Trust Laws in Cyprus: An International Perspective

The Cyprus International Trust Law was originally enacted in 1992 and amended in 2012. It is a modern and flexible piece of legislation expressly addressing the needs of international families relying on Cyprus to arrange their wealth. At the same time, Cypriot resident families can apply the Trustee Law 1955, which is based on English law, to govern their trusts.

Trust Laws in Cyprus reviews both of these laws and places them in an international context, pointing out the solutions available on the island for wealth management, estate planning and asset protection purposes.

Authored by well-known experts in this field, chapters specifically analyse the relevance of Cyprus trusts where settlors wish to retain certain powers, arrange their succession in a more flexible manner than would be possible under forced heirship provisions, or protect heirloom assets from creditor claims. 

Trust Laws in Cyprus also covers, among other topics:

• the taxation of Cyprus trusts, both international and domestic;
• trusts and the ultimate beneficial ownership registers in Cyprus;
• charitable trusts and non-charitable purpose trusts; and
• Vakfs: the Islamic version of trusts.

This title is the only systematic review of the Cyprus trust laws in English. It is an invaluable reference work to help lawyers and other private client advisers structure their clients' wealth. It also aims to assist professional trustees involved in the administration of Cyprus trusts, and will prove useful for accountants and tax advisers in relation to the tax treatment of various types of Cyprus trusts.