KazmaCourses

Course · Beginner to intermediate

Testamentary Trusts in Australia

The law, the accounting and the tax: everything you need to run a testamentary trust with confidence.

10 modules49 lessonsabout 9 hoursreviewed September 2026
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A practical course for executors, trustees, beneficiaries and bookkeepers. Learn what a testamentary trust is, how it is set up after a death, what the law expects of a trustee, how to keep the books, how the trust and its beneficiaries are taxed, how to make distributions properly each year, and how the trust eventually ends. Commonwealth tax law is covered in full, with state-by-state summaries of the succession and trustee rules.

Who it's for: Executors, trustees and beneficiaries of testamentary trusts who are not lawyers or accountants, and the bookkeepers who support them.

Four navy isometric blocks form a solid base with a single gold block set on top, representing the foundations of a testamentary trust.
Module 1 · 48 min

Foundations

What a testamentary trust is, why people use them, the different types, who does what, and how to read the will that creates the trust.

  1. What is a testamentary trust?8 min
  2. Why people use testamentary trusts10 min
  3. Types of testamentary trusts10 min
  4. Key people and roles9 min
  5. Reading the will11 min
  6. Module quiztest yourself
A dashed gold path links growing stepping stones in slate, blue and teal to a large gold square, representing the journey from a death to a working trust.
Module 2 · 52 min

From death to a working trust

Probate, estate administration, when the trust actually starts, and the practical steps to get it registered, banked and holding assets.

  1. Probate and estate administration11 min
  2. When the trust begins10 min
  3. TFN, ABN and bank accounts9 min
  4. Transferring assets into the trust12 min
  5. The first 90 days checklist10 min
  6. Module quiztest yourself
A classical building with a gold pediment, four navy columns and stepped base, representing the law that governs a trustee's duties.
Module 3 · 57 min

The trustee's legal duties

The duties every trustee owes, how to invest trust money, where your powers come from, what records to keep, and when a trustee can be personally liable.

  1. The core fiduciary duties10 min
  2. Investing trust money10 min
  3. Where your powers come from9 min
  4. Records and beneficiaries' rights to information10 min
  5. Liability, indemnity and trustee fees10 min
  6. State-by-state trustee legislation8 min
  7. Module quiztest yourself
A navy shield with a gold inner shield sits inside a ring while slate arrows stop at its edge, representing a trust protected from outside claims.
Module 4 · 43 min

Protecting the trust

Family provision claims, relationship breakdown, bankruptcy and creditors, and how control of the trust changes hands.

  1. Family provision claims11 min
  2. Family law and relationship breakdown11 min
  3. Bankruptcy and creditors10 min
  4. Changing trustees and appointors11 min
  5. Module quiztest yourself
An open ledger with ruled lines and a gold ribbon bookmark, with a gold total bar on the right-hand page, representing trust accounting.
Module 5 · 58 min

Trust accounting

Separating income from capital, setting up the books, preparing financial statements, tracking beneficiary accounts and running the yearly bookkeeping cycle.

  1. Income versus capital11 min
  2. Setting up the books12 min
  3. Trust financial statements13 min
  4. Beneficiary accounts and UPEs12 min
  5. The bookkeeping year10 min
  6. Module quiztest yourself
A bold navy disc holding a gold percent sign above three flat bars, representing how trusts and beneficiaries are taxed.
Module 6 · 73 min

Income tax

How Division 6 taxes trusts and beneficiaries, trust income versus net income, the concessions for minors, streaming, section 100A, and lodging the trust tax return.

  1. How trusts are taxed12 min
  2. Trust income versus net income12 min
  3. Minors and excepted trust income13 min
  4. Streaming capital gains and franked dividends12 min
  5. Section 100A and reimbursement agreements13 min
  6. The trust tax return11 min
  7. Module quiztest yourself
A navy hub with a gold core fanning out to five beneficiary circles, representing trust distributions to family members.
Module 7 · 51 min

Distributions and resolutions

Making valid distribution resolutions by 30 June, choosing who gets what, paying distributions in practice, and company beneficiaries.

  1. Distribution resolutions12 min
  2. Choosing who gets what14 min
  3. Paying distributions11 min
  4. Company beneficiaries and Division 7A14 min
  5. Module quiztest yourself
A group of isometric blocks including a house, a tall teal column and a gold block topped with a coin, representing inherited property, investments and their tax.
Module 8 · 60 min

CGT, property and investments

Capital gains tax on inherited assets, the family home, share portfolios, real estate duties and land tax, and superannuation and insurance proceeds.

  1. CGT on inherited assets12 min
  2. The family home11 min
  3. Share portfolios12 min
  4. Real estate, duty and land tax13 min
  5. Superannuation and insurance12 min
  6. Module quiztest yourself
A compass rose of navy and slate points with a gold north point, representing navigating special situations such as vulnerable beneficiaries and overseas moves.
Module 9 · 48 min

Special situations

Minors and vulnerable beneficiaries, Centrelink and aged care, overseas beneficiaries and trustees, and trust losses and family trust elections.

  1. Minor and vulnerable beneficiaries12 min
  2. Centrelink and aged care11 min
  3. Overseas beneficiaries and trustees13 min
  4. Trust losses and family trust elections12 min
  5. Module quiztest yourself
A gold sun setting under a navy arch above horizontal bands, representing running the trust to its close.
Module 10 · 65 min

Running and ending the trust

The trustee's annual calendar, vesting and perpetuity, winding up step by step, a full worked case study, and a glossary.

  1. The annual trustee calendar11 min
  2. Vesting and perpetuity11 min
  3. Winding up the trust13 min
  4. Case study: the Chen Family Testamentary Trust16 min
  5. Glossary14 min
  6. Module quiztest yourself