Trusts & Foundations

The formation and administration of trusts in or from Malta is regulated by the Trusts and Trustees Act.

Under the said Act, a trust may be created by any person (resident or non-resident) by unilateral declaration, by instrument in writing, by will, by operation of law, by judicial pronouncement or even orally.

Trusts are efficient vehicles for the both commercial business and private estate planning. Maltese law allows a variety of scenarios to benefit from the use of a trust for commercial purposes such as collective investment schemes, the securitisation of assets as well as portfolio management.

Trusts are particularly useful in the area of estate planning as they permit high net worth individuals to not only plan and organise their own financial affairs but also those of future generations in a manner which is safe, well-regulated and tax-efficient.

Foundations

Under Maltese law, Foundations are regulated by the provisions of the Civil Code (Amendment) (NO 2) Act XIII of 2007. Two types of Foundations can be established:

(i)  Private Foundations.
(ii) Purpose Foundations, set for a specific desired purpose of purposes

Foundations in Malta are legal entities, represented by administrators, which can be established for a variety of purposes including inheritance planning, ownership of assets, asset protection and management, tax planning, charitable purposes, and professional inter-mediation. Although a Maltese Foundation cannot have a commercial purpose, it can nonetheless be used to own and manage commercial assets or family businesses.

Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal advises clients on the establishment of appropriate trust and Foundation structures in Malta or overseas in accordance with the client?s wishes and future plans. We also provide:

  •  bespoke tax advice to ensure that the trust or foundation’s tax treatment is optimised
  • the drafting of trust instruments and deeds of establishment of foundations
  • assistance with the transfer of assets and investments to the trust or foundation as may be advised.

For further information, kindly contact Dr. Denia Ellul.

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