November 1, 2016 Indian Newslink Digital Edition

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14 Businesslink NOVEMBER 1, 2016 Trusts safeguard assets beyond your lifetime Farah Khan Individuals and businesses are realising the importance of Trusts on the face of increasing risks to businesses and individuals. Trusts are the most popular way of safeguarding personal assets and reducing the risk of huge financial losses in the event of financial hazards faced by companies. While large and medium sized enterprises and high net-worth individuals have in place appropriate safeguards and risk management techniques, small, owner-operated companies and ordinary New Zealanders are largely unaware of the importance of establishing Trusts. It is therefore essential to make people understand that Trusts can be established and managed with relative ease but by qualified and experienced people. The Trinity of Trust A Trust is a way of giving property or assets to somebody to look after for the benefit of somebody else. Three parties are required in the process. They are the Settlor, the Trustee and the Beneficiary. The person who sets up a Trust and transfers property or properties into the Trust is called the Settlor. The person who looks after the property on behalf of the Beneficiaries is called the Trustee and the person for whose benefit the Trust has been set up is called a Beneficiary. Usually, there would be more than one Trustee. That would assure the Settlor that all decisions made by them (Trustees) are in the best interest of the Beneficiaries. Primary Beneficiary There will always be a Primary Beneficiary for whom the Trust is set up, but most Trusts will have a large pool of Discretionary Beneficiaries who would come into the picture if the Primary Beneficiaries are no longer alive. The same person can be a Settlor, Trustee and Beneficiary, but there should be other Trustees and Beneficiaries as well. Otherwise, it may be deemed a ‘Sham Trust’ and become legally void. Equitable Entity A Trust is not a separate legal entity. Hence, if a person transfers a family home into a Trust, the title of the property will be registered in the name of the Trustees personally and not in the name of the Trust. A Trust is an equitable entity whose primary purpose is to look after the assets for the Beneficiaries. A Trust has a lifespan of 80 years, unless it is dissolved earlier by an agreement of the Trustees. This means a person can ensure that his or her personal assets are dealt with properly and that there is no uncertainty after their death. Setting up a Trust New Zealand Law requires that a Trust which holds hould be in writing, with all relevant details of the property or asset, mentioning the person or persons establishing the Trust, the names of Trustees and Beneficiaries. The Cost The cost of establishing a Trust varies and as in the case of everything else, quality always has its price. My advice is that anyone keen on establishing a Trust must make proper inquiries, compare costs and then decide on a firm. However, be sure that you are comparing apples with apples. During my eleven years of legal practice, I have come across many Trusts that would not stand the test of validity in a court of law. It is therefore imperative that a Trust is set up correctly by someone who has a thorough knowledge and experience. This is a very specialised field that should be handled only by experts. Farah Khan is Partner & Notary Public Practice Manager at Khan & Associates Lawyers and Notary Public based in Papatoetoe, Auckland. She can be contacted on (09) 2789361. Facebook: Farahkhanlawyer. We bringthe world to you Get the Best •Airfares •Service •Leisure Travel •Travel Insurance Call Now 0508 -411111 *conditions apply Relianz Forex Launched in 2009 &Relianz Travel in 2016 •8Locations •Customer Driven &Competitive Pricing •Focused on Tailor made Value Driven Packages
NOVEMBER 1, 2016 Fiji made a dramatic change in its Cabinet in September. Apart from re-jigging some portfolios, the most prominent was the transfer of Foreign Affairs Minister Inoke Kubuabola as Immigration, National Security and Defence Minister. The impact of this change was hardly noticed by the media and political commentators. The assumption of foreign affairs segment by Prime Minister Josiah Voreqe Bainimarama and capping Inoke Kubuabola as his National Security, Defence and Immigration aide has far-reaching significance in domestic and foreign policies. The Cabinet reshuffle is a sign of Bainimarama’s political maturity and an inclination towards nipping the growth of chiefly influences, provincial fissures and ethnically based utterances that are inherent in Fiji’s politics. Personal Notes As the first Divisional Welfare Officer, Northern in Fiji’s civil service in early 1970s, I had met Inoke’s father, a humble, amiable scion of Cakandrove Province. He had asked me to meet with his young, educated son. That opportunity came when Businesslink Cabinet reshuffle a sign of political maturity Mahendra Sukhdeo Bainimarama introduces Inoke Kubuabola and other ministers to John Key and his delegation (not seen here) at his Office in Suva on June 10, 2016. Inoke invited me to attend the breakfast meetings of the Bible Society in Suva. Since those early days, Inoke was a prominent politician in the Alliance Party, an activist for the ‘Taukei Movement’ and later as a Minster in the post-coup Rabuka, Mara and Qarase regimes. He is in fact a pragmatic nationalist. Cakandrove, the third arm of the Eastern Chieftain Confederacy, has been the home of several well-known chiefly clans such as the Ganilaus and Lalabalavus. It is also the birthplace of Sitiveni Rabuka, the primal coup leader and a sizeable number of top military and civilian personnel. Cakaudrove is a volatile geographical enclave that also provided the fodder for several incidences of insurrection in Fiji. In the post-election period, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, a quiet conservative exercised more power in the affairs of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) than its anointed leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa. With the assumption of the Presidency of SODELPA by Sitiveni Rabuka early this year, Cakaudrove’s hold on the Party is complete. Rabuka’s Ascension Ostensibly, Rabuka’s ascension as the leader of SODELPA was described as of little political effect; but an ethnically based political party of Taukeis with Rabuka and Lalabalavu at its command, can rake up enough dust to destabilise Fiji’s politics. Indo-Fijian based parties are in disarray and would look at any opportunity to get into the limelight, including associating with SODELPA to combat the overall multi-ethnic support of the Fiji First Party. The recent participation of the amorphous group of Opposition leaders on a platform provided by the NGO, Pacific Dialogue to discuss Fiji’s Constitution was an ill-timed, divisive project that did not have the tacit approval of the Government. 15 Opportunity lost The Pacific Dialogue meeting was neither intended to be Pacific nor a dialogue. Despite the Constitution providing for an avenue of periodical review, the meeting would have accorded an opportunity for the Opposition leaders to air their assumed grievances in the public with the intent presumably of highlighting the abatement of citizenry rights in anticipation of the coming General Elections in 1918. The Government naturally pounced on a procedural requirement of the NGO’s failure to obtain a police permit contrary to the Public Order Decree to hold such a politically infected discussion and detained five of the participants. Seditious activities It is ironical that leaders with a strong symbiosis with trade union and political management failed to check the bureaucratic compliance machinery. It is apparent that there are incidences of seditious activities both in Fiji and abroad and Bainimarama had to issue a warning that those responsible will tracked and punished. It is in this context that the appointment of Inoke Kubuabola as the Minister of National Security and Defence can provide an effective counter balance of protective defence against the possible provocative utterances and actions of the old leaders vying to take over the helm of Fiji’s governance. Any visible increase in support for SODELPA will dilute the strength of the Fiji First Party. Intelligence Mapping The Defence and National Security Ministry has a wider and more extensive reach and hold over Fiji’s domestic matrix. It can access its own sources of sensitive intelligence together with community resources to help in intelligence gathering. This would assist the Fiji First Party in keeping a tab on the evolving political manoeuvres at grass root as well as at national levels. Additional reading: Fiji revisits friendship and foreign policy under Viewlink. Mahendra Sukhdeo is a Fiji-born academic, writer, researcher and author. He is an astute observer of Fiji politics. The scone edition of his book, ‘Aryan Avatars,’ published by USP is now available at its Bookstore in Suva, Fiji.
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