The minimum start-up capital is CHF 30'000 (Approximately 20'000€) any liabilities in the event of the company closing down are only covered by the Trust's assets.

For reasons of taxation, it is strongly recommended to have the Trust's Head Office where the main business transactions are conducted for reasons of taxation.

If required, Trusts can be founded with a stipulation declaring that the Trust is to be
founded, subject to another country's law.

Trusts are subject to maintaining business accounts. Donations can be limited in time and/or by special conditions.

Trusts have to be registered in the Public Trade Register, which is accessible to third parties. However, beneficiaries and settlers are anonymous as they are listed in the
Trust's Deed, which does not have to be submitted to the Public Trade Register.
The kind of donation, time and extent of the donations are usually taken down in the Trust Deed, and therefore, full anonymity is guaranteed.

The main reason to set up a Trust is that they can be set up as Trust reg. which is most suitable within Common-Law-Countries.

Switzerland is accordingly a very important centre for trust management and yet trusts as such do not exist in Switzerland. As a civil law country Switzerland ignores the distinction between legal and equitable ownership, which exists in common law. In reality many of the trusts, together with anstalts and foundations administered in Switzerland are established under the laws of countries which recognize trusts, principally Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein enacted a specific law of trusts, modeled on Anglo Saxon law.

Whilst this works in practice most of the time it should be remembered that a dispute
might require to be settled in Court and that the Swiss Court does not necessarily recognize all forms of trust and may approach the matter differently from (say) an English Court. It was indeed only in 2003 that the Swiss Supreme Court expressly recognized the standing of a trustee. The situation should be improved when Switzerland ratifies the Hague Convention on the recognition of trusts. Therefore we describe Liechtenstein trusts.

Liechtenstein Trusts

Liechtenstein is the only civil law jurisdiction, which has adopted largely Anglo Saxon trust legislation (contained in the PGR Code), although, unlike the common law trust, there is no limitation on the time for which income can be accumulated and no rule against perpetuities.
A Liechtenstein Trust is set up by a written agreement (Trust Deed) between the settlor and the trustee(s). The Trust Deed does not have to contain the names of beneficiaries. If the Trust Deed is deposited with the Registrar of Trusts, it will not be publicly available, and later instruments (e.g. naming beneficiaries) will not have to be revealed. If the Trust Deed is not deposited within 12 months, the following details of the trust must be placed on the public register,

• A description of the trust
  
• The date of formation
  
• The duration of the trust
  
• The name (or trade name) and address of the trustee

A registration fee is payable on registration.

The settlor can make such provision as he wishes for the beneficiaries and include such other trusts and powers as he thinks desirable. The Deed however must not bind the trustee to the settlor's continuing directions, or the trust will be treated as an ordinary contract.
The trustee must keep the trust property separate from his other assets.

Some of the characteristics of Liechtenstein Trusts are as follows:

• A trustee can be an individual or a corporation; one trustee must be a Liechtenstein-resident individual with appropriate professional qualifications
  
• Trustees have a duty of care towards the settlor and the trust property
  
• Trustees who carry on business as such must keep an inventory of their trusteeships and must keep each trust's assets separate from other assets;
  if trust assets are deposited with banks they must again be kept in separate designated accounts
  
• Trustees are liable for breach of trust to the full extent of their assets; joint trustees must normally act jointly and are jointly liable
  
• The Court has ultimate jurisdiction, even if the Trust Deed specifies alternative supervision.
  
• The trustee must keep proper accounting records
  
• Liechtenstein being a civil law jurisdiction trust assets may be vulnerable to forced heir ship provisions.
  
• The trustee's creditors have no access to the trust assets
  
• The settlor's creditors have access to trust property only under certain defined circumstances, one of which is under law of succession
  
• The beneficiaries' creditors have access to the trust assets only if the beneficiary
  has a vested interest and if the trust deed does not prevent him alienating his interest
  
• Trust documents, including the Trust Deed, can be in any language

The Trust structure (For Asset Protection)
The term "trust" is widely known and used, however there are often many misunderstandings as to what a trust actually is. The correct definition of a trust is an agreement or contract. It is not, as many believe a special type of company.
It is purely an agreement -albeit a very special one, between three parties:

Settlor
The Settlor is the transferor of the assets into the trust. Any kind of asset can be transferred, funds, shares, cars, boats, real estate and even non entities such as patents or rights. Once the assets have been transferred into the trust this can not be revoked. Once the Settlor has transferred all the assets into the trust he can legally declare that he does not then own them. This is of special interest in cases of bankruptcy, divorce and inheritance or legal claims. Trusts are one of the most preferred methods employed by US medics to protect their assets in case of malpractice claims being brought against them.

Trustee
The trustee is the official manager of the trust. Officially the trustee must be independent from the Settlor and has all rights and full control over the actual running of the trust. Obviously few people would wish to pass that amount of control over their assets to a third party so generally the trustee will always act unofficially on instruction from the Settlor. It is possible to draft a separate agreement between the Settlor and trustee ensuring the Settlor retains full control. In order to act as trustee over any trust, the trustee must hold a special license. WSR have the benefit of using the services of a long established and reputable trustee.

Beneficiary
As the name suggests, the Beneficiary is the person or persons who finally receive the assets from the trust. The Settlor can be a named Beneficiary. All entitlements to beneficiaries must be set at the commencement of the trust and can not be revoked or changed. Once the beneficiary has received the assets from the trust he is then liable to declare this and pay due taxation. The Beneficiary can receive regular payments from the trust, for example from the interest or can wait for the expiry of the trust and receive all assets and interest in full.

Advantages in forming a trust

• The Settlor can transfer any assets he has and legally declare he does not own them
  
• No assets that belong to the trust can be seized
  
• Potential inheritors can not make claims against the trust
  
• Trusts are free from taxation

Disadvantages in forming a trust

• Trusts can not engage in business but purely manage and protect the existing assets
  
• Trusts have a maximum duration period of 99 years
  
• The Beneficiaries are liable for taxation upon payout of the assets
  
• Once a trustee has been selected it is almost impossible to replace him
  If these disadvantages mean a problem to you a foundation might be more suitable.