Hi everyone

Has anyone come across the following scenario one of the accountants has brought to us...

Background

• Mum and Dad acted as individual trustees of an SMSF

• Mum has a valid binding death benefit nomination in favour of her LPR (the estate)

• Mum dies

• Dad appointed single director of trustee company on the assumption that Dad is the LPR

• Turns out Mum has appointed the QLD public trustee to be her executor and LPR

• The deed mandates that the LPR be appointed as trustee upon death until death benefits are paid

Been in limbo for 18 months as the Public trustee hasn’t been appointed as trustee and everything is at a standstill. The proposal to get this moving is to have the 2021 and 2022 accounts signed off just by Dad under the new corporate trustee and to have the death benefit calculated as at the current date paid out to the estate (controlled by the public trustee). There is no mischief as the public trustee will end up with the money anyway. Seems to be at worst a civil trustee dispute where there are no actual damages incurred.

Any suggestions and advice to similar experiences would be much appreciated.

Thank you