Discretionary trusts often provide the perfect solution for clients in the sports and entertainment industry because they offer flexibility, excellent asset protection and effective succession planning, enabling clients and their trustee to address any unforeseen events effectively.

With a discretionary trust, the trustee is given wide discretionary powers as to when, how much and to which beneficiaries income and capital should be distributed – useful when future needs can’t easily be determined.

Benefits of a discretionary trust include:

• Trustees are allowed to select which of a named class of beneficiaries will benefit and when.
• They are able to hold shares of special companies (SPVs) from various jurisdictions, which are in turn commonly used to hold IP and accept royalties subject to proper tax planning advice.
• They are useful when guarding assets from unforeseen claims, such as stemming from a marital dispute or relationship breakdown.

Early in their career sport and entertainment clients, not yet requiring a full discretionary trust, may benefit from opting for a simpler structure. This is where a simple sustainable trust comes in. Combining current basic planning needs with the flexibility to be adjusted and tailored in the future, the simple sustainable trust is a clear choice in advance of establishing a full discretionary trust further down the road.

Our Simple Sustainable Trust offering:

• Incorporates the essential elements of a trust structure but restricts the potential benefits to achieve more basic planning goals, such as protection of assets and achieving financial objectives related to your family needs.
• Provides a simplified structure, designed to meet the needs of clients with assets from US$500k to US$3m.
• Comes with a lower-than-average fee.
• We work with HNWIs, entrepreneurs and families with current basic planning needs to help educate them on succession with a view to long-term protection and growth.