What is an Offshore Trust? Here is the definition:

“The quality that differentiates an offshore trust from an onshore trust is portability. The offshore trust can be transferred to additional jurisdictions to maintain confidentiality and to advantage desirable facets of the new jurisdictions' laws.”

Sounds pretty complicated and we would not be correct if we said Offshore Trusts and Estate Planning is a simple aspect of financial services, it is not and this is why it is always wise to seek professional advice from one of our Advisors. Offshore trusts can offer major benefits to many investors: for example, a carefully established offshore trust can transfer a person's investments to a vehicle which may permit the deferral or minimization of income taxes on investment income without contravening the tax laws of the person's home country. There are other important benefits that may be derived from offshore trusts.

Benefits of Offshore Trusts:

Many offshore trusts are established with a view to obtaining one or more of the following benefits:

To avoid inheritance tax and/or the problems of probate and inheritance laws in the settlor's home country.
To defer or minimize tax on investment income imposed by the settlor's home country.
To legally insulate the settlor's assets from litigation, bankruptcy or seizure.
To hold or manage an offshore corporation engaged in international business activities thereby minimizing business or corporate taxes.
To protect wealth when a settlor lives in an unstable country.
To permit a settlor to enjoy privacy as to the nature of his investments and to whom he is providing benefits.

What Assets may be Held in a Trust?

Any type of asset may generally be transferred to and held in a trust. This includes cash, securities, real estate, businesses, gold and art. The main aspects to consider with establishing Offshore Trusts are that transferring certain assets offshore may be illegal depending on the category of the assets and the country of origin. Professional advice should be sought from one of our Advisors when considering establishing a trust offshore. In addition, for United States Expatriates, it should be noted that the US has strict reporting requirements on assets transferred into offshore trusts.

If you would like to find out more about Offshore Trusts and how they may help you, feel free to Contact Us and an Advisor will be in contact with you within 24 hours.