Trusts

Vanuatu is in the process of establishing a trust regime which will make it on par with jurisdictions such as Nevis and the Cook Islands. The trust, legal, accounting and banking professions are highly qualified and able to administer complex trust structures.

However, Vanuatu should not be used, at this stage, as a trust jurisdiction, since the Vanuatu trust law is copied from English law, with all its pitfalls as the so-called “sham trusts” and “statute of frauds”. Therefore, Vanuatu companies should be held by foreign trusts, such as for example, the Caymans, Cooks or Belize.

There is, however, a new trust legislation which is about to be enacted which will be very similar to the Cook islands trust or Nevis Trust in terms of its asset protection qualities. When this is passed and it is in train at time of writing, Vanuatu will be on par with the best trust destinations on earth.

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