Q: A husband died on February 24, 1985 and left House 1 (principal place of residence) to his wife as life tenant. In 1989, the wife sold House 1 and the executors of the estate allowed this so fund could be used by the wife to buy House 2 (new principal place of residence). In 1996, the wife wanted to return to Sydney and wished to buy House 3 (principal place of residence). The executors of the estate allowed this but there was a shortfall of funds to purchase House 3. The executors permitted son A to purchase one-third of House 3. The estate purchased two-thirds of the house. The wife and son continued to live in House 3. To document this transaction, a deed of family arrangement was signed by the executors and other children on March 11, 1996. In total, there are five adult children including son A. The deed grants an option to son A to purchase the estate's share of House 3 on the vesting of the property to the original beneficiaries. The wife died on August 2, 2015. Under the terms of the deed, son A purchased the estate's share of House 3 at market value.

Q: A husband and wife own two residential properties. One property is owned in the husband's name. He lives in the property while he travels away for work. The other property, owned in the wife's name, is where she and the kids live.

Q: A shareholder own shares in a private company. Three-quarters of those shares were issued to the shareholder when the company was formed. The other shares came from the acquisition of the shares of an outgoing shareholder many years later. The shareholder wishes to sell some but not all of their shares. The issue is that disposal of the shares acquired on issue would not have a CGT cost whereas if any part of the disposal was attributed to the later acquired shares, there would be a CGT cost.

Q: I have a farming client with a pre-CGT asset. The sale is tax-free but I have been advised that the sale is a CGT event and a s such the proceeds can be rolled over into a superannuation fund.