Trusts

The trust is a centuries old English law concept whereby one party holds title to assets for the benefit of another party. The terms of that arrangement are set out in a trust deed. Trusts can be used for a variety of purposes. These include:

• Dynastic family wealth planning. Trusts can be used to ensure that future generations are not easily able to waste the assets accumulated by former generations.
  
• Tax minimisation. Trusts are typically more flexible than corporations and often provide enhanced opportunities for structuring to achieve legitimate tax advantages.
  
• Privacy. Unlike corporations there are no "registers of members" etc and the use of facilities such as discretionary classes of beneficiaries can provide additional privacy.
  
• Asset protection. Trusts are a way of protecting family assets from the claims of future creditors.
  

Outside of English law jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Singapore, trusts are generally not well understood in an Asian context. However, in an emerging post Asian crisis world they are very relevant to Asian entrepreneurs wishing to avoid repeating the mistakes of the mid 1990's. They may also be very relevant to expatriates living in Asia for both domestic and repatriation tax planning.

A lot of heartache could have been avoided by Asian clients during the Asian crisis if they had established a trust structure before they encountered their solvency problems. As entrepreneurs recover from the wounds of the late 1990's now is the time to ensure that their assets are held in a secure and appropriate structure.

Please contact Portcullis TrustNet (Hong Kong) Ltd for details on the types of trust structures offered by the Portcullis TrustNet Group.