Mauritius offshore trusts are legal structures used for asset protection, inheritance planning and wealth management purposes. Essentially, property or assets, whether tangible or intangible, are transferred by the settlor of the trust to the trustees, in accordance with terms set out in a trust deed, for the trustees to hold and administer for and on behalf of specified beneficiaries or for specific purposes.
SIFC specializes in the set up and administration of offshore trusts.
Settlor
Under the Trust Act 2001, a trust can be established by either
- a settlor residing in Mauritius; or
- a non Mauritian resident settlor
though for a non resident trust the settlor should not be a Mauritian resident.
Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries should be identifiable by name or ascertainable by reference to a class or a relationship to another person whether living or not at time of creation of the trust.
A settlor can also be a beneficiary but not the sole beneficiary while a trustee can have a beneficial interest in the trust provided he is not the sole trustee or sole beneficiary.
Trustees
The Trust Act 2001 provides for a maximum of up to 4 trustees of whom at least one must be a ‘Qualified Trustee’. A ‘Qualified Trustee’ is defined as a management company or such other person resident in Mauritius as may be authorized by the Financial Services Commission. As a duly registered Management Company, SIFC is a Qualified Trustee.