Mr Fettes said ideally duty advice and property law advice should be obtained in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure there are no surprises or adverse duty outcomes.

“Even with very basic things such as the need for the remaining member in the fund to change the trustee — it's important to get that right,” said Mr Fettes.

Where there has been a decision to shift from individual trustees to a corporate trustee, it's important clients think about they want to handle the stamp duty exemption in relation to that.

“A straightforward way of doing it may be to change the trustee of the fund up front to a corporate trustee and get that done and then have all the State Revenue Office paperwork done before you proceed with all the splitting rigmarole,” Mr Fettes suggested.

Mr Fettes explained that applying for a steep duty exemption under a change of trustee where there is no change in membership is typically easier than seeking an exemption under relationship breakdown provisions.

“One you start to complicate it with changing members or you have to look at the relationship breakdown provisions, it does get more complex,” he said.

“So sometimes it's advisable to address this up front to avoid additional complexity.”

SMSF clients in this situation should also be mindful of the foreign resident CGT withholding regime.

“A clearance certificate may need to be obtained prior to any transfer,” he said.