Fred, to have any chance of giving you any meaningful opinion, we first need to understand the situation better. Following are some questions for you.

- Confirming this is a Family Trust (not a Trading Trust)? Correct, and set up to protect liability, should that arise, against a claim of conducting business in the construction sector, a very common reason for setting up a trust.
- Presumably it currently holds a variety of assets and investments? (not just a family home)? Trust holds a variety of assets, business shares, two investment properties mortgaged to ANZ, family home, Cash assets (seven figures).
- When was the Trust originally settled? and who originally attended to that? 2015, Lawyer
- You are a Trustee and a named beneficiary on the Trust Deed? Correct
- Are there other named beneficiaries ? 2x descendant children, wife and I
- Or perhaps this is a "Discretionary Trust", so there are no specifically named Beneficiaries? No
- Are there other Trustees, including a "Professional trustee"? No
- The Settlor is a family member and related to you? Wife and I named as the settlor on the deed.
- How familiar are you with the Trusts Act 2019, and all the various associated rights & responsibilities you have as a Trustee and as a Beneficiary? Trying to get familiar.

I've answered these questions for context, but don't quite see their importance for an opinion for a financial plan. There are future (within ten years) competing demands on the trust broadly, that younger beneficiaries would want a lump sum to purchase a house, and older beneficiaries would prefer yield-producing assets, as a source of income. The treatment of debt by the trust will have a bearing on the provision of each demand, described in the first post of the thread.

Hope that helps.