Trust Services

This trust gives a lot of freedom to the trustees to invest and distribute the property. The trustees can change the beneficiaries, but the beneficiaries have no right or claim to the property. The trustees can follow a Letter of Wishes from the settlor, if there is one. The settlor or the beneficiaries can also appoint a protector under section 24 of the Act. The protector can replace the trustees and approve some of their actions, as stated in the deed/declaration.

The Act says that a trust in Mauritius lasts for 99 years and needs at least two beneficiaries, unless one of them is the settlor.

An Excluded Property Trust is a type of discretionary trust. It is used for UK inheritance tax planning. It is a normal discretionary trust where the settlor puts assets in the trust when they are not a UK-domicile.

If the settlor becomes a UK-domicile, they cannot benefit from the trust property without paying UK Inheritance Tax. The trust can avoid exit charges, Inheritance tax, anniversary charges and similar if the property in the trust remains excluded property.

An Employee Benefit Trust is a legal arrangement that a company sets up to reward its employees. The company puts shares or other assets into the trust. Some employees are the beneficiaries. The employees get a benefit from the trust, such as cash or shares, when they meet certain conditions, like performance or long service.

The Act has three specific types of trust in it.

Charitable Trusts – A charitable trust is a trust that is created for a charitable purpose. Section 20 of the Act says how to create a charitable trust. The document that sets up the trust must say what the purpose or purposes of the trust are. A charitable trust in Mauritius must have one of these purposes:

1. Helping people who are poor;
2. Improving education;
3. Supporting religion;
4. Protecting the environment;
5. Promoting human rights and freedoms; or
6. Any other purpose that is good for the public.The trust can benefit a person or a group of people inside or outside of Mauritius.