Wealth can be a reward, a privilege or the result of good fortune. But it can bring problems: there are plenty of ways to lose it; it can spoil lives and split families.
The prudent and sophisticated take care with their wealth, to: protect it from outsiders; invest it; put it to work; prevent it from bringing family problems, and; direct its management and distribution, even after death.
Trusts are well established legal vehicles but they have European cousins that offer a powerful alternative: Foundations.
A Foundation provides many of the advantages of a trust or limited company but can also serve a similar purpose to a private or charitable trust.
Jurisdictions that previously offered trusts alone are introducing foundations, including the Crown Dependencies. While the legislation differs to some extent between the Crown Dependencies, the essence of the foundation remains the same: a founder dedicates property to a chosen purpose (such as family or charitable purposes), the foundation is registered and becomes a legal entity and its affairs are conducted by a council under the constitution.
They are an attractive vehicle for managing ones’s wealth and for the purpose of succession planning but can also be used commercially or for those uncomfortable with common law trusts.
