The choice of a jurisdiction is important when a foundation is concerned: Liechtenstein and Panama are obsolete. The creation of the Jersey foundation, in 2009, is a modern choice, for the benefit of the investors in search of tax planning process and the saguarding of assets.

Legal structures are not frozen in time. By adapting the law, the Jersey foundation was established in 2009. It offers the flexibility of the trust, which is an individual structure, but with a corporate body. The separation between the beneficial owner and its assets is paramount in the Jersey foundation and strenghtens the protection of the assets, as in the use of an offshore company while being onshore in Europe.

The characteristics of the Jersey foundation: has a corporate structure, is registered in Jersey, governed by the Law on Foundations, Statutes and Regulations. The deed of foundation is public document containing the text of the rules of governance but may be kept on a private document if confidentiality is required. The foundation has a Council which include two qualified members, residents in Jersey, and must have a Guardian which controls the work of the Council.

The purpose of the foundation may be of different kinds, but the transmission of assets and distribution to the beneficial owners according to established rules is the primary objectives. The beneficial owners will find that the foundation is safer than the trust, individual structures that relies on the Letter of Wishes held in safekeeping in a bank or a law firm. The Jersey foundation is a modern European structure, in a white list jurisdiction of the OECD, with a large capacity of enforcement in the context of safeguarding assets. The foundation may be associated with other structures in an international tax optimisation process.

Which use for a European foundation like Jersey? The protection of assets, whatever the jurisdiction for the management of wealth in private banking (Geneva, Luxembourg, or another one) is his first feature. The private investor may chose other legal structures for the management of private wealth, like offshore company or non-resident trust and they could be owned by the Jersey foundation. By the application of the legal protection against any legal action, seizure, separation of legal entities and private corporations, financial wealth is fully protected against liabilities. The wealth transfer will happen without charges, by s transmission of the foundation and its components to the beneficial owners. It is these factors that make Jersey so attractive foundation.

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