Clarification And Certainty – Making Jersey An Even More Attractive Destination

By Siobhan Riley

Jersey Finance

Significant enhancements have been made to Jersey's Trusts Law recently. It will be the fifth time the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984 has been amended and, whilst specific in nature, the changes will make Jersey an even more attractive destination for wealth management.

The prevailing themes of Amendment No 5 to Jersey's Trusts Law are clarification and certainty. This can be seen in a number of the amending provisions.

Definition of purpose

Non-charitable purpose trusts were introduced to Jersey's Trusts Law in 1996. Practitioners have debated whether a trustee merely holding a particular asset (such as shares in a company) could be considered, without more, to constitute a genuine 'purpose'. Amendment No 5 clarifies the position by introducing a definition of purpose. The definition of purpose is non-exhaustive and confirms that a purpose may involve the conferral of any benefit on any person, it need not consume nor be capable