sale

Forcing the sale of land in NSW

Where land is owned by multiple people (whether as joint tenants or tenants in common), any one of the owners can approach the Supreme Court to seek an order for the appointment of a trustee for sale and for the property to be sold.

Ordinarily, the owners can come to agreement on the need for a sale and the basis on which it is to be conducted. For example, following some negotiations or a mediation, the co-owners may agree to:

  • sale by auction with an agreed reserve price;
  • sale by public treaty with an agreed price; or
  • sale by one owner to another, with agreement on how the price is determined (such as agreeing on a valuer or methodology).

When co-owners are in a dispute however as to whether a property should be sold, when and on what terms, the provisions of section 66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) can be utilized to force the sale of the property, even where the other owner (or owners) do not want to sell it.

Once appointed, the trustee has the legal power to sell the property on the best terms available and to engage real estate agents, valuers and lawyers/conveyancers as may be required. So as to help ensure that the property sells for fair market value and to avoid any breach of trust allegations from any of the owners for not obtaining the best price possible, it is sensible for a trustee to sell at public auction

A usual order made is that the unsuccessful party (usually the defendant/respondent) pays the plaintiff /applicant’s legal costs. The costs risk arising from litigation (which can be substantial in amount) is usually a key factor in out of court settlements being made.

Applications for the appointment of a statutory trustee for sale are generally only refused in special circumstances, such as where the is a prior agreement not to sell, around the terms of any sale or to sell only when certain conditions are met (which is why any co-ownership agreements ought to be in writing as verbal evidence can be less persuasive).

Usually, after a successful application is made and the property is sold, the proceeds of sale after payment of:

  • any encumbrances (such as mortgages and unregistered mortgages secured by caveats);
  • the costs of sale (real estate agent and auctioneer fees and marketing costs etc); and
  • the trustee’s costs

are held on trust by the appointed trustee and then distributed proportionally according to ownership.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to family disagreements in relation to land or estates or any business or commercial dispute, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your legal needs.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / General / Property / Trusts  by 01 Oct 2018 0 comments

SMSF owns property. Member dies. Oh oh!

Do you, like many Australians, have a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF)?

If you want to own direct investments within your superannuation or have greater control of your superannuation portfolio, a SMSF can be a suitable alternative to retail superannuation funds.

SOME ADVANTAGES OF SMSFs

SMSFs have:

  • direct investment choice
  • access to wholesale managed funds
  • the benefit of being able to combine the superannuation balances of up to 6* people
  • the advantage of 15% taxation on investment earnings (as opposed to marginal or company tax rates) and potentially reduced capital gains tax
  • the ability to assist with estate planning and possibly for non-lapsing binding death benefit nominations

DIRECT PROPERTY

Often seen as a key advantage is the ability of an SMSF to invest in direct property, such as owning office or factory space from which a business operates from (assuming your SMSF’s Investment Strategy allows for direct property).

Where member balances are insufficient to buy a property outright, SMSFs can also borrow but only using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) using a bare trustee that holds the property on behalf of the SMSF for the duration of the loan and once the debt is paid, the legal ownership of the property passes to the SMSF.

Property values hopefully go up over the next 20 or so years and the members benefit from and can live happily off the benefits during retirement …

… well that’s the plan anyway. So, what happens if a member dies or gets really sick a few years into the plan? (hint – it can ruin everything, for the other members).

CONSEQUENCES OF DEATH OR TPD

On the death of a member, that member’s superannuation balance is to be paid out (to the member’s estate of their nominated beneficiary/ies) as soon as is practicable.

On the total and permanent disablement (TPD) of a member, the member may be able to exit from the SMSF and call for their member balance to be paid out.

… but if the SMSF’s cash is all tied up in the property and the property is still subject to the LRBA, where does the money come from to pay out the member balance?

The property may have to be sold to fund this! That is, unless there is a SMSF Member Death & TPD Exit Deed in place.

SMSF MEMBER DEATH & TPD EXIT DEED

A SMSF Member Death & TPD Exit Deed can help in reducing the financial effects arising from the unexpected death or TPD of a member by for example:

  • requiring the SMSF members to effect a life insurance policy over the lives of the other members and where there is a death and a payout under the policy, the policy owners contribute funds to the SMSF with the intention of paying out the deceased member’s superannuation balance (and using any remainder to reduce or pay out any debt on the property under the LRBA); and
  • requiring the SMSF members to either put in place appropriate TPD cover or to agree that on the occurrence of a TPD event of a member, that member may remain a passive investor in the SMSF but cannot immediately call for payment of their member balance, even if they would otherwise be entitled to under the superannuation legislation, but rather, if they want the payment, their member balance is to be paid out over several years (ie, from the SMSF’s cashflow).

Unless there are appropriate insurances in place or an agreement for members to only get paid out benefits over time in the event of a TPD event, then the likely outcome of the death or TPD of one member is the sale of the SMSF’s property.

This can be a particularly bad problem if the SMSF has only recently acquired the property and had therefore incurred all of the legal, financial planning and accounting costs as well as stamp duty, but had no time for the asset to generate income or appreciate in value. The death or TPD of the one member therefore affects up to 3 other members who may not even be related to the affected member!

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to estate planning, business succession, superannuation or SMSFs, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your needs.

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*amendment 01 July 2021 – only 4 members were allowed prior to 1 July 2021.

SMSF owns property. Member dies. Oh oh!

in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / Estate Planning / Probate / Risk management / Superannuation / Tax Planning / Trusts  by 07 May 2018 0 comments

Selling your business?

So you have an offer to buy your business. How exciting!

Although there may be agreement on the price being paid and the amount of deposit, what else needs to be considered?

  • How is the price apportioned between goodwill and equipment?
  • Have you considered the costs associated with the sale – you may have an agreement with a business broker, but there are lawyers, accountants, financial advisers also.
  • What about tax, capital gains tax (CGT) in particular, and is GST payable?

Who does what?

You need good advice. You are great at what you do, but you cant do everything. You need a great team of advisers – this is their thing.

Your lawyer will be required to prepare the legal documents that give effect to the sale (such as Business Sale Contract, Share Sale Agreement, Deed of Restraint, Deed of Consent to Assignment of Lease, Employment Contracts, Deed of Novation, Consultancy Agreements etc… yes, there may be others).

Your accountant can advise on the price apportionment and taxation implications, whether GST is payable or not, and how to make the most of any CGT concessions, exemptions and rollover relief such as those relating to small business and retirement.

Your financial adviser can give you advice on what to do with your cash to make the most of it now or in retirement.

What are you actually selling?

It would seem obvious, but have you considered what you are actually selling? Are you selling your business or, in the case of a company or unit trust, the entity that owns it?

There is a big difference, particularly given that entitlements to income and liability for expenses incurred prior to completion of the sale will remain with the vendor under a business sale whereas in the case of a share sale, the whole lot will be under the control of the purchaser from completion.

This will also affect how much due diligence a purchaser may undertake – as any prudent purchaser would have concerns about potential claims, tax debts etc

The usual things

Assuming a sale of business, not a share sale, some of the other things to consider is what is included in the sale?

  • Business name
  • Plant and equipment used by the business
  • Stock
  • Customer lists
  • Agreements with suppliers, referrers… to the extent they can be transferred
  • Phone/fax numbers, logos, domain names, email addresses social media etc
  • Intellectual property – do you have any trademarks?
  • Licenses/permits to operate the business
  • Are staff being terminated or transferring to the purchaser? What are employee entitlements are due?
  • Are the business premises leased? Is the agreement subject a an assignment of the existing lease or the granting of a new lease?
  • Personal Property Securities Register issues – for example, is the telephone system under a hire purchase agreement? Is the photocopier leased?
  • Do you need the consent of anyone to the sale proceeding? Eg, a franchisor, a mortgagor, someone you have given a first option to purchase to for example?
  • Are there to be restraints of trade/non-competition provisions that affect you? What about for key staff?

Although an exciting time, there are many issues that need to be considered when you are selling your business. The abovementioned items are certainly not an exhaustive list of things to consider and every business is different, but hopefully it gets you thinking about what you may need to consider when selling your business.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Craig Pryor is principal solicitor at McKillop Legal. For further information in relation to buying/selling businesses, intellectual property or any commercial law matter, contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au.

This information is general only and is not a substitute for proper legal advice. Please contact McKillop Legal to discuss your legal concerns or objectives.

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in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / Employment / Estate Planning / General / Risk management  by 21 Jun 2017 0 comments

What is legal tender in Australia?

As you would expect, Australian banknotes are legal tender throughout Australia.

Similarly, a payment of coins is a legal tender in Australia however, there are restrictions, such as those in the Currency Act 1965, about how much can be paid in coins.

Coins are not legal tender if they exceed:
  • 20c where 1c and/or 2c coins are offered (these coins have been withdrawn from circulation, but are still legal tender);
  • $5 if any combination of 5c, 10c, 20c and/or 50c coins are offered; and
  • 10 times the face value of the coin if $1 or $2 coins are offered.

For example, if someone wants to pay a merchant with 5c coins, they can only pay up to $5 worth of 5c coins and any more than that will not be considered legal tender.

The above is of course subject to any agreement between parties – a provider of goods or services is at liberty to set the commercial terms upon which payment will take place before an agreement for the supply of the goods or services is entered into.

For example, vending machines may not accept small denomination coins or payment may be agreed to be made in foreign currency such as USD.

If you would like any more information in relation to any commercial law or contractual issue, please contact Craig Pryor on (02) 9521 2455 or email craig@mckilloplegal.com.au

Source: Reserve Bank of Australia 
in Business / Commercial Law / Dispute Resolution / General / Online Issues  by 07 Feb 2017 0 comments