Blevins
Franks Offshore Trusts
Blevins Franks Offshore Trusts
Confidentiality,
Flexibility and Convenient Administration
Wealthy families often have substantial assets located in
many different jurisdictions. An offshore trust is a convenient
vehicle for centralising the control and administration of
such assets to provide sound financial reporting and maximum
asset protection. It can be administered free of tax and offers
complete anonymity to the family.
Blevins
Franks offshore trusts can be restructured, moved to different
locations, terminated at any time, have new beneficiaries
added, or old ones removed. The trustees can always be replaced
if circumstances alter.
Location
of an Offshore Trust
Malta is an ideal location for an offshore trust because it
offers the following advantages:
- No
local taxation for a properly structured trust
- Confidentiality
- The
Professional Secrecy Act makes it illegal for any adviser
operating from Malta to pass any information to any third
party
- A
high standard of professional service from qualified personnel
- A
well established legal system including codified trust law
- Political
and economic stability
- Freedom
from currency or fiscal controls
- Excellent
telecommunications
- Ease
of access
Blevins
Franks Tax and Estate Planning
Offshore
trusts have for many years been an essential element of successful
tax planning. The basis for this is that a trust is a quite
separate legal entity from the settlor, and the income and
assets of the trust may therefore be excluded from an individual's
estate for tax purposes.
Tax
in General
An
individual's relocation from one jurisdiction to another provides
the ideal opportunity for long-term strategic financial planning.
For example, UK nationals taking up residence in either Spain,
France, Portugal can avoid both local and UK taxes by the
use of the correct offshore trust structure.
Inheritance
Tax or Death Duties
Assets
held in a trust will not necessarily form part of a deceased
person's estate for death duty purposes.
Employee
Trusts
Companies
can establish offshore trusts to provide tax efficient benefits
to employees both in the UK and overseas.
Flexible
International Will
An
offshore trust can be, in effect, an international will designed
to ensure that assets are distributed without the requirement
for normal probate procedures, and entirely in accordance
with family's wishes regardless of the geographical location
of the assets, or of any restrictive testamentary laws.
Offshore trusts will overcome any forced heirship claims.
Many countries (such as France, Spain and Portugal) have laws
which force assets to pass to the children (including the
children of earlier marriages) and prevent assets being left
in accordance with the deceased's wishes. In particular, the
spouse is never a protected heir under forced heirship regimes.
The trust overcomes this problem.
For
further information on Blevins Franks Offshore Trusts visit
the Blevins Franks Website.
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