help with bank account name for trust

[eggnog]

I just went and opened a bank account name for my company acting as trustee. The name of the account reads

"Company Name" Pty Ltd ATF the Trustee for "Trust Name"

Just curious if this is correct because it seems to be a pretty long name

 

[LeeF]

well, mine is same , so I guess thats pretty normal...

 

[eggnog]

cool. Thanks lee. Just that my hand gets tired always having to write it out everytime I fill out forms

 

[Pat]

Hi,

It should read "Company name" ATF "Trust name". You are getting RSI because of the words "the trustee for"

ATF stands for as trustee for

 

[eggnog]

So should get that bank account name changed or doesn't it matter much

 

[Pat]

Doesn't matter

 

[geoffw]

It should read "Company name" ATF "Trust name".

I also get "ITF" (In Trust for).

WTF?

 

[KieranM]

I to had questions about this when I set up my share trading account for my trust. Unfortunately I don't have a company for mine, so the account name was "Aaron B Smith, Charlie D Smith, Elizabeth F Smith ATF Aaron Smith Holdings Trust"

Bugger that!

 

[Melbear]

Hi,

It should read "Company name" ATF "Trust name". You are getting RSI because of the words "the trustee for"

ATF stands for as trustee for

A friend of mine's trust name (no idea how it happened!!) is actually

The Trustee for the XXX Family Trust

 

[Pat]

Hi Melbear,

"The Trustee for" is what the ATO puts before all of it's ABN applications for Trusts. This is very annoying because I don't think the ATO understands the confusion that this causes. Maybe the firm who setup this Trust has followed the ATO's lead but we never would follow their lead.

 

[eggnog]

Hi Pat. Are you saying that when your company sets up trusts the trust name you set up is exactly what the client requested and not as "the trustee for (name of trust here)"

If so I might start my next trust with you guys

 

[Pat]

Hi,

We would have The Smith Family Trust as the name of the Trust. Either John Smith is the trustee of that trust or ABC Pty Ltd is the trustee depending on whether you have an individual trustee/s or corporate trustee.

The bank account would read ABC Pty Ltd ATF The Smith Family Trust.

The Tax return would be for The Smith Family Trust.

 

[Melbear]

Hey Pat
I'll actually be sending my friend's trust down to you guys in the near future to have a good look over and see how (badly?) it was set up, and if it is really any good for what he wants it to be. When we get organised, we'll also be getting you to lodge the tax returns.

Is it difficult or just annoying to change the name of a trust?

 

[Pat]

Hi Mel,

Names of Trusts and their operations can get confusing but we try and dispel all myths.

 

[luce.rocks]

I also get "ITF" (In Trust for).

WTF?

Depends what state you're in. I know VIC uses 'ITF' and NSW uses 'ATF' but I'm not sure about the others.

Also, with all this naming stuff, the correct name of the trust is just the trust name (e.g. XYZ Unit Trust, Jones Family Trust, John Street Discretionary Trust, etc.) but banks, ato, etc. will want to know who the trustee is, and to that end some of them might have different naming rules. I work in the business banking section of a bank and we set up our loans for trusts in just the Trust name, and then use the notes section to enter trustee details. Some other areas within the same bank like to set up their accounts/loans using both the Trustee name and the Trust name, e.g. 'John Smith ATF Smith Family Trust', 'Building Company Pty Ltd ATF Building Company Trust'. Whatever makes it easier for them to identify the trustee, so they know who to chase if something goes wrong...