2014 April ClearNews

Welcome to ClearNews April 2014.

Every few months, ClearNews tells you what's new at Cleardocs. We also send you the monthly ClearLaw emails discussing legal developments relevant to the documents we provide.

More flexible SMSF Pension - the Fund does not require a Cleardocs deed

We have made the Cleardocs Pension Pack more flexible.

To use the Cleardocs Pension Pack, an SMSF no longer requires a Cleardocs deed.

The benefit of the new flexibility is a more simple process:

• if you do not have a Cleardocs deed, you do not need to update the SMSF's deed to a Cleardocs deed (at a cost of $99.00)
• before ordering your Pension Pack.

You can create your Cleardocs SMSF Pension Pack within minutes for $299.00.

Latest news on the meaning of 'charity' and the ACNC

You will recall that the Charities Act (Cth) took effect at the beginning of the year (see our January ClearLaw article " Charities Act 2013 takes effect: meaning of charity clarified").

Shortly afterwards, we updated the Cleardocs Public Company Limited by Guarantee product to reflect the statutory definition of charity.

Our lawyers at Maddocks have been in discussions with the ACNC about how we can further assist with your application for a charity to receive its charitable status and DGR approvals. As a result of these discussions, some minor improvements will be made to our document package shortly.

Further, we note that a Bill has been introduced into Parliament proposing abolishment of the ACNC. This will mean the return of the regulatory function to the ATO and ASIC. We will notify you of developments in this regard.

Cleardocs attends the LIV Legal Symposium and sponsors the Law Society of NSW CLE events

As part of our commitment to the legal profession, Cleardocs endeavours to keep abreast of industry developments and be involved in ongoing professional education events.

March 2014 saw Cleardocs be a part of two law events:

• The Law Institute of Victoria's 2014 Legal Symposium; and
• The Law Society of NSW's CPD seminars on estate planning.

It was great to meet members at these events and discuss our estate planning, trust and SMSF packages.

Cleardocs is owned by Forbes Fortune 500 company, Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters now publishes the Law Society Precedent Service.