Family Trusts

The main Maltese legislation regulating trusts in Malta, namely the Trusts and Trustees Act, Chapter 331 of the Laws of Malta ('the Act'), provides that a trust may be created to hold property settled by a settlor or settlors for the present and future needs of family members or family dependants, as defined hereunder, who are definite and can be ascertained ('the Family Trust').

Pursuant to the Act, the Malta Financial Services Authority ('the MFSA') has drawn up Rules for Trustees of Family Trusts ('the Rules'), which regulate those companies in formation and those companies already incorporated for the purpose of acting as trustees of a Family Trust.

The Rules define the terms 'family dependants' and 'family members' as individuals who are related to the settlor or settlors setting up the trust, by consanguinity, adoption or affinity, in the direct line up to any degree, whether ascendant or descendant, or in the collateral line up to the fifth degree