Trusts & Private Foundations

Trusts and foundations are useful ways to hold and protect your wealth, especially when you have family members and assets located in different countries.

 

We can act as trustees for trusts and family foundations in more than 100 jurisdictions around the world. 

A personal service

There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach when it comes to the preservation of wealth. If this is something that you would like to consider, our lawyers will listen carefully to your needs and help identify your options. A trust or foundation might be most suitable if you wish to ensure that while your children can enjoy their inheritance, the assets are not split between the different family branches.

 

We take into account where and in what form your wealth is held, as well as the citizenship/residence of the settlor/founder, trustees, other power holders, directors, administrators and intended beneficiaries. All of this enables us to provide holistic advice in the interests of preserving the wealth for the benefit of you and your family.

If and/or when it becomes clear that existing structures no longer suit your goals or when the political situation, treaties, legislation, case law, changing tax regimes or other developments indicate a need for the structure to be reviewed, we can advise on restructuring to ensure that your structures continue to reflect your needs and adapt to the world's ever-changing environments.
 

Building robust structures

Stress testing trusts and foundations can help to preserve your family fortune, while being tax efficient, ensuring compliance with ever greater regulation and reducing the risk of future litigation.

Bringing together global expertise with specialist knowledge of political landscapes, trust structuring, wealth planning, succession disputes and governance, we stress test trusts, foundations and their related corporate structures from the planning stage onward. Our aim is to prevent or minimise difficulties and resulting exposure, with particular regard to the concerns or vulnerabilities of your family.

By understanding your goals and family values, we are able to advise on the best ways to minimise risk of unfavourable outcomes, such as attacks on the structure by fiscal authorities, government bodies, disappointed heirs and divorcing spouses. We aim to simplify and contextualise solutions and help implement unique governance structures, which ensure that your wishes are suitably embedded. We also identify and anticipate existing or potential chinks in the armour of a structure and how best to secure against and minimise unnecessary risks and exposure to potentially costly litigation or damaging political pressure in the future.