WA other/general law re trust beneficiary

[Rookaya]

I am seeking legal advice on the below matter

Trustee: Safehouse (WA) Pty Ltd
for Karwel family trust
trading as Safehouse Locksmiths

As a nominated beneficiary of the above I have not received any dividends or reporting from the trustee. I was actively involved in setting up IP & Infrastructure for the business as well as everyday operations for 2 + years. I agreed to be a nominated beneficiary of the trust instead of a director or partner. I have since left Perth which the director was aware of 12 months in advance as the plan was I would move on and to date have been in the USA since February 2018 exploring other opportunities. I am about to temporary return to Perth to tie up lose ends. Where there was agreement that the business will meet my financial obligations in exchange for me providing my expertise, skills and experience. The director cancelled this by removing me from the business account and cancelling payments. I have setup a meeting with him and need to know from a legal stand point how I would go about handling the meeting before engaging a lawyer. I feel that he has not held up his side of the agreement and have left me in a position where I am now facing financial difficulty.

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

This will be extremely complicated and you should seek formal legal advice sooner rather than later if you're intending to pursue anything. From the looks of it, you should be getting that advice well before the meeting you've set up.

Any rights you have as a beneficiary of a trust will depend on the nature of the trust. Even if you have a right to participation (such as in the case of a unit trust), it doesn't necessarily mean that the trustee has had to disburse trust proceeds. If it is a discretionary trust, the proposition is even harder as the trustee has a discretion whether or not to allocate trust income to each potential beneficiary.

Your situation will need to be examined overall, not just in respect of the trust, and there are likely to be several elements and issues in play just from the description you've given.