Who can be a trustee in Singapore?

An individual or a company can in principle, but carrying on trust business is restricted under the Trust Companies Act 2005, which also lists exempt persons. In our service a partner trust company holds the role. The deed decides whether a trustee may also be a beneficiary, and a sole trustee who is also the sole beneficiary raises questions. Your lawyer confirms the position.

The trustee holds the assets as legal owner and manages them for the beneficiaries under the deed and the Trustees Act 1967. It keeps records, accounts and minutes, takes the decisions the deed gives it, runs identity checks and handles tax information reporting.

No. A company is a legal person owned by shareholders and run by directors. A trust is not a person: it is the arrangement under which a trustee holds assets for beneficiaries. A trust can own a company, for example a holding company above a family business.

An executor carries out a will and settles the estate, then the role ends. A trustee holds assets under a trust deed and can act for many years. A will can create a trust, so the same person is sometimes both, one after the other.

It is a document in which the owner of an asset states that they hold it on trust for named beneficiaries. It can be used for a single asset, while a full trust deed also sets out the trustee's powers and the beneficiary rules. Your lawyer chooses the form.

We do not rely on one. A deed written for someone else's assets, beneficiaries and countries rarely fits yours, and a template cannot adjust to your case. A law firm drafts yours, and your own lawyer goes through it with you before signing.

Often, yes. The usual route is a deed of retirement and appointment: the current trustee retires and a Singapore trust company is appointed. The trust's deed and governing law decide whether that works. We can also coordinate the papers and reporting with the current trustee.

Check the Singapore set-up steps and documents

Yes, and it is a frequent reason for a trust, normally through a holding company above the business. A share transfer can bring duty or a registry step, so the law firm checks this early, while the structure is designed.

Frequently, where the deed permits. You can make investment decisions yourself or hand them to a professional manager. What you may reserve turns on the deed's wording and the governing law, and the trustee still holds title and keeps the records.

Usually your hopes for how the trustee uses its discretion: who should benefit, when children should receive money, and how a family company or other key assets should be handled. The letter guides the trustee but does not bind it, and you can update it whenever circumstances change.

The deed keeps governing. Assets already in the trust stay with the trustee, who follows the deed and any letter of wishes; your lawyer checks the position for assets held elsewhere. Anything outside the trust passes under the will or intestacy rules.

The trustee collects tax residence forms from the people connected to the trust and reports what the rules require. Banks and other institutions that hold accounts also ask for these forms. Whether and how your trust reports depends on how it is classified, which your adviser confirms.

No tax result can be promised. Any effect depends on where you, your beneficiaries and your assets are, and on how the trust is built and run. Your tax advisers confirm the position for your own circumstances before you sign.

Yes. A call lets you talk through your family, your assets and what the trust is for. We describe how the structure works and what we need, and you can bring your own advisers in when you choose. A quote request is the other way in.

A view on what the trust is for, an approximate list of assets and where they are held, the people you want to benefit, and your lawyer's and tax adviser's names if you have them. Nothing has to be final.