Summary

Private Trust Companies (PTCs) offer families and high-net-worth individuals a tailored solution for trust administration. Malta’s regulated yet accessible framework allows settlors to appoint trusted individuals - often family members - as directors, ensuring control, confidentiality, and continuity. This publication outlines the legal basis, structure, benefits, and practical considerations of setting up a PTC in Malta.

Key Legal Points

What is a Private Trust Company?

The concept of a Private Trust Company (PTC) is relatively new to Maltese legislation, formally introduced into Maltese law in 2014 under the Trusts and Trustees Act. It has created a clear legal framework for families to establish their own trustee company. This development builds on Malta’s long-standing trust tradition, offering a modern and flexible alternative to professional trustees within a regulated environment.

A Private Trust Company is a limited liability company established to act as trustee for one or more family trusts, allowing settlors to appoint trusted individuals - often family members or advisors - as directors. This structure preserves the core trust relationship between settlor, trustee, and beneficiary, while introducing a formal corporate entity to administer the trust.

A PTC enables the creation of a legal entity that holds and administers trust property for the benefit of others, with the following key roles:

The Settlor: The individual who establishes the trust and contributes the assets to be held by the PTC.

The PTC (Trustee): A corporate entity that holds legal title to the trust property and administers it according to the trust deed and fiduciary obligations.

The Beneficiary: The person entitled to benefit from the trust, either through a vested right or at the discretion of the trustee.

The trust deed remains central to the structure, outlining the responsibilities of the PTC and the rights of the beneficiaries.

Setting up a Malta Private Trust Company

With the legal framework in place, families can proceed to establish a Private Trust Company in Malta by considering key governance, regulatory, and succession factors such as:

The advantages of a Malta Private Trust Company

A Malta Private Trust Company offers families direct control over trust decisions, cost savings, enhanced privacy, and a streamlined setup process - often completed within two months. Operating under a clear regulatory framework, it provides a more flexible alternative to other trustee arrangements.

While the benefits are substantial, families should be aware of the need to appoint qualified directors (including a trust expert), maintain compliance with MFSA rules, and manage the administrative responsibilities of a corporate entity.

Private Trust Company vs Professional/Traditional Trustee

Malta’s Private Trust Company framework empowers families to manage their trusts with autonomy, privacy, and long-term vision. With a clear legal structure and minimal regulatory burden, PTCs offer a compelling alternative to traditional trustees - ideal for those seeking a bespoke, family-led approach to wealth and succession planning.

For tailored advice on setting up a PTC in Malta, contact our Corporate & Trust Services team.

Our Trust Practice

Our Malta trust lawyers play a crucial role in helping our clients establish and manage trusts effectively, ensuring asset protection, tax efficiency, and smooth succession planning. Our team of family trust lawyers has extensive experience setting up family trusts in Malta and, through its multidisciplinary setup, provides the full spectrum of legal, tax, compliance and family office advisory services that are critical to the effective operation of family trusts. We typically assist clients with the following:

Our trust lawyers actively participate in Malta trust law developments and in the public-private efforts to keep developing Malta as a foremost trust jurisdiction. Our Senior partners Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker and Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti have served as chairpersons to the Malta branch of STEP, the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker continues serving the Malta branch of STEP as Technical Chair.

Published: 23 July 2025

Author: Joanna Waszewska