The private trust company is a useful, and increasingly popular, vehicle to consider in the planning and establishment of trust structures for wealthy families, frequently as an alternative to other options such as the reservation of powers by the settlor, or the involvment of a third party in the role of protector.

Within our Trust and Private Capital group, we advise frequently on the establishment of private trust companies in Jersey as an attractive jurisdiction of choice for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• favourable regulatory treatment with no registration or licence fee;
• no prescribed minimum paid in share capital for the private trust company;
• no requirement to name the trust or trusts in the constitutional documents of the private trust company;
• no requirement to disclose the trust instruments to the regulatory authorities;
• established reputation of the Island's trust industry and the favourable provisions of the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984, including the ability to create trusts of unlimited duration;
• the repeal (in Autumn 2006) of the former statutory guarantee liability applicable to the directors of corporate trustees;
• time zone convenience.