Offshore structures are vehicles designed to safeguard your assets as well as ensure succession of your wealth to the next generation. To this end, a Private Investment Company (PIC) and/or a Trust may be the appropriate vehicle to avoid delays or loss of confidentiality due to probate, and may offer some tax efficiencies.

A PIC is a corporation, usually established in an offshore jurisdiction, to hold either financial or non-financial assets. Once formed, the PIC becomes a corporate entity with legal ownership of its own assets.

A Trust is a concept based on the premise that there can be a distinction between the legal and beneficial ownership of assets. It is a contractual agreement between the owner of the assets and a Trustee who is appointed to administer those assets according to the terms of the Trust Deed for the benefit of the named individual beneficiaries.