What happens if all the trustees (directors of the trustee) die at the same time (say, in a car crash)?
In these circumstances, the law says that the oldest person is taken to have died first. If more than two persons die simultaneously then they are taken to have died in the order from oldest to youngest. Concerning what happens if the trustees (directors of the trustee) have nominated each other in their death benefit nominations, then see the answer directly above. After a trustee dies, their legal personal representative may act as either a trustee of the fund or as a director of a body corporate that is the trustee of the fund. So if all the trustees (or directors of the trustee) die at the same time, then the SMSF remains an SMSF until the death benefits are paid. At this point, the legal personal representative must cease to be a trustee and the fund will have to satisfy the basic conditions in order to continue as a SMSF – that is other members must have joined and become trustees.
