Services · Trusts & private foundations

Guernsey trust

Updated 6 October 2026

Open pricing. The final quote is fixed in writing before work starts.

Guernsey is a Crown dependency with its own trust law and a long fiduciary tradition; in terms of legal quality and supervision it is usually ranked alongside Jersey. The choice between the two often comes down to the specific trust company and its experience with your type of assets. Guernsey trusts are used for wealth protection, succession planning and consolidating family assets in a single structure.

We help you decide whether Guernsey fits the task, select a licensed trustee, negotiate the trust deed and walk you through compliance when assets are transferred in. After that we stay on for maintenance: amendments to the structure, communication with the trustee, and beneficiaries' day-to-day questions. Pricing depends on the assets and complexity and is quoted individually.

How a Guernsey trust works under the law

Guernsey trusts are governed by the Trusts (Guernsey) Law, 2007. What matters for a settlor:

• No time limit. Under section 16 there is no limit on how long a trust may continue, unless its terms say otherwise.
• The settlor keeps powers. Section 15 allows the settlor to reserve the power to revoke or vary the trust, direct income and capital, appoint and remove trustees and change the proper law of the trust.
• Guernsey law decides. Under section 14, the validity of the trust, its administration and the distribution of property are determined under Guernsey law without reference to the law of any other jurisdiction.

A Guernsey trust is not a legal person but a legal arrangement. According to the Guernsey Registry, a Guernsey resident corporate trustee may act as sole trustee; otherwise there must be at least two trustees.

Tax

Where all of a trust's income is payable to beneficiaries resident outside Guernsey, under Guernsey tax practice the trustees are taxed only on income arising in Guernsey, other than Guernsey bank interest. The beneficiaries are taxed in their own country, and we check the structure against its controlled foreign entity rules.

How the setup works

1. Defining the task: assets, beneficiaries, settlor powers and whether a protector is needed.
2. Choosing a licensed Guernsey trustee and passing client checks.
3. The trust deed and the letter of wishes.
4. Transferring assets into the trust.
5. Ongoing administration: trustee reports, changes, distributions to beneficiaries.

What documents you need

Under anti-money laundering law a licensed trustee must identify the settlor and the beneficiaries and understand where the money comes from. So prepare: a passport and proof of address for each person involved, a description of the assets and their value, source of funds documents (sale of a business, dividends, inheritance, salary) and details of tax residence. Documents not in English are translated and copies certified.

Who gets refused

A trustee will not take on a structure if the source of funds cannot be documented, if anyone involved is under sanctions, or if the aim is to hide assets from creditors who are already known. Sanctions regimes restrict work with Russian citizens, so we check whether the case can proceed before any documents are prepared.

Sanctions restrictions

Guernsey applies a sanctions regime aligned with the UK's. Since 16 December 2022 it has been prohibited to provide new trust services to persons connected with Russia: creating a trust, acting as trustee, providing a registered office. The connection is determined mainly by living in Russia or a company's registration in Russia, not by citizenship. Guernsey trustees check this when taking on a client, so we assess the settlor's and beneficiaries' status in advance. Existing trusts created before 16 December 2022 are serviced under special rules, and changes to them may require a licence. If the settlor lives outside Russia, a Guernsey trust is usually created under the trustee's standard checks, without separate permissions.

Who a Guernsey trust suits and who it does not

Guernsey is chosen by those who want a trust under a clear 2007 law with the option to keep wide powers: the settlor can change the terms, direct income and appoint trustees. The island suits family wealth and company shares when assets are spread across several countries and need to be brought under one management.

A trust does not suit small sums: the licensed trustee's annual fee will eat the income. Nor does it protect against taxes in the country of residence: if the settlor lives in a country with controlled structure rules, the trust's income is taxed there.

Taxes for Russian tax residents

For a Russian tax resident, a Guernsey trust is a foreign structure without legal personality. The tax office must be notified of its establishment within 3 months, and a settlor who keeps powers under Article 15 almost always becomes a controlling person: the trust's profit may be taxed in Russia, and a controlled foreign company notification is filed every year. Russia has no double tax treaty with Guernsey, so tax credits do not work. We prepare notifications and reporting on the controlled foreign companies page.

Which assets go into a Guernsey trust

A Guernsey trust usually receives shares in family companies, accounts and securities portfolios, with foreign property held through a company owned by the trust. That way property in different countries does not have to be re-registered when the trustee or beneficiaries change. After the transfer the assets belong to the trustee, not the settlor, so the transfer is documented as a gift or sale, and transfer taxes in the country where the assets are located are checked in advance.

Trust or foundation in Guernsey

Since 2013 the island has also had foundations - legal persons with a charter and a council, registered in the registry. A trust is more convenient when the settlor wants flexibility and no registry disclosure of the structure; a foundation when an independent owner is needed that banks from civil law countries understand. Compare on the Guernsey foundation page and in the article trusts and foundations in Jersey and Guernsey.

What it costs and how long it takes

The deed itself is drafted in a few days, but the whole process usually takes several weeks: the trustee checks the settlor, beneficiaries and source of funds. If the trust's income will go to beneficiaries outside the island, we calculate the tax model before transferring assets so that distributions do not become a tax surprise.

What we do

• Trust establishment and maintenance

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