Trusts, Foundations and the Senior Expat
For estates of a certain size, or of a certain complexity, a Will alone is not the right instrument. A Will distributes; it does not protect, it does not endure, and it does not address the years between the testator's death and a beneficiary's maturity.
Trusts, available in the DIFC and ADGM under modern common-law statutes, permit the testator to set aside assets during his lifetime or by Will, to be administered by trustees for the benefit of named or class beneficiaries. The instrument is flexible, the law is well understood, and the courts of both jurisdictions have shown themselves capable of administering trust disputes with rigour.
Foundations, a civil-law concept now available in both DIFC and ADGM, offer an alternative that resembles a trust in effect but a company in form. For clients from civil-law jurisdictions, or for those whose principal beneficiaries are themselves resident in such jurisdictions, the Foundation may be the more comfortable vehicle.
Neither structure is a substitute for a Will; both are complements to one. Our chambers advises on whether a structure is warranted, on which structure suits the circumstances, and on the drafting of the trust deed or foundation charter. We do so in plain language, and with a candid view of the costs of administration over the years to come.
Written by the solicitors of LEX Services for the senior expatriate reader.
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