Foundations and OCRA

Foundations were introduced approximately 100 years ago in Western Europe. Their use for estate and asset planning started in Liechtenstein in the early part of the 20th Century. Foundations have since become popular across the globe, especially in civil law jurisdictions where the concept of ‘Anglo Saxon Trusts’ is less well known. Foundations can be established in many countries including Panama, The Netherlands Antilles and the Bahamas – who introduced Foundation legislation in 2004 to make it a leading common law jurisdiction contender for the domicile of Foundations.

A Foundation is a separate legal entity, without members or shareholders, and is generally established to reflect the wishes of the founder, who may be an individual or a corporate entity. These wishes are contained within the Foundation's Deed of Incorporation, Articles of Association and Bye Laws. Foundations can be established for a fixed or indefinite period of time and can be used for charitable, commercial or for family purposes.

In the case of a Bahamian Foundation, a resident person or licensed Bahamian Corporate body must be appointed by the Founder as Secretary, and a Foundation Council or Governing Body including a Protector, can be appointed by the Founder to ensure that the affairs of the Foundation are carried out strictly in accordance with the Founder’s requirements.

Foundations are a very important component when structuring the ownership of family and corporate assets and are particularly important where Trusts are not generally recognised. They are in many respects similar to corporate entities but afford the protection and continuity derived from the use of Trusts.

To learn more about foundations there is a well known service provider called OCRA that has lots of useful information on foundations and their use.

www.ocra.com