Family trusts

Family Trusts Explained (Australia): Tax Flexibility, Asset Protection & Who They’re For | Friends With Money This week on The Friends With Money podcast, Money Magazine’s Ryan Johnson speaks with licensed Australian financial adviser and author Helen Baker to explain family trusts in plain english and challenge the idea they’re only for the ultra-wealthy. They break down how a family trust is its own entity, the roles of beneficiaries, trustees and the appointor (who holds ultimate power), and why separation of control matters for potential asset protection. Helen clarifies that the trust owns the assets and beneficiaries generally have rights to income or capital distributions, not ownership, and discusses when a trust may be worth considering (often with significant funds, varying household incomes, or positive income/capital), how tax flexibility works via distributing income across beneficiaries, the need to distribute to avoid the trust being taxed at the top rate, costs to set up and run, risks of poor management, and why investment suitability and liquidity matter. 00:00 Family trusts explained 02:03 Trust roles breakdown 05:12 Who owns what 06:13 When trusts make sense 08:23 Tax flexibility in action 10:25 Your advisory team 11:57 Risks and penalties 12:56 Costs to run and unwind 14:55 Choosing investments 16:49 Who trusts are for Podcast Links: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Money Website YouTube Podcast Playlist Email Us: podcast@moneymag.com.au Get stories like this in our newsletter: bit.ly/3GDirbR

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Family trusts is an episode from Friends With Money by Money Magazine.

This episode is 19:20 long.

This episode was published on Apr 21, 2026.

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