Guernsey foundations

Produced in partnership with Gavin Ferguson of Ogier
Practice notes

Guernsey foundations

Produced in partnership with Gavin Ferguson of Ogier

Practice notes
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The foundation is originally a civil law concept and, unlike the common law trust, a creature of statute. This Practice Note is a summary of the Guernsey foundations regime, which took effect in 2013. It describes the main features of a Guernsey foundation and briefly addresses the registration process, the key persons involved in a foundation and their respective rights and duties, the uses of a foundation and the migration of a foreign foundation to Guernsey. The regulation and taxation of foundations in Guernsey is also discussed below.

What is a Guernsey foundation?

The Foundations (Guernsey) Law, 2012 (Law), which came into force on 7 January 2013 (and which was amended by the beneficial ownership of Legal Persons (Guernsey) Law, 2017 (Beneficial Ownership Law) and most recently by the Foundations (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2023, among other changes made via ordinance and regulation), enables the establishment of foundations in Guernsey. The flexibility that is afforded by the Law permits Guernsey foundations to be used for a myriad of purposes ranging from traditional private client wealth structuring to commercial and financial

Gavin Ferguson
Gavin Ferguson

Gavin heads Ogier's Private Client & Trusts team in Guernsey, and provides contentious and non-contentious fiduciary services to high net worth individuals, corporate clients and charities. He advises on all aspects of trust and foundation law, including in respect of their creation, reorganisation and administration. He also advises on regulatory matters, general private client matters (including probate) and has an interest in Sharia compliant fiduciary structures. Gavin is a qualified Guernsey Advocate, BVI solicitor, English solicitor and Notary Public, and holds a personal fiduciary license which permits him to act as a director, protector, enforcer, guardian and council member. He was praised for his "very high degree of expertise" in trust and private wealth work, and described as "one of the island's top trust lawyers" in client feedback cited in the Chambers and Partners UK Guide 2017. Client feedback quotes by Legal 500 described him as "astute, affable, technically knowledgeable and efficient". Gavin is a STEP member and a contributing author to the STEP Certificate in Foundations. He is a council member of the International Wealth Advisers Forum 2.0, a Chartered Member of the CISI, a member of the International Tax Planning Association and Jurisdiction Editor for the Guernsey section of the ITPA's Portfolio of Laws. In 2015, he was named one of eprivateclient's 50 Most Influential. Gavin is a founding member and the current Guardian of local male cancer charity, MUG; and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Beneficial ownership definition
What does Beneficial ownership mean?

Equitable (as opposed to legal) ownership.

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