Appropriately considering the successive control of discretionary trusts, at both a trustee and an appointor level, is a critical component in succession planning. The recent Queensland Court of Appeal decision of Staley v Hill Family Holdings Pty Ltd highlighted this, after broad variation powers resulted in the removal of an appointor by a trustee which could have been avoided had the succession of the trust been properly addressed. 

It is a longstanding general principle that where a trustee discloses reasons for the exercise of a discretion, the validity of the trustee’s reasons will be examined and reviewed.