A discretionary trust gives no beneficiary a fixed share. The trustee decides who in the class receives income or capital, how much and when, and the trust law sets the duties that bind that decision. Below are 12 trust laws side by side: who counts as a beneficiary, what a beneficiary may ask to see, where the statute names the letter of wishes, what the settlor and the protector keep, how long the trust may last and how the tax laws treat it.
Updated · Reviewed by the Prifinance team
The deed gives the trustee the choice: which beneficiaries, how much, when and how. The law fences that choice in. The trustee must act in good faith and, unless the terms say otherwise, impartially between beneficiaries, and in several jurisdictions may not hand the decision to distribute to an agent.
Nothing specific. Malta: no rights in or to specific trust property until the discretion is exercised in the beneficiary's favour (art. 9(11)). Nevis goes furthest: a discretionary interest is a mere expectancy that the beneficiary's creditors cannot attach (s. 9(2)).
A beneficiary who is told nothing cannot hold the trustee to its duties, while a settlor who wants the trustee's reasons kept private needs the law on his side. The seven laws strike that balance differently, article by article.
| Jurisdiction | What a beneficiary can obtain | Letter of wishes in the law |
|---|---|---|
| Jersey (Trusts Law 1984)More details → | On request, documents that relate to or form part of the trust accounts, subject to the terms and the court (Art. 29(2)); the trustee may refuse if refusal serves the beneficiaries (Art. 29(3)), and the court may override the terms (Art. 29(5)) | Not in the Law. Art. 29(4) frees the trustee from disclosing its deliberations, its reasons and the material behind them |
| Guernsey (Trusts Law 2007)More details → | On written request and subject to the terms, full and accurate information on the state and amount of the trust property (s. 26(1)); an enforcer is entitled to it whatever the terms say | Defined in s. 38(2); the trustee need not disclose it, subject to the terms and any Royal Court order (s. 38(1)) |
| Cyprus (Law 69(I)/1992)More details → | A beneficiary may ask for the accounts, and the trustee discloses them only if it finds disclosure necessary for the lawful interests of the trust (s. 11(1)); in pending proceedings a court may order disclosure that is material to the outcome (s. 11(2)-(3)) | Not in the Law |
| British Virgin Islands (Trustee Act)More details → | Set them in the deed: the Act lists documents, from the annual accounts on, only for the enforcer of a purpose trust (s. 84(11)) | Not in the Trustee Act |
| New Zealand (Trusts Act 2019)More details → | Presumed: basic trust information for every beneficiary (s. 51) and requested trust information within a reasonable time (s. 52), weighed against the s. 53 factors; reasons for decisions are not trust information (s. 49), and the trustee may charge the reasonable cost (s. 55) | Any letter or memorandum of wishes from the settlor is a document every trustee must keep (s. 45(h)) |
| Liechtenstein (PGR)More details → | The person entitled to information receives annual accounts and may inspect the trust documents, resolutions, books and asset register (Art. 923(4), 928d); another beneficiary may ask that person for the annual confirmation (Art. 928d(6)) | Not in Art. 897-932 PGR |
| Malta (Cap. 331)More details → | Accounts and records on request, with a copy within a reasonable time subject to the terms (art. 21(4)); for a discretionary class the terms may suspend the duty to tell objects they may benefit until a discretion is exercised for them (art. 29(4)) | Not in the Act; art. 29(2) protects the trustee's deliberations |
Where a statute says nothing about the letter of wishes, the general information rules decide: the deed can shape them, but in Jersey the court has the last word (Art. 29(5)) and in Cyprus a court in pending proceedings may order disclosure (s. 11(2)-(3)). We draft the information clause and the letter together, so that one does not undo the other.
Country by country: fund vehicles and regulators, trusts and foundations.
Fund vehicle and manager, where to domicile the fund, who you need around it, capital, timelines and official fees by country.
Settlor, trustee, protector and beneficiaries, registration and trustee licensing, asset protection rules and the fees of 12 trust jurisdictions.
What a private foundation does that a trust cannot, and the other way round, with the foundation laws of 14 jurisdictions compared.
Trust laws that clients weigh against the seven above, each read from its own text: the discretionary interest, what a creditor must prove, what the protector and the settlor may hold, and the tax rule.
| Jurisdiction | Discretionary interest and creditors | Protector, settlor and tax |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Islands (International Trusts Act 1984)More details → | A power of appointment includes a discretionary power to create a beneficial interest (s. 2(1)). A creditor who proves beyond reasonable doubt an intent to defraud him and the settlor's insolvency is paid from the property concerned (s. 13B), suing in the High Court within 2 years (s. 13K) | The settlor may revoke, amend, direct the trustee or be protector or beneficiary (s. 13C). No tax except under the Act and its Schedule (s. 27B); registration within 45 days, US$310 |
| Nevis (Exempt Trust Ordinance, Cap. 7.03)More details → | A beneficiary's creditor cannot force a distribution or the exercise of the trustee's discretion (s. 9(3)). A settlor's creditor must prove fraud and insolvency beyond reasonable doubt (s. 26(1)), sue within 2 years (s. 50) and first lodge an EC$270,000 bond (s. 61) | The settlor may keep powers to revoke or veto distributions and may be the only beneficiary (s. 53); the protector owes a fiduciary duty, subject to the terms (s. 10(8)). A registered trust pays no income tax (s. 49); US$300 to register, US$300 a year |
| Cayman Islands (Trusts Act, 2021 Revision)More details → | Beneficiaries of an exempted trust under s. 83 have their rights vested in the Registrar of Trusts; under STAR only enforcers have standing (s. 100). A disposition made with intent to defraud and at an undervalue is voidable by a prejudiced creditor within six years (Fraudulent Dispositions Act s. 4) | Reserved powers, including adding or removing a trustee, protector or beneficiary, leave the trust valid (s. 14). The General Registry states that there are no taxes on trusts; an exempted trust pays CI$500 to register and CI$500 a year and may obtain an undertaking for up to 50 years (s. 81) |
| Belize (Trusts Act, Cap. 202)More details → | Anyone in whose favour a power to distribute may be exercised is a beneficiary (s. 67(1)). For a registered international trust the court gives no effect to foreign-law claims on marriage, succession or insolvency (s. 7(6)); an unregistered one is invalid (s. 65B(7)) | The protector removes and appoints trustees unless the terms say otherwise and owes a fiduciary duty (s. 16); the settlor may also be trustee, beneficiary or protector (s. 9(2)). A registered international trust is exempt from the Income and Business Tax Act (s. 65D); registration within 90 days, US$100 |
| Singapore (Trustees Act 1967)More details → | The Act does not define a discretionary trust; a letter of wishes appears only as evidence of a possible beneficiary in the transparency rules (s. 83). Settlements remain open to the rule on transactions defrauding creditors (s. 86, read with s. 438 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018) and to the insolvency rules on transactions at an undervalue and unfair preferences (s. 87) | Only reserved investment and asset-management powers are expressly saved (s. 90(5)). IRAS: a trustee may pay tax at a flat 17%. Section 13F exempts prescribed income of foreign trusts administered by a Singapore trustee company, but does not apply to trusts constituted from 1 January 2028; an older trust must already qualify in the basis period that includes 31 December 2027, and one that drops out later loses the exemption for good (s. 13F(6)-(7)) |
A discretionary trust is as flexible as its deed. Each decision below becomes a clause, or a document signed beside the deed, and changing it later depends on the powers the deed itself contains.
The trust laws, tax laws, tax authority statements and fee rules behind each figure and article on this page.
Laws, concessions and fees in force on 4 November 2026. If a legislature or a tax authority changes a rule, its own text linked here prevails.
Who should benefit now and later, what the trust will hold, and where the settlor and each beneficiary live and pay tax.
A trust law that suits the family, and a trustee licensed in that jurisdiction or a private trust company where the law provides for one.
The class and the power to change it, the protector, the settlor's reserved powers, accumulation, duration and the information clause.
The settlor's wishes go into a separate letter, and the tax position is confirmed for each country of residence before signing.
The assets pass to the trustee, then the filings follow: a register entry or deposit in Liechtenstein, a beneficial ownership declaration in Malta, a foreign trust registration in New Zealand, trust duty in the BVI.
Trustee meetings and written decisions, accounts and records, annual returns and confirmations, and a fresh letter of wishes when the family changes.
This market is full of intermediaries selling one product because it is the one they sell. We work both sides of the section. Regulated funds and private structures, which is why we can tell you that the thing you asked for is not the thing you need, and then build the one that is.
Fund lawyers and private-client lawyers in the same firm, so the answer to fund or trust is argued from your facts rather than from what we happen to sell.
Before you pay anyone, you get a written view of what the structure does, where its limits run, and what it will not protect you from.
The quote you approve is the price you pay. State, regulator, trustee, administrator and audit fees are stated separately and upfront.
Offering documents, fund rules and risk frameworks drafted to the regulator's standards; deeds, letters of wishes and beneficiary classes drafted for the family as it will become, not as it is today.
Renewals, annual returns, audited statements, TUBOR and IRD filings, trustee changes and restructuring. Including migrating a structure that has outgrown the one it started in.
15 years in FinTech and asset structuring. Decides with you whether the answer is a fund or a private structure, then maps it to a domicile and leads the file to the regulator's decision.
Builds the structure itself: the local vehicle, the AML/KYC policy pack, capital and service-provider contracts, fund documentation and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
First point of contact for international founders and families. Runs the whole set-up remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live fund or an executed deed.
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
“We found PRIFINANCE COMPANYvia the Internet and asked for help in organizing the opening of their company in Estonia. PRIFINANCE COMPANY specialists helped us a lot with this. Their professional, competent approach and knowledge of their business left us with only the best impressions.”
“I'm thrilled with my experience with PriFinance! They helped me obtain a crypto license in Estonia without any hassle. The team was super understanding and always available to answer my questions and assist. It was great to see how they put effort into preparing the documents to ensure everything went smoothly. I'm delighted with the outcome and highly recommend PriFinance to anyone looking to get a license…”
“Opening an account with Prifinance in a Swiss bank was such an easy and quick process that I was shocked. It all started with the first call, where I received detailed guidance on the required documents and the entire procedure.One of the key highlights was their attention to detail. As someone who usually gets tangled up in paperwork, I was pleasantly surprised when they sent me all the documents and…”
“I recently had the pleasure of working with Boris.. and I must say, it was a fantastic experience. Boris went above and beyond to assist me with my residency needs. His professionalism, knowledge, and dedication truly stood out. I highly recommend working with Boris and the team!”
A discretionary trust is a trust in which the trustee, rather than the deed, decides which beneficiaries receive income or capital, how much, when and in what form. Malta's Act puts it in one provision: a trustee may be granted the discretion as to which beneficiaries are to benefit, the quantity of any benefit, at what time and in what manner (art. 9(10)). No member of the class owns a share until the trustee decides, and Jersey, Guernsey, Malta and Belize count as a beneficiary anyone in whose favour that discretion or power to distribute may be exercised.
The settlor transfers assets to the trustee under a deed that defines the class, the trustee's powers, the protector if there is one, the duration and whether income may be accumulated; a letter of wishes may sit beside it. The trustee then considers the beneficiaries, decides, records the decision and pays. Income it does not pay out is accumulated as far as the deed allows: for any period in Jersey (Art. 38) and Guernsey (s. 48), for the whole life of the trust in the BVI (s. 78).
Anyone the deed names or describes by class or relationship (Jersey Art. 10(1), Guernsey s. 8(1)), including, in Cyprus, a person not yet born when the trust is created (s. 2). The deed may add or exclude beneficiaries (Jersey Art. 10(2), Malta art. 9(7)), and in Malta a person who may be added has no rights until the trustee appoints him (art. 9(9)). The limits run the other way too: in Liechtenstein the trustee cannot be the only beneficiary (Art. 927(6)), and in New Zealand a sole trustee cannot be the sole beneficiary (s. 14).
No. A discretionary beneficiary may ask; the trustee decides. In a Cayman exempted trust under s. 83 no beneficiary may require any payment, and in the Cook Islands (s. 10(1)) and Nevis (s. 5(3)) the trustee may follow a direction to accumulate or defer even when a beneficiary asks for immediate distribution. What a beneficiary can insist on is a proper decision: Malta requires the trustee to consider every discretionary beneficiary properly and fairly (art. 9(11)).
In the words of Guernsey's Law, a letter or other document intimating how the settlor or a beneficiary wishes the trustees to exercise any of their functions (s. 38(2)). Belize lets the settlor or any member of the class give one, or the trustee record a memorandum of wishes; the trustee may have regard to it but is not bound by it and is not accountable for setting it aside (s. 13). New Zealand makes it a document every trustee must keep (s. 45(h)). The trust laws of Jersey, Cyprus, Malta, Liechtenstein and the BVI do not mention it. Write it as guidance, never as orders.
Yes, within lines each law draws. The settlor may be a beneficiary in Jersey (Art. 10(12)), Guernsey (s. 8(4)) and Malta (art. 9(6)), and in Nevis even the only one (s. 53(2)). In Jersey (Art. 9A), Guernsey (s. 15), Cyprus (s. 4A) and the Cayman Islands (s. 14), reserved powers to revoke or amend, direct investments, appoint or remove trustees and beneficiaries or require consent leave the trust valid, and in the first three a trustee who acts on them is not in breach. Singapore saves only investment and asset-management powers (s. 90(5)), New Zealand's Act has no such list, and in Liechtenstein a deed that binds the trustee to the settlor's continuing instructions makes the trust an ordinary mandate (Art. 918). Tax narrows the choice: Jersey's Concession M1 and Guernsey's SoP M12 help a locally resident settlor only if he and his spouse are irrevocably excluded. Jersey also wants an irrevocable trust and a written application with a copy of the deed and an explanation of its purpose. Cutting Jersey tax must be neither the main purpose of the trust nor one of its main purposes.
Whatever the deed gives him. In Malta, unless the terms say otherwise, he appoints and removes trustees and may require his consent before a discretion is exercised (art. 24A); in Nevis the terms may let him direct or approve distributions (s. 10). The question that matters most is whether he is a fiduciary. Nevis (s. 10(8)) and Belize (s. 16) say yes, subject to the terms, while in the Cook Islands he is not accountable as one unless the instrument provides otherwise (s. 20(4)). Acting as protector by way of business needs a licence in Guernsey and Nevis, and in the BVI for a company carrying on business as a professional protector.
In a fixed-interest trust the deed sets each beneficiary's share. In a discretionary trust no one holds a fixed, vested or contingent interest (New Zealand s. 9) or a right to specific trust property before the trustee exercises the discretion (Malta art. 9(11)). Tax can follow the same line: in Singapore, IRAS taxes the trustee at 17% where no beneficiary is entitled to the income, while a resident beneficiary entitled to income pays at personal rates. Fixed shares give certainty; discretion suits a family that will change.
Where the trust is administered, the answer usually turns on where the beneficiaries live. Jersey does not tax trustees on non-Jersey income when no beneficiary is resident there (Concession M1); Guernsey taxes them only on Guernsey-source income other than bank interest when all income is payable to non-residents (SoP M12). Cyprus taxes a non-resident beneficiary only on Cyprus-source income (s. 12(1)(b)), and the BVI exempts trust income and non-resident beneficiaries (s. 90). Malta treats a trust's income as the beneficiaries' own where all of it arises abroad and no beneficiary is both ordinarily resident and domiciled in Malta (art. 27D(3)(b)), and a registered New Zealand foreign trust with no resident settlor keeps foreign income exempt (HC 26). What a beneficiary owes at home is decided by his country of residence, and we confirm it there before signing.
Start with the family: who benefits, where each person lives and what the trust will hold. Then fit the law to the job. Jersey and Guernsey set no time limit, and Guernsey also keeps the letter of wishes out of disclosure. Inside the EU, Cyprus sets none either; Malta allows 125 years and lets the deed postpone telling discretionary objects. New Zealand and Liechtenstein set out in statute who is entitled to trust information. The BVI offers the longest fixed horizon: up to 360 years. We compare two or three laws for your case and fix our fee in writing after a free assessment.
Tell us who should benefit, where the settlor and each beneficiary live, and what the trust will hold. Our legal team replies in writing with the governing law, the trustee, the main clauses of the deed, the tax points to confirm in each country of residence and our fixed fee.
