Foundations

The Bahamas Foundation is the Bahamas common law equivalent of the civil law foundation of certain other jurisdictions. Foundations are registered and are require to have an independent Foundation Council comprising at least three members.

The introduction of the Guernsey Foundations Law has provided clients with a foundation solution to use alongside, or instead of, a trust. It is a very useful structure for asset protection, wealth planning and dynastic planning as well as charitable and philanthropic purposes.

Once registered, a Guernsey foundation acquires its own separate legal status or personality that is separate to that of its founder, who provides the initial assets of the foundation (the endowment). These assets are held for the purposes set out in the foundation’s constitutive document, known as the ‘charter’. The charter must be filed with the Guernsey Registry.

The Isle of Man Foundations Act 2011 provides an alternative to more traditional Isle of Man trust structure, particularly for clients in non-common law jurisdictions. The uses of Isle of Man foundations include succession planning, charitable and philanthropic purposes, and asset holding vehicles (for example, commercial assets such as private jets) for non-charitable purposes. Sovereign can assist with all aspects of setting up and registering an Isle of Man Foundation and can act as a council member, an enforcer and a registered agent. Sovereign is also able to provide full administrative services enabling a Foundation to perform including the preparation of financial statements, accounts, the completion and filing of tax returns and the opening and maintaining of bank accounts.

Foundations have been recognised and regulated in Malta for almost 200 years through case law and legal practice, but specific legislation was enacted to provide a clearly defined legal framework in 2008. As a result Maltese Foundations are now regulated under the Second Schedule of the Civil Code (Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta), which allows for the set-up of two types of Foundations: ‘Private’ and ‘Purpose’.

The objects of a Foundation may be charitable, non-charitable (Purpose) and may benefit one or more persons or a class of persons (Private). The objects must be reasonable, certain and possible and must not be unlawful, against public policy or immoral. A Foundation is prohibited from trading or carrying on commercial activities, but it may own commercial property or a shareholding in a profit making company.

A Foundation is an alternative vehicle available in Mauritius that fulfils similar functions to those of a trust but also has the administrative flexibility and advantages of a company. It is generally used for wealth management, succession planning, charitable activities or for commercial purposes alongside trusts, limited partnerships and corporate structures.

The advantage of both trusts and foundations is that they exist separately from the persons – settlor or founder – who have created them and are also separate from the persons who may have an entitlement to their assets – the beneficiaries. Both allow for the interests in the assets to be directed flexibly in respect of who may benefit and the circumstances and extent to which they may benefit.

A Foundation is a structure that is generally used in similar circumstances to traditional family trusts but is familiar to clients and intermediaries with a civil law background. Foundations, unlike trusts, are legal entities and must be registered in Gibraltar. The founder provides the initial assets – known as the endowment – which are then held for the purposes set out in its constitutive documents and administered according to contractual rather than fiduciary principles.

A Foundation is run by a council (or board) that is responsible for fulfilling its purpose. At least one councilor must be a Gibraltar resident company that is licensed as a professional trustee in Gibraltar. A foundation has no shareholders and, depending upon its purpose, may or not have beneficiaries. Beneficiaries have contractual rights to enforce the operation of the foundation in accordance with its constitutive document.

UAE Foundations could be considered as a hybrid between a trust and a company as they share features of both. The Foundation exists in its own right so unlike a company there are no shares which pass on death of the owner(s). It is a so-called ‘orphan’ structure.

A foundation is an independent legal entity, with a legal personality different from its Founder. The Foundation consists of council members and the founder. The founder provides the initial assets – known as the endowment – which are then held for the purposes set out in its constitutive documents. Those assets are then managed by the foundation council (equivalent to a board of directors for a company) in accordance with the foundation’s charter and by-laws for the benefit of beneficiaries or in support of a cause or a purpose.