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21
The Private Practice
Spring 2013
ESTATE PlANNING
that, if necessary, the trustees can
redirect funds to where they are most
needed in order to fulfil the purpose
of the PAF.
HOW DOES A PAF
OPERATE?
In the PAF deed you can specify the
causes you wish to benefit from the
funds, as well as giving your trustee
the discretion to decide how the funds
are to be applied. This gives your
trustee the flexibility to respond to
things such as medical advancements,
which can give rise to many areas of
research requiring funding today that
would not have been thought possible
50 years ago.
The trustee of a PAF must be a
corporation. The directors of the trust
must include at least one party who
meets the definition of a `responsible
person' and is actively involved in
the decision-making of the PAF. The
`responsible person' cannot be the
founder, a major donor or an associate
thereof. The trustee of a PAF is subject
to both the common-law principles of
trust law and the Trustee Act of the
state or territory in which the
PAF operates.