Why non-lawyers shouldn’t play lawyer
Welcome to the financial year 2024/2025! Just like every new year, it's time to set some resolutions. One resolution I highly recommend is to embrace the concept of "horses for courses."
Consider this: you wouldn’t ask me to fix your car, cook a gourmet meal, or tackle any other specialized task outside my expertise. So, it surprises me when clients unknowingly use non-lawyers for legal matters, often leading to significant trouble. Here, I give some everyday examples that could have been avoided by picking up the phone with your lawyer.
Remember, if you are unsure about a commercial matter, reach out.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Ross Millen:
Hey, if you watched my most recent video, I was talking about the role of Appointors in a trust. And of course, the role of the
Trustee is also very important. I mean, they're the person that owns the assets on behalf of the trust, on behalf of the beneficiaries. Probably, the most common question I get asked about Trusts is, as trustee, can I do this? Can I do that? Can I make this investment? Can I make that distribution? Can I advance some of the capital to one of the beneficiaries so they can pay for their school fees or university education?
Now, the things to bear in mind are always read the trust deed, because every trust is different. Sometimes, Trustees might have certain powers in one trust deed and not in another. So we always have to read the trust deed to make sure that what you want to do isn't prohibited, or that there are certain things you must do as a trustee. Another thing is investment powers. There'll be investment powers in the trust deed, but also in the Trustee Act. So some types of risky or unusual investments may not be permitted.
The other thing is, who are the beneficiaries? Now, there was a recent case that decided the discretion given to a Trustee in a discretionary Trust, the Trustee has to consider the
