The Evolution of the Modern International Trust: Developments and Challenges

Abstract

As the first generation of wealthy entrepreneurs in Hong Kong begin to age, the issue of how best to transfer their family fortunes to the next generation has emerged. This Article first discusses the recent trends in financial planning for high-net-worth individuals in Hong Kong. It then addresses the growing use and evolution of trusts in wealth transfers from two perspectives, namely, (i) the innovative features of the modern international trust that render the use of a trust more palatable to Hong Kong settlors and (ii) the challenges posed by those features for both the validity of the trust and integrity of the trust concept. As the discussions show, the Hong Kong experience is indeed shared by most trust jurisdictions worldwide and provides the latter useful reference in confronting the controversies arising from the evolution of the trust. © 2018 University of Iowa. All rights reserved.