The Guernsey Trust

In the first of a series of articles that will take a look at all aspects of the Guernsey Trust, Mik Underdown of Blenheim Fiduciary Group, provides a brief overview of the types of Guernsey trust available and considers their underlying structure.

The Guernsey trust has long been considered a way of sheltering wealth, protecting assets and providing discrete succession planning for family assets. The keys to the success of the Guernsey trust have been the ease of creation, confidentiality, flexibility, a codified Trusts Law and, given the correct tax advice, beneficial tax advantages. They have also been used in situations where forced heirship rules may otherwise mean that assets would not devolve to the person of choice.