Our commitment to Open Ideas, forward thinking strategies grounded in extensive experience and expertise, ensures the development of efficient and robust structures, no matter how complex the requirements.
Our client, a Palestinian/British patriarch, established a construction and real estate development company in the UAE in the 1970s.
We developed a structure that would provide asset protection and a bespoke succession planning tool so that assets could accumulate offshore for future generations. The structure should have sufficient flexibility to allow the patriarch to retain a certain level of control and operate in conjunction with a family constitution and investment committee. Several funds would be established and designated for specific purposes, such as private equity investment and philanthropic activities.
The Praxis Jersey Private Wealth team designed a Settlor Reserved Powers Jersey Law Trust which included Protector provisions, and in consultation with the family, drafted a bespoke Letter of Wishes ensuring the patriarch retained power over investment decisions. The Group’s UAE-based relationship director worked with the family to design a family constitution. The family investments have been segregated using Jersey limited companies owned by the trust and each fund has strict parameters around how the capital is invested.
The trust protects the family’s foreign assets and specific provision has been made for female family members to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by Shari'a principles.