Narumon Pty Ltd (2018) QSC 185 - HLD Law

Narumon Pty Ltd (2018) QSC 185

Narumon Pty Ltd (2018) QSC 185

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  • At the time of his death, Mr John Giles had a SMSF that he was a member of, his wife Mrs Narumon Giles and sister Mrs Rosslyn Keenan were appointed as his attorneys. They were appointed his attorneys due to personal health matters that Mr Giles felt would make him incapable of making his own decisions. Therefore, he made a BDBN in 2013 that directed the Fund trustee to pay his superannuation death benefits to certain family members including Mrs Giles and Mrs Keenan. The BDBN stated it would cease effect within three years. Within the trust deed for the SMSF, it stated that the BDBN must be signed by the member of the SMSF within three years of Mr Giles’ death, to be binding.
  • Ultimately, the rules in the trust deed for the SMSF were unnecessary. The three year expiration requirement came from the reg 6.17A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (Cth). However, the previous example, Munroe v Munroe stated that this regulation does not apply to SMSFs. The adding of this regulation into the trust deed of the SMSF compelled Mrs Giles and Mrs Keenan to extend the BDBN in 2016 when it expired. If Mr Giles knew that the regulation was not necessary, the BDBN may have avoided this situation as they are non-lapsing until they are revoked.
  • Additionally, the Court found that the attorneys could extend the BDBN for three years and that there was no conflict with Mr Giles’ attorneys being also the beneficiaries of the BDBN. The Court stated that this was incidental. This case shows that it is important to review all prior SMSF deeds to make sure they contain only the absolutely necessary clauses to avoid sticky situations such as this one. You should always have a quality SMSF documents supplier.
Munro v Munro [2015] QSC 61 Tax and Superannuation in the Federal Budget 2023-2024

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