Offshore Trusts

Expertise

We have many years of experience in advising clients on all aspects of offshore trusts.

Over the past twenty or so years successive rafts of anti-avoidance legislation had largely eroded all of the benefits of offshore trusts for UK domiciled and resident individuals.

However, offshore trusts are an important element of tax and other planning for non-domiciled and/or non-resident individuals. Sometimes we advise on their creation in order to secure tax benefits but in other cases succession planning or family protection are the motivating factors.

We advise on the creation of offshore trusts and all of the associated UK tax implications, including the particular income tax and capital gains tax anti-avoidance rules that apply.

We are sensitive to the concerns of individuals and families for whom trusts are a new experience and advise on arrangements which can provide them with reassurance. We are familiar with the concept of private trust companies and regularly advise on “protector” and “family committee” arrangements. Whilst we always leave lawyers in the appropriate jurisdiction to prepare the final versions of foreign law trusts we will draft “protector” and “family committee” provisions on a bespoke basis.

Dealing with tax and trust law issues in relation to existing offshore trusts is another part of our practice. Sometimes we are asked to advise on a particular proposed transaction. In other cases we are asked to advise the trustees or one or more beneficiaries on tax and/or fiduciary issues where there is friction between some of the parties.

As in all matters with an international element we are very conscious that any planning needs to take into account the tax and other laws of other relevant jurisdictions and we enjoy working with advisers in those other jurisdictions.

Experience

Our experience in this area includes:

• Advising a Russian client on the creation of offshore trusts with a view to investing in assets located in England including advice on “protectorship” arrangements
• Advising an offshore trustee on all the tax and other aspects of a restructuring arrangement to avoid the application of “ATED” in relation to a London residential property
• Advising an offshore trustee on fiduciary and tax issues in relation to a partition of existing offshore trusts between two branches of a family
• Advising on the restructuring of a group of offshore trusts in order to navigate the “controlled foreign company” rules introduced by a continental European jurisdiction