u/CommercialWalrus322

I’m a US citizen living in Australia and have about AUD40,000 in super. It’s not an SMSF, it’s a normal regulated super account but I made all the contributions myself. I am not making any more.

I’ve been told this makes it a foreign grantor trust (which I can see) and that I may have to file Forms 3520 and 3520-A every year. I can’t access the money for around another 12 years, and the annual accounting fees could end up eating most of the super.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did your accountant say the forms were required, or that your super qualified for the Rev. Proc. 2020-17 exemption?

Also, has anyone looked at the proposed 2024 foreign-trust regulations, REG-124850-08? They seem to include a broader exemption for certain foreign retirement trusts, but I can’t get a clear answer on whether they can be relied on before they’re final. I have gotten 3 CPA opinions and they all vary and no one can give me a definite answer.

Is there any way out? It seems painful that starting a super could lead to 15 years of expenses.

Does anyone have comments or experience with this?

I 49F have been dating a 48M for about a year. Overall, our relationship has been genuinely good. He’s caring, consistent, affectionate, energetic with me, and has never been cruel or disrespectful toward me. He’s very positive and encouraging.
He has 8-year-old twins that he sees every other weekend due to distance from his ex-wife. I’ve spent time with him and the kids on multiple occasions now, and I’ve started noticing a pattern that’s really unsettling me.
Around me, he’s upbeat, engaged, funny, energetic, and emotionally present. Around his kids, though, he becomes extremely flat, dull, monotone, low-energy, and almost emotionally shut down. It’s like he seems drained by their presence and just goes into this lifeless version of himself. The contrast is honestly quite shocking. At first I thought he was probably drained from the week or the previous activities he did with the kid but it seems like he is always this way with the kids plus he only has them 4 days a month.
I started seeing a side of him that feels emotionally immature, poorly regulated, and very different from the version of him I experience one-on-one.
Now I feel confused because the relationship between us has otherwise been very loving and stable. Part of me wonders if I’m overreacting to stress/parenting dynamics, while another part of me feels like I may be seeing who he really is. I honestly feel sad for the children. I guess I’m looking for advice on which is his true personality and if anyone has been through something similar. Will I end up with the version that the children see once the honeymoon period is over? I have lost a lot of respect for him as a parent and feel that this relationship needs to end.