Rinehart's lawyer says children can remove trust assets

An attorney for Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart said Rinehart’s four children are free to remove their assets from a multibillion-dollar trust,

Bloomberg reported

.

Three of Rinehart’s four children have accused her of misconduct and are seeking to have her removed as trustee. Her youngest daughter, Ginia Rinehart, has taken her mother’s side in the dispute. The three siblings’ lawsuit says Rinehart unilaterally extended her control of the trust until 2068, saying the family would otherwise face bankruptcy because of capital gains taxes.

But on April 30, 2012, Rinehart vested the trust, effectively allowing the children to take control of their assets without having to wait until 2068; her lawyer contends that the move makes further litigation unnecessary, according to the Bloomberg report.

Citing the

Sydney Morning Herald,

Bloomberg reported that the three oldest children will continue their suit to remove Rinehart as trustee and can’t decide whether to take ownership of the assets because they don’t know the tax implications.

The trust was created by Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, for the benefit of his grandchildren. The trust holds 23.45% of the voting shares of giant mining company Hancock Prospecting. Bloomberg reported that the company’s CFO calculated the value of each child’s share of the trust at A$600 million. Based on those calculations, withdrawing the assets would cause each of the children to owe A$253 million in taxes, the Bloomberg article said. (Source: Bloomberg, May 10, 2012.)