Seychelles trust questions, answered

A will takes effect on death. A trust can start in your lifetime, with the trustee holding assets under the deed from then on. Assets left outside the trust still pass under your will, so most families keep both and have one lawyer read them together.

It can. The Trusts Act lets a trust continue indefinitely, and no perpetuity rule applies (s. 15). The deed can still set an end date, or an event that ends the trust, such as the youngest beneficiary reaching a set age.

Read the features the law allows

A settlor can keep some control. The Trusts Act lets a settlor reserve powers, such as revoking or varying the trust, without invalidating it (s. 16). The deed lists which powers apply, and your lawyer checks how far they reach in your case.

A trust can often change its governing law or its trustee if its own deed and its current law allow it. Your lawyer first reads the deed and the law that governs it now. The approved trustee then runs fresh identity checks before accepting office.

Under the Act, the approved trustee registers a trustee appointment declaration for the trust (s. 11). The trustee makes that filing after the deed is signed, as the registration step of the set-up. Your lawyer confirms whether anything else applies to your trust.

See the steps and documents

The trustee holds title to the assets, follows the deed and keeps accounts and minutes. It decides distributions, guided by your letter of wishes, and must act in the beneficiaries' interests. Each year it also refreshes identity checks and send you the accounts and an asset report.

Only as far as the deed allows. A settlor can reserve a power to vary the trust (s. 16), and the deed says who holds it. Without such a power, change is harder, so decide early what flexibility you want and whether the settlor or a protector should hold the power.

Yes, if the company does not own land in Seychelles (s. 10). Each company also has its own rules on transfers and on who may own it. The law firm and the company's advisers check them before the shares move. Tell us early if the company operates in several countries.

Yes. A purpose trust is valid if the deed appoints an enforcer to enforce its purposes (s. 14). With no beneficiaries to hold the trustee to account, the enforcer takes that role. Your lawyer drafts who the enforcer is, how a successor is chosen and what records the enforcer may see.

The trust continues under its deed. The trustee keeps holding the assets for the beneficiaries and follows the deed and the letter of wishes. Where the settlor kept a power to revoke, your lawyer reads it with the governing law to see what happens to it.

It depends on the assets, the structure and where people live. Your tax adviser confirms how Seychelles and your home country tax it, and whether a holding company under the trust brings its own filings in Seychelles. Raise both points before the deed is drafted.

Read the tax and reporting guide

Yes. We book a call to explain the options, the documents and who takes which role. A call carries no obligation, and we put the next steps in writing afterwards. Tell us your country of residence and the assets in view, so the call starts from your facts.

Bring a list of the assets and where they sit, with any Seychelles land marked, since the trust cannot hold it. Add the countries involved and what you want the trust to achieve. Identity papers and proof of where your wealth came from speed up the checks.

See the documents the trustee asks for

No. We coordinate the parties and the papers. Legal advice comes from your lawyer and the law firm that drafts the deed, and tax advice on Seychelles and your home country comes from your own tax adviser. We send each of them the same drafts we send you.