this plan in place ensures your intentions have the best chance of success and allows a smooth transition of your wealth to the next generation. Your superannuation entitlements in your SMSF are not dealt with under your Will because an SMSF is legally regarded as a separate structure. Hence, as a minimum er recommend you have in place:
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A SMSF estate plan which deals with your superannuation.
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A Will
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER MY SMSF IN THE ESTATE PLAN?
In general terms, the trustees of an SMSF are responsible for making decisions for the fund. Establishing an SMSF estate plan gives you comfort that the trustees should abide by your wishes on how, and to whom, your death benefits will be paid. If no SMSF estate plan exists, the trustees of your SMSF are free to apply their discretion as to the payment of your death benefits.
HOW CAN I START ESTATE PLANNING FOR MY SMSF?
Preparing an SMSF estate plan is an intricate process and typically involves a number of professionals working together to help you make informed decisions about distribution of your super on death. The most important element of an SMSF estate plan is you. Professional advisers need to hear your story and understand your wishes. Also, being clear on your intentions helps minimise the costs of preparing the plan.
A GREAT WAY TO START THE PROCESS IS TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE OUT THE FOLLOWING:
1. Map out your family tree with birth dates for all.
2. Note down your relationship to each person (spouse, child, step-child etc.)
3. Consider whether any beneficiaries have special considerations or needs, such as:
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disability or intellectual impairment;
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drug, gambling or an inability to control their finances; and
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whether you currently provide support for relatives (e.g., grand children, parents or adult children).
4. Write out where you would like your super to go on your death.
5. Although it may be uncomfortable, you need to consider different death
scenarios and how they impact on your plan – such as if you and your spouse both die at the same time. Alternatively, what if your whole family dies together?
6. List where you want your super to go in each scenario.
7. Note down those people you trust to carry out your wishes on your death.
8. List down anything else you deem important.
COMPLIANCE BREACHES
Since the Simpler Super changes were introduced in 2007 and the finalisation of the Cooper Review in June 2010, the SMSF environment has been drastically re-defined. Reforms to how and when members can access their entitlements, the taxation implications of withdrawing benefits, the limits placed on the dollar amounts and timing of contributions made, restrictions on the assets owned or acquired by a fund and numerous other compliance requirements make running your own SMSF a potential minefield if not managed correctly.
Simple problems such as registering assets in the wrong name, loaning money from the fund to certain parties and other related party transactions can turn into big problems if not dealt with quickly and effectively. More often than not it will trigger an ATO audit, expose the trustees to a range of administrative/monetary penalties and in extreme cases result in the fund being made non-complying which effectively means it will lose 45% of its assets as a ‘penalty tax’.
We routinely deal with the ATO on behalf of clients who have inadvertently breached the rules in order to reach a suitable outcome which satisfies both the client and ATO and allows the fund to keep its compliance status.