Gibraltar trust questions, answered

The trustee holds title to the assets, follows the deed, keeps records and accounts, holds meetings when decisions are needed, and refreshes identity checks. A local partner takes a defined role in Gibraltar, and the engagement letter sets out who does what.

The settlor transfers assets into the trust. The beneficiaries are the people the trust benefits, named one by one or described as a class, such as the settlor's grandchildren. A purpose trust has no named beneficiaries and is held for its stated purpose.

A will takes effect on death and usually passes through probate. A trust starts in your lifetime, and the trustee holds the assets under the deed whether you are alive or not. Many families use both. Your lawyer explains how they fit together.

No. A company is a separate legal person with shareholders and directors. A trust is a relationship: the trustee owns the assets for the beneficiaries under the deed. Trusts often hold companies, and a family could form a private trust company to act as trustee.

It is a note in which the settlor explains how they would like the trustee to use its discretion. It is not binding, so the trustee can respond when circumstances change. The settlor can update it at any time, and each version is kept with the records.

A trust can hold cash, listed investments, shares in a family company and property, among other assets. The trustee asks for evidence of where each asset came from and how it is held. Assets in other countries bring those countries' rules, so your advisers there would confirm them before you transfer.

A Gibraltar law firm drafts the deed, and you review the draft with your own lawyer. We comment on how the trustee runs the powers the deed describes. You sign only when you are satisfied with it, and your lawyer's comments go back to the firm before the deed is final.

Yes, shares in a family company are a common asset. The trustee asks for the incorporation papers and the share register to confirm ownership and control. Shares in an operating company raise different questions from a portfolio of listed securities.

Sometimes. A change of trustee is usually made by a deed of retirement and appointment, following the steps your lawyer confirms under the trust's own governing law. Send us the deed and we tell you which route may fit, and what your lawyer and the current trustee need to confirm first.

Yes. The trustee service for Gibraltar is open, and you can send an enquiry today. Tell us where you live, what the trust would hold and who it is for, and we reply with the questions that matter and the steps that follow.

Often, as the deed provides. A settlor can keep certain powers, such as directing investments. How far that works under Gibraltar law is a point your lawyer confirms for your case. The other route is to appoint a professional manager to decide, which many families choose when assets are large or spread across several markets.

In a discretionary trust the trustee decides who receives what and when, guided by the letter of wishes. Each decision is recorded in minutes. A request from a beneficiary is considered against the deed and the facts at the time.

It depends on the powers written into the deed at the start. Many deeds let the trustee or a protector add or remove beneficiaries. Where the deed gives no such power, a change may need a court or the consent of the people affected.

The trust continues under the deed, and the trustee carries on administering it for the beneficiaries. What happens to assets held in other countries depends on the law there, so advisers in each place confirm it. Your lawyer confirms how it applies to your deed.

The trustee collects tax residence forms and reports where the rules require it. Whether and how Gibraltar rules apply to a given trust is a point your tax adviser confirms for your case, and the trustee confirms the position in writing. Your own tax adviser still covers your tax at home.

No. A trust is not a way to hide assets or to put them beyond the reach of every rule. Banks, tax authorities and the trustee need to know who stands behind it. Your own tax depends on where you live, and your adviser explains it.