Latest
Sustainable Wealth Succession: A Trustee Perspective
Creating a Trust requires trust. Trustees are the legal owners of the assets held in a trust. Their role is to deal with assets according to the settlor's wishes, manage the trust on a day-to-day basis, and decide how to invest or use the trust's assets.
Entrusting hard-earned assets to a trustee can be intimidating. However, centuries of established laws in the Isle of Man are in place to safeguard the rights of beneficiaries and ensure trustees act responsibly. This trust relationship is built upon a strong legal framework supported by oversight from the Financial Services Authority.
A key advantage of appointing a corporate entity as a trustee is its ability to ensure the trust’s continuity across multiple generations, without the need for a change of trustee. Corporate entities have an unlimited lifespan, persisting beyond the tenure of their officers.
The corporate governance framework in which the trustee functions refers to the set of rules, practices, and processes that defines how the company is governed and which the corporate trustee uses to formulate and execute decisions.
When selecting a corporate trustee to manage the family trust, it is important to evaluate the trustee's succession plan for its directors and officers. The family should be exposed to multiple individuals in the organisation that function at various levels of seniority.
A sustainable trust encompasses more than just environmental sustainability. Its longevity depends significantly on how the trustee approaches decision-making. For a trust to still be sustainable, the relationship between the trustee and the family must be founded on mutual trust.
A family that is well-prepared in its own planning enables the Trustee to better support the family in thriving and achieving its goals.