The custodial trust service provided by UniTrust Global Limited can act as a firewall of property. According to Section 89 of Chapter 29 of the Trustee Ordinance, the trust assets are a separate fund that is not part of the Trust Company's property. Furthermore, the legal title of trust assets is the trustee, who is responsible for managing the trust assets in accordance with the terms and special duties imposed on him. If the purpose of the trust is not illegal and the trust period is more than 5 years, the chance of the trust assets being claimed is low.
Can creditors claim my assets in Trust?
Is the Trust robust?
1) High compliance regulation
Trust service in Hong Kong has a history of more than 100 years and are regulated by the Hong Kong Trustee Ordinance, which mirrors British Trust Law. Hong Kong trusts are also protected by the Hong Kong Recognition of Trusts Ordinance of which The Hague Convention also applies to it. Trust licensed companies in Hong Kong are directly monitored by the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
2) Independence of the trust asset
Section 89 of Chapter 29 of the Trustee Ordinance stipulates that all money, property and securities received or held by any trust company as a trustee shall always be kept separately from the money, property and securities of the company. Each trust is marked in the account book to distinguish it from any other money, property and securities in the company’s register and other account books. Therefore, no trust money shall form part of the company’s assets or be mixed with the company’s assets at any time . The client's assets will never be used to repay the debts of the trust company according to the Article 11 of Cap. 76 Recognition of Trusts Ordinance. Therefore, the trust assets are protected in law and not affected by the collapse of the Trust Company.
If my trustee (a trust corporation) goes bankrupt, will my assets in the Trust be affected?
Section 89 of Chapter 29 of the Trustee Ordinance stipulates that all money, property and securities received or held by any trust company as a trustee shall always be kept separately from the money, property and securities of the company. Each trust is marked in the account book to distinguish it from any other money, property and securities in the company’s register and other account books. Therefore, no trust money shall form part of the company’s assets or be mixed with the company’s assets at any time . The client's assets will never be used to repay the debts of the trust company according to the Article 11 of Cap. 76 Recognition of Trusts Ordinance. Therefore, the trust assets are protected in law and not affected by the collapse of the Trust Company.
If I am involved in a Matrimonial Proceeding, will my assets held by the trustee be affected?
The custodial trust service provided by UniTrust Global Limited can act as a firewall of property. According to Section 89 of Chapter 29 of the Trustee Ordinance, the trust assets are a separate fund that is not part of the Trust Company's property. Furthermore, the legal title of trust assets is the trustee, who is responsible for managing the trust assets in accordance with the terms and special duties imposed on him. Therefore, if you are involved in matrimonial proceedings, the assets which are held in your trust account will not form part of your matrimonial property. Furthermore, if the purpose of the trust is not illegal and the trust period is more than 5 years, the chance of the trust assets being claimed is low.
Are my assets safe with UniTrust Global?
At UniTrust Global Limited, earning your trust and serving our clients are our utmost priorities. We are trustees and custodians in legal title. Yet all assets are held by licensed financial institutions or best in class custodians.
We also pride ourselves on our high legal compliance. All our most important legal documents, from account opening forms to trust deeds are supported by our external Barrister’s legal opinion. This top-notch standard we hold ourselves to will result in better servicing and trust arrangements such that we are confident it provides quality protection to our customers from potential regulatory and litigation risks.
Part (iii) Section 77(2) of the Trustee Ordinance requires all public company Trustee licensees to place a substantial deposit with the Government’s Department of Accounting Services. In addition to compliance with this statutory requirement, we also have voluntarily taken out professional indemnity insurance and full third-party liability insurance for your added peace of mind.
UniTrust Global Limited is a licensed Trust Corporation in Hong Kong and it is also a member of the Hong Kong Trustees’ Association. Some other relevant legal obligations are below for our customer’s understanding.
- s2 Recognition of Trusts Ordinance (Cap. 76) states that our clients’ and our trust accounts are governed by the law.
- s3A Trustee Ordinance (Cap.29) states that the trustee must exercise the care and skill that is reasonable in the circumstances, having regard to any special knowledge or experience that the trustee has or holds out as having and if the trustee is acting in that capacity in the course of business or profession, any special knowledge or experience that is reasonably expected of a person acting in the course of that kind of business or profession.
- s97 Trustee Ordinance (Cap.29) further provides that employees of a trust corporation shall be personally responsible to the court and subject to the process of the court as if he is appointed as a Trustee personally.
The structure of trust provides a greater scope of protection to clients’ assets than the Banking Ordinance offered to the banking account customers. We, UniTrust Global Limited, comprises experts from different fields. Together, we form a well experienced team to manage your account and assets.
Case Study 01 - Asset Protection
Background
Walter Kwok was a Hong Kong real estate developer. He was the eldest son of Kwok Tak-seng, founder of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and his wife Kwong Siu-hing. Following their father's death in 1990, he and his brothers Thomas and Raymond inherited Sun Hung Kai Properties. To protect HK$246.6 billion Sun Hung Kai Properties empire, Kwok Tak-seng set up a family trust before his death. The beneficiaries are his sons and his wife who is also the protector of the family trust.
Until Walter Kwok’s mother figured out the relationship between and Kwok and Kwok’s mistress, Ida Tong Kam-hing, she decided to remove Kwok as a beneficiary out of the family trust in order to protect the family asset.
Benefit of Trust
Integrate assets into a robust legal framework helps to separate trust assets from personal assets. The legal ownership of trust assets does not belong to the settlor or beneficiary. Under a specific trust structure, if the settlor encounters a debt crisis or divorce, etc., it will not affect the ownership of the trust property.
There is no public disclosure requirement for family trusts and the actual beneficiaries will not be threatened by security.
Law Reference
1) Section 2(1) of the Trust Recognition Ordinance
2) Note that section 43(1a) of Chapter 6 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, Chapter 32 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance and Chapter 219 of the Conveyancing and Property Ordinance, stating that the liquidator has the right to recover Certain situations of unfair transactions, for example, if the deployment takes place within a certain period of time before the bankruptcy or liquidation process begins.
News Reference
Case Study 02 - Marriage Protection
Background
Jolin Tsai is a Taiwanese Mandopop star and a well-known billionaire. She has been in a steady relationship with New Zealand-born model beau Vivian Dawson for the past four years and wedding rumour have been rife. However, the singer’s father is reportedly worried about incompatibility in status between the pair and that they could end up in a divorce if they decide to get married. As a result, Tsai has trusted Jolin’s NT$2 billion (approximately S$84.4million) assets to the bank as a precaution.
Benefit of Trust
Trust protects assets from divorce proceedings, and restricts the beneficiary of the trust through “conditional distribution” to avoid disputes arising from the division of property.
Note: The establishment of a trust does not completely avoid assets disputes. If the settlor has thought of divorcing a few years after establishing the trust, the trust scheme or arrangement which is, or is likely to be treated by the court to be, a fraudulent attempt by one spouse to defeat the other spouse’s ancillary relief or financial remedy claims.
Law Reference
Section 11c of Chapter 76 of the Trust Recognition Ordinance
News Reference
