Accounting, Tax and Financial Issues for Family Lawyers – Recorded Online Conference

Our annual 2-day family law conferences are among the most highly regarded professional development events we run, but we realise that not everyone can spare two days out of the office. So we’re offering you a new way to access the experts online – a half-day online conference, focused on accounting, tax and financial issues for family lawyers.

You can put your staff in the boardroom and watch it there. You can watch it on your computer or on your portable electronic device. All for the same low price.

The conference will be based on our highly successful video webinar technology: there’ll be a chairperson, a panel of experts, presentations and discussion.

Session 1: Tax Aspects of Family Court Property Orders and Agreements

Whether you settle or the matter is contested, the form of the final orders or the agreement you enter into must take account of taxation issues. This webinar will examine common transactions that occur in property matters and their tax consequences:

• The scope and nature of the CGT “divorce rollover”
• Automatic application and recent case law
• Treatment of future CGT liability in assets with unrealised gains
• Transfers of assets and payments from private companies – application of Division 7A
• Commissioner’s exercise of discretion under section 109RC – who bears top up tax liability
• Removing beneficiaries from discretionary trusts
• Extinguishing unpaid present entitlements from trusts
• Forgiveness of credit loans to entities
• Extinguishing debit loans from entities
• Business restructures and asset transfers outside the “divorce rollover” necessitated by relationship breakdown:
  • use of small business rollover
  • use of CGT small business concessions
• When should tax indemnities be provided and by whom?

Session 2: Hidden Wealth, Disclosure Obligations and Financial Statements

An important step in property settlement proceedings is determining the value and wealth of the parties. The Family Court Rules require the full and frank disclosure of the parties about any interests in property, income and financial resources. But, these disclosure obligations are not always met. How do you know when you have all the relevant information? And, how can you uncover hidden wealth? With the rise of virtual currency and other intangibles, it’s never been more important for family lawyers to be across the details. In this session, a forensic accountant unpacks the complexities, including:

• Extent and scope of disclosure obligations
• Types of hidden wealth and the common and not-so-common strategies used to hide assets
• Spotting the warning signs of hidden assets
• Financial tracking and determining if all assets have been disclosed
• How do you locate and value cryptocurrencies and other intangibles?
• Practical case studies

Session 3: What’s it Worth: Valuing a Business in Property Settlements

When parties separate and commence property settlement proceedings, one of the more challenging steps can be valuing interests in business assets owned by either party. Business valuations are tricky, and not without expense. This session looks at the key valuation issues involved with businesses and covers:

• Identifying relevant interests in a business – either owned personally, or through any form of corporate entity, trust or partnership structure
• When should you obtain a third party valuation?
• The role of the forensic accountant
• Determining fair market value – asset based approach v earnings based approach
• Business valuation – how is it done?
  • goodwill
  • assets
  • stock
  • leases
• “Double dipping” and s.75(2) – does the business have other associated benefits – security, future income, provision of payment of non-business expenses