If you wish to use your home to protect your family, and that home is in a trust, you need to protect your trust.

MyFamilyTrust can help you achieve this by enabling you to meet your trustee obligations.

It is estimated there are over 300,000 family trusts in New Zealand.

New tax laws mean that, if your trust owns residential property, you will now face additional obligations. New withholding tax changes will put the onus on you to prove that your trust is not subject to this withholding tax. You will also be asked to provide evidence of the residential status of all involved - settlors, trustees and beneficiaries.

In addition, proposed changes to trustee law will place greater obligations on trustees to record the financial position of trusts.

MyFamilyTrust provides fast, efficient and cost-effective services to enable trustees to meet their obligations.

As a trustee, you need to be able to answer these questions:

• Does the settlor(s) live in New Zealand?
• Do all trustees live in New Zealand?
• Do all beneficiaries live in New Zealand?
• Can you prove who received distributions in the past six years?
• Can you provide financial statements to beneficiaries, if requested, for the past two years?
• Does the trust have an IRD number?

• Does the trust qualify for an exemption from filing an income tax return?
• Do you know the terms of all loans to and from the trust?
• Do you have an annual meeting to confirm the financial position of the trust?
• Can you easily locate all the documents for the trust, including trust deed, loan documents, settler's wishes?
• Do you regularly review the value of the trust's assets?