Before any orders are made to divide the asset pool, it’s important to consider what the tax implications are. These transfers could result in income tax, capital gains tax, GST, or stamp duty.

While there are some exemptions and rollovers available, these don’t apply in every case. Unlike a simple case of transferring a property from one spouse to another as part of a court order (where relief from capital gains or stamp duty could apply), transferring assets to or from a company or trust is not a straightforward matter. We also need to consider the tax on any dividends required to pay out company loans.

For Pamela, we had to consider if she took over some of the entities what the future would look like. Would she be taking on a tax bill in the future if she wanted to get money out of the entities? If we sold the assets within the entities, what were the implications going to be?