A common issue that arises is dealing with insurance companies over the names on insurance policies. Technically, insurance should held in the name of the owners of a property.
In the case of a trust, the legal owner on the title of a property is the trustee/s (while the beneficial owner is the beneficiaries). Clients tend to say “ the owner is the trust”, for example the “Smith Family Trust”. Assuming the trustees are Mary & John Smith and an independent trustee called XYZ Trustee Limited, the better description is “Mary Smith, John Smith and XYZ Trustees Limited as Trustees of the Smith Family Trust”. That's a bit wordy, so alternatively the shorter version of “Mary Smith, John Smith and XYZ Trustees Limited” will legally suffice.
A minute referring to the existence of the insurance policy or life policy in such circumstances, prepared and signed by the trustees, is prudent.Salesh - Was really good to see you yesterday and to see you getting up in front of the crowd talking about your huge successes – and….. I didn’t realise you were so young! You are and always have been such an inspiration to us and think it is great that you got up in front of a group of eager property investors to share about your property journey and to inspire us! You should do it more often. You are so knowledgeable about property investing and so experienced – you should share your success story! - Lisa Swanepoel - December 2017
Gilligan Rowe and Associates is a chartered accounting firm specialising in property, asset planning, legal structures, taxation and compliance.
We help new, small and medium property investors become long-term successful investors through our education programmes and property portfolio planning advice. With our deep knowledge and experience, we have assisted hundreds of clients build wealth through property investment.
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