Do we really need a trust for asset protection ?

[Houdini]

I appreciate your contribution. Who are the specialist exactly ? Do you have ONE name of a company/person who is honest and gives tailored advice ?

Do they exists in this niche

"Trust for asset protection?" : https://lexpress.mu/node/406863 (this is what can happen when you put all your eggs in the same basket of a banana republic with corrupt institutions and politicians).
last days update: https://lexpress.mu/node/538979

It honestly feels like a fabricated article made just for the purpose, and it doesn’t seem to reflect the real world at all.

If you’ve got £3.3 million in a bank account and you’re setting up a trust in Mauritius, then being asked to transfer the money to that trust, the first thing I’d say is, 'Sure, that’s fine.' But first, I’d bring my family over, take a vacation, and then have a meeting where I could transfer the funds in person if I felt comfortable with the situation.

Setting up a trust in Mauritius over email and then transferring money via email? That just screams stupidity. You’re basically asking for every con artist and scammer to come out of the woodwork and embrace you.

I thought people were smarter than this, even in developing countries.

That being said, we already have plenty of topics about trusts here. They’re like dinosaurs from the past that have no place in today’s world anymore. The OECD, the U.S., and the EU have completely ruined this option. Maybe if you live in Somalia, you could still use something like that, but I’d rather bet my money on a bunker with 50 armed soldiers.

 

[celizo]

It honestly feels like a fabricated article made just for the purpose, and it doesn’t seem to reflect the real world at all.

It's not a "fabricated article", there are lots of articles about this case. In Mauritius, banks can use email for cash transfers or stocks trading remotely for instance. I'm not surprised it can happen.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

I would like to, but I haven't been able to find a good alternative to the Trust that was understood back then.

Look into a Liechtenstein foundation. As far as I know, it's the only setup that works in Europe.

 

[bubbledouble]

Foundation is different than Trust that is why it works in Europe, but you may be right saying so.

 

[GPT]

The rule of thumb is that you use a foundation in civil law jurisdictions and a trust in common law jurisdictions.

Keep in mind that some common law jurisdictions recognise the trust. Lots of common law jurisdictions can work with a foundation as its an entity in itself. Google is your friend in this case, just google "does jurisdiction X work with a trust/foundation" will give you enough links to familiarise yourself.

Never forget that whatever concept you choose to also look at where the beneficiaries reside. If you have a trust setup and beneficiaries reside in a common law jurisdiction then it can lead to issues (legal, tax etc.). Be sure to discuss this with a lawyer familiar with the concepts and the jurisdictions involved.