In Guernsey trust activities are governed by trust law. Trusts in their jurisdiction may be: discrete, cumulative, not charitable, with the right to the income from the property, and mixed.
For international transactions, the most commonly used are discrete trusts, because they are useful for tax planning and asset protection. Trust capital may be denominated in any currency, and the minimum amount is not fixed. However, if the trust assets cannot guarantee an adequate income, founders may find it difficult to find a trustee. Assets may be in any form, in terms of money and property, as well as paintings, jewelry and collectibles.
Since the trust is a contract, it requires the Parties signatures and trust declaration. In these documents must be the desire to create a trust and assets, objectives and beneficiaries must be listed.
Trust may be formed by natural and legal persons, and the manager can only be a licensed agent. Protector or controller performs control functions over the manager.
Information on trusts is not readily available, there are no registration requirements, no general obligations to maintain financial records (although they are desirable) or auditing.
Information on the beneficiaries of the trust and the financial situation national regulatory bodies can only obtain from trustee through a series of substantive rules.