Seychelles International Trusts

Benefits

• Strong asset protection
• Tax minimisation and other fiscal planning opportunities
• Family and succession planning
• Privacy

Establishment

A Seychelles International Trust is required to be registered in accord with the International Trusts Act 1994 (the “Act”). Registration steps include:

• Filing of a declaration by the licensed resident trustee with the Government Registry, declaring that the settlor of the Trust is not a Seychelles resident; that the Trust property does not include any land in Seychelles; and informing the name and date of the Trust
• Payment of one-off Government fee – US$ 100.

Confidentiality

• Although an International Trust is “registered” and a registration number allocated, the Trust Deed is not filed with any Government Registry
• There is no requirement to file with any Government Registry details of the settlor or the beneficiaries (except for any beneficiaries who are Seychellois nationals).

Specific Asset Protection / Trust Defence Provisions

The assets of a Trust do not form part of the Settlor’s “personal” estate.
The Act provides that:

• notwithstanding any foreign laws, an International Trust shall not be void by reason of the settlor’s bankruptcy or liquidation of the settlor’s property or in any legal action against the settlor by the settlor’s creditors (except where the Seychelles Supreme Court finds beyond reasonable doubt that the trust was made with the intent to defraud creditors of the settlor or the settlor was insolvent at the time when the property was vested in the trustee. The onus of proof as to intent to defraud rests on the creditor claimant); and
• a legal claim by a creditor shall not be permitted against a trustee of an International Trust after 2 years from the date of transfer of assets into the trust.

Therefore, in addition to the very narrow opportunity to “attack” a trust and the 2 year legal claim limit period, a claimant creditor has to prove its case “beyond reasonable doubt” (ie. higher than the usual civil onus of “on the balance of probabilities”).

Forced heirship

Under the Act, neither an International Trust nor any transfer or disposition of property to the trust can be invalidated by any foreign rule of forced heirship, nor because the trust concept is unknown to or not admitted by the laws of a foreign jurisdiction.

Fiscal

There is no Seychelles taxation on income of an International Trust.

Other features

• An International Trust must have a Seychelles resident trustee which holds a valid trustee services licence issued by the Seychelles International Business Authority. Non-resident co-trustee/s and/or protector may also be appointed
• An International Trust can own property world-wide (except for land in Seychelles; though it can own shares and/or maintain bank accounts in Seychelles)
• The settlor/s can be a beneficiary under an International Trust (but not a sole beneficiary)
• The settlor cannot at any time during the duration of the International Trust be a resident of Seychelles
• Duration of an International Trust: up to the 100th anniversary of the date it came into existence and will then terminate, unless terminated earlier either pursuant to the trust terms or for any other reason (except for charitable trusts or purpose trusts)
• The Act requires a beneficiary under an International Trust to be:
  (a) identifiable by name; or
  (b) ascertainable by reference to either: (i) a class; or (ii) a relationship to another person, whether or not living at the time of the creation of the trust or at the time by reference to which, under the terms of the trust, members of a class are to be determined. Some examples of “unnamed” beneficiaries – where the trust deed includes as a beneficiary the settlor’s children and remoter issue; and the spouses, widows and widowers of the settlor’s children.
• The law governing an International Trust is the law chosen by the settlor to be the proper law (usually Seychelles law)
• Under the Act, there are no restrictions on the accumulation of income:
  (a) A trustee is given, under the terms of most typical discretionary Trust Deeds, a “power to accumulate”, to save the income as it arises rather than distributing it to the beneficiaries;
  (b) The accumulations can be directed towards either the capital beneficiary or to accumulation funds which can later be paid over to the income beneficiaries.

Fee Schedule

Note: The first year's annual fees (registered office, registered agent, nominee services and Government Duty) become due on the anniversary of incorporation. For Trusts whose assets exceed US$20,000,000 the Trustees charge an asset handling fee of 0.02% of Gross asset value.

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