The vehicle
Swiss foundation
The Swiss-entity alternative to a trust, supervised, and tax-exempt where charitable.
Swiss foundationTrusts &
trustee services
Switzerland has no trust law of its own, but it recognises foreign-law trusts under the Hague Convention and now supervises professional trustees through FINMA. A “Swiss trust” therefore means a foreign-law trust administered from Switzerland by a licensed, supervised trustee: tested governing law, stable administration, real oversight. We design the structure, settle the Swiss tax and recognition position, and connect the family to a FINMA-supervised trustee, so the trust does its genuine job and is run by an accountable institution.
At a glance
Foreign-law trust, Swiss administration.
Run by a FINMA-supervised, licensed trustee.
- Governing law
- Foreign (English, Channel Is., …)
- Recognised via
- Hague Trust Convention
- Administered
- From Switzerland
- Trustee
- FINMA-supervised, licensed
- Our role
- Structure & coordinate
The essentials
What a “Swiss trust” really is
Switzerland has no domestic trust statute, but it ratified the Hague Trust Convention (in force here since 2007), so a trust created under a foreign law is valid and enforceable. Professional trustees in or from Switzerland are now FINMA-authorised and supervised. A Swiss trust is therefore a foreign-law trust administered here by a licensed trustee — tested law, stable administration, real oversight. We structure it and connect it to a supervised trustee.
Who this is for
- cross-border families used to common-law trusts;
- settlors wanting Swiss administration under supervision;
- those planning orderly cross-border succession;
- families weighing a trust against a Swiss foundation.
Where it fits
A trust often sits alongside succession planning, within wealth structuring, or is compared with a Swiss foundation.
The structure
How a Swiss trust works
A trust separates legal ownership from benefit, under a chosen foreign law, administered from Switzerland. The roles and the governing law are the design.
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Settlor | Creates the trust, transfers the assets |
| Trustee | Holds and administers — FINMA-supervised |
| Beneficiaries | Those the trust is run for |
| Protector | Oversight or veto powers, where used |
Much of the structuring is in the balance between trustee discretion and protector control, the letter of wishes, and the governing-law choice, because these shape both the protection the trust gives and how Switzerland taxes and recognises it. We design those roles to the family’s intentions and the legal constraints, with foreign counsel on the governing law.
How it runs
How we structure it
Design the trust, settle the Swiss tax and recognition position, connect a licensed trustee, then coordinate it with the wider picture.
- Step 1
Goals & governing law
Clarifying the family’s succession and protection goals and choosing the governing law with foreign counsel.
- Step 2
Design the roles
Structuring settlor, trustee, beneficiary and protector roles, the deed and the letter of wishes.
- Step 3
Swiss tax position
Working through the Swiss tax and recognition treatment before the trust is settled, with foreign advice coordinated.
- Step 4
Connect the trustee
Placing the administration with a licensed, FINMA-supervised trustee and settling the trust.
- Ongoing
Coordinate the picture
Aligning the trust with residence, foundations, succession and banking as one coherent structure.
Budget
What it costs
Structuring cost depends on the complexity of the family’s affairs, the governing law and the number of jurisdictions involved; the trustee charges separately for administration. We are clear about both sides (our structuring fee and the trustee’s ongoing cost) before anything is settled.
We scope and quote against the structure. Pricing is on request.
Discuss your trust
What it takes
What a sound trust requires
A trust that does its job and holds up rests on:
- a genuine succession or management purpose;
- a suitable foreign governing law, chosen with counsel;
- roles and powers designed to the family’s intentions;
- the Swiss tax and recognition position settled first;
- administration by a licensed, supervised trustee.
A trust cannot be a hiding place
A trust set up for genuine succession, continuity and protection is a powerful, legitimate tool. A trust set up to defeat legitimate creditors, evade forced-heirship rights through a sham, or conceal assets from tax authorities is neither: modern transparency and reporting rules, and well-developed anti-abuse doctrines, make it both unlawful and ineffective, and a trustee under FINMA supervision will not administer it. The honest structuring is also the durable structuring: a trust built on real reasons, transparently and compliantly, is the one that actually protects the family. That is the only kind we design.
Why Goldblum
The trust: the work behind it
Designing the structure, settling the Swiss position and connecting a supervised trustee, coordinated with the family’s wider affairs, is the work this firm does.
Designed
The structure, not a template
Governing law, roles and powers designed to the family’s real goals, with foreign counsel, not a stock deed.
Settled
The Swiss position first
Tax and recognition worked through before the trust is settled, so there are no Swiss surprises afterwards.
Supervised
A licensed trustee
Administration placed with a FINMA-supervised trustee, so the trust is run by an accountable, authorised institution.
Related
Around the trust
The next generation
Succession & estate planning
The succession picture a trust is often built to serve, across a cross-border family.
Succession & estate planningThe whole picture
Wealth structuring
The coherent structure a trust should sit within: entities, holdings, residence and succession.
Wealth structuring
FAQ
Trusts & trustee services: FAQ
01Can you set up a Swiss trust?
Not as such. Switzerland has no domestic trust law of its own, and a proposal to introduce one did not proceed. What Switzerland does is recognise trusts created under a foreign law: it ratified the Hague Trust Convention, in force since 2007, so a trust governed by, say, English, Jersey or Guernsey law is valid and enforceable here. In practice, then, a 'Swiss trust' means a foreign-law trust administered from Switzerland, often by a Swiss-based professional trustee. That combination (foreign governing law, Swiss administration and supervision) is well established and widely used by cross-border families. We structure exactly that.
02Are Swiss trustees regulated?
Yes, and this is a relatively recent and important change. Professional trustees operating in or from Switzerland require authorisation from FINMA and are subject to ongoing supervision, following the Financial Institutions Act that brought trustees into the regulated perimeter. This means a Swiss-administered trust is run by a supervised, accountable institution rather than an unregulated provider, which adds real credibility and protection. When we structure a trust, we connect it to a licensed, FINMA-supervised trustee, so the administration sits with a properly authorised institution. The supervision of trustees is one of the things that makes Switzerland a serious trust jurisdiction despite having no trust law of its own.
03Why administer a foreign trust from Switzerland?
Stability, neutrality, a deep pool of supervised trustees and advisers, strong banking, and a central position for cross-border families, combined with the legal certainty the Hague Convention gives to foreign trusts here. A family might use an English-law trust but want it administered somewhere politically and economically stable, with trustees under real supervision and good access to banking and investment. Switzerland offers that. The governing law of the trust and the place of administration are separate decisions, and choosing Switzerland for administration while keeping a tested foreign trust law is a common, deliberate combination. We coordinate both sides of that choice.
04What is the difference between a trust and a foundation?
A trust is a relationship under foreign law: a settlor transfers assets to a trustee, who holds and manages them for beneficiaries according to the trust deed. A foundation is a Swiss legal entity that owns its own assets for a defined purpose, with no owners. A trust is flexible and familiar to common-law families; a Swiss foundation is an entity, locally supervised, and, if charitable, tax-exempt. Which fits depends on the family's background, goals and the tax position in the relevant countries. They are different tools for related jobs, and sometimes both are used. We advise on the choice rather than defaulting to one.
05How are trusts taxed in Switzerland?
There is no specific Swiss trust tax statute; instead, the tax authorities apply a set of administrative principles that look through to the settlor or beneficiaries depending on the type of trust (broadly distinguishing revocable, irrevocable fixed-interest and irrevocable discretionary trusts) and on the residence of the parties. The Swiss tax treatment of a trust with Swiss-resident settlors or beneficiaries can be material and is not always intuitive, so it has to be analysed before the trust is settled, not after. We work the Swiss tax position into the structuring, and coordinate with advice in the other relevant countries, so the trust is tax-efficient and compliant where it touches Switzerland.
06Who are the parties to a trust?
The settlor, who creates the trust and transfers assets; the trustee, who holds and administers them; the beneficiaries, for whom the trust is run; and often a protector, who holds certain oversight or veto powers. The trust deed sets out how the trustee must act and what discretion they have. Getting these roles and powers right, particularly the balance between trustee discretion and protector control, and the letter of wishes that guides the trustee, is much of the structuring work, because it shapes both the protection the trust gives and how it is taxed and recognised. We structure the roles to the family's intentions and the legal constraints.
07Is a trust still useful for asset protection and succession?
Yes, used properly and honestly. A well-structured trust can provide orderly succession across a cross-border family, continuity of management, and protection of assets held for beneficiaries, and it can avoid the fragmentation that multiple national succession laws cause. What it cannot do is defeat legitimate creditors or forced-heirship rights through a sham, or hide assets from tax authorities; modern transparency and reporting rules, and anti-abuse doctrines, make that both unlawful and ineffective. A trust set up for genuine succession and management reasons, transparently and compliantly, remains a powerful tool. That is the only kind we structure.
08Does Goldblum act as trustee?
Our role is structuring and coordination: we design the trust, advise on governing law and the Swiss tax and recognition position, draft or review the deed and letter of wishes alongside the relevant foreign-law counsel, and connect the family to a licensed, FINMA-supervised trustee to administer it. Where ongoing Swiss administration, accounting or governance support is needed around the trust, we provide that. Keeping the trusteeship with a properly authorised, supervised institution is deliberate: it is what the regulation intends and what protects the family. We are the architect and coordinator, working with the licensed trustee.
09Are trusts reported under the automatic exchange of information?
Yes, and this is central to structuring one honestly. Switzerland participates in the international automatic exchange of financial account information, and trusts fall within its scope: depending on the structure, the trustee or the financial institutions holding the trust's accounts report information on the settlor, beneficiaries and assets to the relevant tax authorities. A trust is not a way to stay invisible to tax authorities, and it has not been for years. This is why a trust should be set up for genuine succession and management reasons and run transparently and compliantly: built that way, the reporting is a fact of life; built to hide, it fails. We structure trusts to be fully compliant with these transparency obligations.
10Can Goldblum handle a cross-border trust structure?
Yes. We structure foreign-law trusts administered from Switzerland for cross-border families, choosing the governing law with foreign counsel, designing the roles of settlor, trustee, beneficiaries and protector, working through the Swiss tax and recognition position, and connecting the structure to a FINMA-supervised trustee. We coordinate the trust with the rest of the family's affairs (foundations, residence, succession and banking) so it is one coherent picture rather than an isolated vehicle. The aim is a trust that does its genuine job, is recognised and taxed correctly in Switzerland, and is run by a supervised institution.
Structuring a trust with a Swiss connection?
Tell us your family's situation and goals. A partner designs the trust, settles the Swiss tax and recognition position, and connects it to a FINMA-supervised trustee.