Trusts & Foundations
Trusts that protect and pass on family wealth, in every common form, plus Panama and Nevis foundations.
Trusts and foundations are the private layer that decides how a family's or founder's wealth is held, managed and passed on. We design trusts where the trustee decides who gets what, trusts where the settlor keeps some powers, purpose trusts, and foundations — matched to where the family lives, what they want to happen on succession and what they own.
Every structure is written for specific assets: a business, a property portfolio, gold, an art collection, crypto. The trust deed or foundation charter is drafted to hold those assets, not copied from a template.
We work with independent trustees and foundation councils in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Nevis, the Bahamas, Cayman, Panama and the UAE — managed as one file covering the trust, the companies beneath it and any businesses.
What we do for you
- Protect assets across countries
- Works whatever legal system your family is under
- Clear plans for passing wealth on
Who usually uses this
- Founders setting up succession before they sell their business
- Families with heirs living in three or more countries
- People holding hard-to-sell assets — private businesses, property, art, gold, crypto
- People setting up a trust who want to keep certain powers, or appoint a protector
One team, step by step, from the first call to handing it over.
A confidential conversation about your family, where everyone lives, what you own and what you want to happen.
The type of trust, the country, the trustee and the protector — with the tax and reporting worked out.
A trust deed or foundation charter written for you, a letter of wishes, and the powers you keep.
Moving the assets in, taking on the trustee, appointing the protector and the first trustee minutes.
What you receive.
Every engagement closes with a specialist-reviewed handover pack — retained on file for thirty years.
- Trust deed or foundation charter
- Letter of wishes and a note on succession
- Trustee, protector and enforcer appointments
- The holding companies underneath
- International tax-reporting (CRS/FATCA) classification and filings
The countries we most often use for this service.
Questions we hear on every intake call.
- What's the difference between a trust and a foundation?
- A trust is an arrangement from English-style law: the trustee legally owns the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. A foundation is a legal entity in its own right, from European-style law, with its own charter, council and beneficiaries. Foundations are often preferred when the family comes from a country with European-style law.
- Do I lose control of my assets?
- Not necessarily. Keeping certain powers, appointing a protector, or using a private trust company lets you keep defined controls without losing the protection. We design that balance deliberately.
- How are trusts and foundations taxed?
- It depends entirely on where the settlor, trustee and beneficiaries live. Every job includes a written tax analysis for the countries involved before anything is drafted.
Start with a twenty-minute call. Come away with a written plan and price.
Every engagement begins with our advisory team and is assigned to the relevant specialists. Fees are quoted in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing.
More on structures & related work
Offshore & Onshore Company Formation
We set up companies in the BVI, Cayman, the UAE, Singapore, the UK, Delaware and 55 more places — ready for a bank account, with proof that the company is genuinely run where it's registered.
US LLC (Wyoming) for Non-US Owners
A Wyoming LLC for people who live and work outside the US. With no US office, staff or agent, the US generally charges no federal income tax on it and Wyoming has no state income tax. We set it up, get the EIN and the US bank account, and keep the yearly filings done.
Corporate Structuring
Groups of companies across several countries: holding companies, companies that own your IP, joint-venture companies, and moving a company to a new country.
Every engagement begins with a twenty-minute advisory call. The fee is in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing.