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Luxembourg trust questions, answered
Luxembourg has no trust law of its own, so a Luxembourg trust is a trust governed by another country's law that Luxembourg recognises. These Luxembourg trust questions cover the roles, the set-up, running it and reporting. Send us your question and we reply.
Reviewed by a senior trust administrator, updated
Top questions
Jump to an answer below.
Key facts
- Trust structure
- No domestic trust; foreign trusts recognised through the Hague Convention[1]
- Governing law
- Law of 27 July 2003 on trusts and fiduciary contracts[1]
- Trustee requirement
- Fiduciary in a fiducie must be a financial institution that the law lists[1]
Numbers in brackets point to the Sources list at the end of this page.
Basics
A trust that touches Luxembourg works like a trust elsewhere: a settlor transfers assets and a trustee holds them for others. Beneficiaries may benefit under the deed.
What sets this place apart is that it has no domestic trust. A statute of 2003 recognises foreign trusts and regulates the fiducie, and the law page sets out their sources.
How does a Luxembourg trust work in practice?
The settlor signs a deed and transfers assets, and the trustee holds them and decides under the deed. Beneficiaries benefit as the deed says. The law named in the deed supplies default rules, and your lawyer confirms how they apply to your facts.
What are the benefits of a trust in Luxembourg?
People cite one trustee for assets in several countries, a central European location, and written succession wishes. These are reasons to look, not results. Whether they apply to you depends on your home country, your aims and the law that the deed names.
What does a trustee do in Luxembourg?
The trustee holds legal title to the assets and runs the trust under the deed. It keeps accounts and records, holds meetings, passes resolutions and decides on distributions. Who may hold office as trustee is a point your lawyer confirms, and we tell you the result in writing.
How is this trust different from a will?
A will takes effect on death. A trust can start during your life, and the trustee holds the assets from the day they are transferred. A trust does not replace a will, and your lawyer advises which assets belong in each.
Who is involved in the structure?
The settlor creates the trust and transfers assets. The trustee holds them. Beneficiaries may receive distributions, and a protector, where the deed creates one, can consent to key decisions. A law firm drafts the deed, and your own lawyer reviews it.
Setting up
Paperwork sets the speed of any set-up. You pass the identity and source-of-funds checks, shape the structure with your lawyer, approve the deed and sign it.
Funding starts only once the trustee has accepted office. Evidence of where the money came from is usually the slowest part, so begin early; the formation guide walks through the papers step by step.
Which language is the deed written in?
The deed is drafted in a language that its governing law and the parties can work in, often English. The Legilux statute is published in French, and papers in French or German may need an English translation. The law firm agrees the language with you and the trustee.
Do I need to visit Luxembourg to open a trust?
Whether anyone must attend in person depends on the document, because signing and witnessing rules can differ. We agree the signing method with the trustee and your lawyer before drafting ends, and put the result in writing for you before signing.
Can a holding company sit under the trust?
Yes, many structures use one. If a company sits under the trust, the trustee holds its shares, and day-to-day dealings run through the company. It adds formation and yearly charges, and your lawyer advises whether it suits your assets and where the company should be formed.
Running the trust
Once the trust is funded, the trustee runs it under the deed, and we prepare the papers behind each request before the trustee decides.
Keeping the structure sound means following the deed in practice and recording every decision. A settlor who treats trust money as personal cash is a warning sign.
Charges recur each year; the cost breakdown explains every item. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust; annual administration, event-based work and third-party charges are quoted after we review your case.
Can I be a beneficiary of my own trust?
That depends on the deed, on the governing law, and on how your home country treats it. Keeping benefits and control can change the legal and tax result, so your lawyer and tax adviser confirm it in writing before you sign.
Can I change the beneficiaries later?
Only where the deed grants that power, for example to the settlor, a protector or the trustee. The deed also states how a change is made and recorded, and who may ask for it. We prepare the papers and the trustee decides under the deed.
Does the trustee have to follow my letter of wishes?
No. A letter of wishes is a private note telling the trustee how you would like it to use its discretion, say for education or a family business. The trustee reads it but is not bound by it, so keep it current.
How often is the trust reviewed?
We suggest a yearly review and another after any change in your family or assets, such as a birth, a marriage, a move abroad or the sale of a business. The trustee confirms the assets it holds at each review.
Can the trust move to another country later?
Only if the deed and its governing law allow it and the trustee agrees. A move can alter the trustee, the reporting and the tax position, so your lawyer and tax adviser review it first. The deed should set out how a change of trustee or governing law happens.
Reporting and tax
Your own tax position depends on where you live, so your tax adviser leads on it. Where the trustee is in Luxembourg, it handles the records and filings that apply to it.
A bank may ask, at the outset, for self-certification forms covering the trust and any company it owns.
Does a Luxembourg trust report under CRS?
Whether and how automatic exchange of account information applies to your trust, its trustee or a bank is a point your tax adviser confirms for your case. We collect the self-certification forms at the start so that deadlines can be planned, and the answer can differ by party.
Does my residency change the reporting?
Yes. Your home country decides how you are treated as settlor or beneficiary and what you must file there. Say where you live and pay tax in your first message, and we send your adviser the actual drafts to review before you sign.
Who do I ask about my own tax on a trust?
Your tax adviser at home. We give no tax advice and promise no tax outcome. We send the adviser the same drafts as you, so the advice rests on the real documents rather than a summary, and the adviser tells you what to file at home.
Getting help
Say in plain words what you plan to transfer and where you live. Our reply sets out what we can do and what your lawyer and tax adviser must check.
Prefer to see the whole picture first? Begin with the overview of how a trust works.
What should I send in a first message?
Four details matter: where you live and pay tax, what you expect to transfer, whether a company already holds those assets, and who should benefit. A short note is enough, and we reply with the list of papers to gather and the next steps.
Can my own lawyer work with you on the structure?
Yes, and we welcome it. Your lawyer checks that the structure suits you where you live and reviews the draft deed. We share the checklist and drafts with your lawyer and tax adviser so all work from the same papers.
Sources
- Legilux: Law of 27 July 2003 on trusts and fiduciary contracts, read 2026-11-05.