Advisers beware: are your variations and changes of trustees effective?

The recent decision in Perry v Nicholson [2017] QSC 163, has stressed the continuing importance of ensuring that all previous trust deed amendments and changes of trustee are properly documented, signed and dated and comply with the terms of the trust deed.

In this case the deceased's adult child, Ms Perry, was challenging her father's binding death benefit nomination (BDBN), which provided that all of his death benefit would be paid to his de facto spouse, Ms Nicholson. Ms Perry argued that the BDBN was invalid because of some technical imperfections in a change of trustee almost two years before the BDBN was signed.

Fortunately for Ms Nicholson (and the deceased's accountant), the court upheld the effectiveness of the change of trustee even though the documents prepared by the accountant did not strictly comply with the requirements in the trust deed.