Upcoming webinar

Family Trusts vs Testamentary Trusts: Which one to use and when?

Thursday 3 September 2026

12:00pm – 1:00pm AEST

Up to 1 CPD hour available 

Register now

For guidance on creating your FAAA Learn account, click here

Session Overview

There are over 1 million active trusts in Australia today and 80% of them are discretionary trusts (commonly called family trusts).  Despite their common use, most clients don’t really understand how they operate, and don’t realise how the trust assets operate very differently to their personal assets on their death or incapacity.

Testamentary discretionary trusts contained in the Will typically work on similar principles when it comes to distribution of income and capital, and what assets the trust invests in.  However they operate very differently when it comes to your client’s estate plan.

Understanding these differences is critical to ensure that your client’s overall wealth is correctly covered in the estate plan and ‘goes where it should go’. 

This session will unpack those differences, why they are important and the strategies that are best suited to each type of trust when conducting your client’s estate planning.

Meet your speakers

Ann Janssen

Founder and Divisional Head, Estate First Lawyers

Ann Janssen is special counsel and the divisional head of Estate First Lawyers which she founded in 2009. Estate First Lawyers was established on Ann’s vision to provide quality, comprehensive estate planning to a broad range of people.  The firm has grown to be the one of the largest estate planning team of its kind in Australia.  Ann credits the growth of Estate First to financial advisors communicating the importance of estate planning to their clients.

Ann is one of only thirty-eight Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialists in Succession law and is a registered Trust and Estate Practitioner with the international organisation STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

Ann has a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Queensland. She also graduated with a Master of Business Administration in 2004, taking out the Graduate School of Management prize for best MBA of the year.

Ann holds several board positions, including national director on the Women in Super Board, and sits on the Death & Taxes committee for the Tax Institute as well as the Specialist accreditation advisory committee for the Qld Law Society.

Betty Leung

Special Counsel, Estate First Lawyers

Betty is a Special Counsel with Estate First Lawyers with over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of estate law, and focussing on estate planning and estate administration law. Betty is highly credentialled and is one of only thirty-eight Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialists in Succession law, which she achieved in 2007.

Betty has deep experience in estate planning law, including all types of Wills, testamentary trusts in Wills, estate planning for family trusts, companies and self managed super funds, advising on estate taxation and drafting documents relating to incapacity.   She holds several degrees, including a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws and a Masters of Laws from the University of Queensland.