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Who owns a Panamanian foundation? |
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Under Panamanian laws, a foundation cannot have an owner; therefore, ownership is impossible. This allows the Foundation to have shares from a corporation in Panama. What our competitors are not telling you is that many foreign countries consider the beneficiary as the owner. These same countries also have laws on foreign ownership reports, if you own 10% or more on a foreign entity. So many people are breaking the law without knowing, because the law firms that were hired do not inform the client that what he was doing is illegal in his home country. Fortunately, there is a legal way to establish a legal structure owned by one. Please contact us for details. A Panamanian private interest foundation is a legal or not natural person as a corporation. An offshore Trust is not a legal person, but it is simply a written agreement on how the assets shall be handled. It has its own assets and responsibilities separate from those of the founder, the protector or the beneficiaries.
- Beneficiaries of a foundation: The foundation can have a secret letter of wishes which is basically instructions for the beneficiary. These instructions are not in any public record and are not presented to the government; therefore, they are private or secret. The beneficiaries can be changed at any given time. The beneficiary is not considered an owner and his debts do not belong to the foundation.
- Founder of the foundation: Our law firm normally provides the founder of the foundation; therefore, you do not need to be the founder. The founder of the foundation is not the owner or regulator of the foundation.
- Members of the Nominal Council of the foundation. These are the nominal employees similar to the board of directors of a Corporation in Panama. It is very little what they can do. They will execute the letters signed but without a resignation date. They shall also make a general power of attorney so they can act freely on behalf of the foundation.
- Protector of the Foundation: This is a position typically held by the person that requested the foundation. It is a position of control but not of ownership.
It can be documented by a written employment contract that indicates the functions including the signature on bank accounts, bookkeeping, and to register and verify that the general objectives of the foundation are been fulfilled.
Generally, these agreements are done to satisfy the customer and are signed by the members of the Foundation Council, duly notarized and with Apostille.
· Asset Protection of the Foundation: Panama has special laws to protect the assets of the foundation against remand frost except if the foundation does something wrong like breaking a direct written contract for no valid reason. We prefer that the Foundation only acts as a holding company to avoid this.
· Fight by the Beneficiaries of the Foundation: The instructions to the beneficiary disclosed in a foundation shall be enforced by the court in Panama. You shall not hear the children demanding between them and fighting over their parent’s status. There is no inheritance tax in Panama. A foundation in Panama is the best possible vehicle for asset protection.
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