A family trust is a legal arrangement in which a person (the settlor) transfers assets to a trustee, who holds and manages them for family members (the beneficiaries) under the rules of a trust deed. Families use trusts to pass on wealth, protect assets, keep affairs private and plan for succession across generations.
Wealthy families have long used family trusts to protect wealth for future generations. The sometimes “infamous trust fund” has been a great asset distribution instrument for passing down wealth while ensuring tax benefits.
What is a family trust?
In simple terms, a family trust is a legal arrangement through which individuals can control the distribution of their assets during their lives and after their deaths. In most common-law countries a trust is not a separate legal entity: the trustee, a person or company, legally holds the assets and manages them for the benefit of family members or heirs.
However, this simplicity is easily lost when dealing with actual trust law and choosing the best trust structure for the family.
Common misperceptions
While trusts can provide tax advantages, they do not completely eliminate taxes. Income generated by a family trust may still be subject to taxation in some jurisdictions. Additionally, although trusts can protect assets from certain creditors and legal claims, they are not a foolproof form of protection. Courts can actively challenge trust structures, especially when individuals set them up with the intent to defraud creditors.
Furthermore, a family trust requires ongoing management and is not a “set-and-forget” solution. This is because it must adapt to changes within the family and evolving laws. To ensure effectiveness and compliance, family trusts require regular monitoring to meet legal and tax obligations and manage investments.
How a family trust works
While it is true that trusts can be complicated and costly to create, the long-term benefits of asset protection, tax efficiency, and estate management often outweigh the initial costs involved in setting them up. Below are the key components of a family trust:
Settlor: The individual who creates the trust and transfers assets into it.
Trustee: The trustee is responsible for managing the trust’s assets in accordance with the terms outlined in the trust deed to ensure that beneficiaries receive their benefits.
Beneficiaries: Family members who will benefit from the trust. They may receive income distributions or eventually inherit assets.
Trust Deed: A legal document that specifies the trust agreement. The trust document details the powers of the trustee and the rights of the beneficiaries.
The process of establishing a family trust begins with the settlor drafting a trust deed and transferring assets into the trust. Once established, the trustee takes on the responsibility of managing the trust assets and making decisions regarding investments and distributions based on the trust deed’s stipulations. Depending on the type of trust, the trustee may have discretion over how and when to distribute income or assets to the beneficiaries, ensuring that the trust serves its intended purpose effectively.
Fully understanding trusts may fall beyond the scope of a layman. Therefore, when establishing a family trust, it is necessary for family offices to consult with an expert in the area. Partnering with a professional can cut through the legal jargon and help set up a trust structure that best suits the family’s needs.
Expert commentary: Alex Porter
“Trusts and foundations are still used to preserve wealth, whether through legitimate tax planning, privacy, asset protection, or succession planning. However, there tend to be differences across the globe in approach and priorities. Traditional common law jurisdictions tend to favour the trust, whereas civil law jurisdictions and, more recently, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tend towards foundations.
On the higher end of the value curve, structuring for these has grown in complexity. Wealth holders wanting more control or oversight and a broad geographical footprint complicate tax planning elements and increase their costs.
This has caused greater interest and implementation of private trust companies or private trust foundations, which can act as the family’s proprietary trust corporation. It has also led to the modernisation of reserved power legislation and heavy use of this to confer someone other than the trustee with positive or veto powers under the terms of the trust or foundation.
The increase in complexity around regulation and tax in this environment means that the minimum wealth one would need to have in order to pursue one of these structures has inexorably increased compared to what it used to be.”
Alex Porter is formerly a Director at Sequent, a fiduciary and wealth-structuring firm. He has written for Simple on fiduciary holding structures and on jurisdiction selection for family fiduciary structures.
Why family trusts matter now
Trusts are back on the agenda because so much wealth is about to move. Cerulli Associates projects that $124 trillion will transfer in the US through 2048, $105 trillion of it to heirs (Cerulli, December 2024).
Planning still lags. In the UBS Global Family Office Report 2025, only 53% of family offices said a wealth succession plan was in place, up from 47% in 2024, and just 26% involved the next generation from the outset.
Trusts are also widely used. In the UK, HMRC counted 835,000 trusts and estates registered and open on its Trust Registration Service at 31 March 2025, and 157,500 filed Self Assessment returns for the tax year ending 2024 (HMRC, December 2025).
Conclusion
Family trusts remain a vital tool for wealth protection and succession planning. They provide flexibility, can offer tax advantages, and help safeguard assets. Although setting them up and managing them can be complex, the advantages usually outweigh the challenges.
As financial environments change worldwide, trust structures are also adapting, with innovative options like private trust companies and reserved power laws catering to the increasing need for control and oversight. Families considering a trust should collaborate with knowledgeable experts to ensure they are compliant, effective, and aligned with their long-term financial objectives.
For longer-horizon structures, see our glossary entry on the dynasty trust, and how trusts fit into the wider family office structure.
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Trust rules differ by country and by family circumstances, so speak to a qualified adviser before setting up or changing a trust.
