Trust bill will allow charity trusts

Although legislation dealing with charitable trusts is not part of the draft legislation, the forthcoming Trust bill will not exclude such trusts, a parliamentary committee said yesterday.

The Second Standing Committee of the parliament finished discussing the bill yesterday. Committee chair Chan Chak Mo cited responsible government officials who guaranteed that the current bill does not prohibit the possibility of charity trusts.

Chan added that as long as there are legal reasons for establishing a trust and a clear scope of beneficiaries, theoretically any type of trust will be possible. In fact, the bill has not categorized the type of trusts.

The latest edition of the ill proposes an expanded set of rights for the trust owner. The owner may have the right to change beneficiaries or even invalidate the trust on the grounds that the beneficiaries do not desire the assets.

Trustees may also have the right to seek compensations following the invalidation of a trust.

Trustees will be entitled to remuneration agreed upon documentation, but will be required to repay any loss due to their negligence before receiving remuneration.

Chan noted that a proposal had been added to return the trust’s assets to the trust owner or their legal heirs in the case of beneficiaries forgoing the trust’s assets or closing the trust upon confirmation that the beneficiaries do not desire the assets.

A date for a debate in the plenary and for a vote will be set in due course. AL