Trusts : a relative new concept in the Maltese islands : how can trustee's promote people's confidence in trusts?

Abstract

Since joining the European Union in 2004, Maltese legislation became very active in the area of fiduciary obligations, especially those arising from the creation of Trusts. A Trust is the result of careful consideration from a number of factors such as regulatory framework, the need to have expertise to provide the service, costs and the judicial system. Trusts in Malta emerged recently under the legal framework of 2005. A Trust is a private legal agreement done in writing. By private, it is meant that it is not recorded in any public registry. It is done between two parties. These are the Settlor and the Trustee. The Settlor transfers legal ownership of assets to the Trustee for the benefit of third parties called Beneficiary. This study will look at how a Trust in Malta is offered as a service by the Commercial Banks and by Law Firms where they offer assistance in the setting up of Trusts and act as a Trustee licensed by the MFSA. Moreover, it will consider the ways Trustees can inspire more confidence. In addition, surveys and interviews were carried out through commercial banks and private companies. The results showed that there might be a lack of trust from the public. However, by carrying faithfully their jobs, Trustees are able to inspire more confidence in the Trust Service. Random sample from a selected population were carried out to determine how much people are informed about the service. This provided the author with useful information on how much people are knowledgeable about Trusts and are willing to rely on Trustees to establish a Trust. From all this, the author will be able to conclude whether Trustees are carrying their jobs in utmost good faith and if they are doing their utmost to inspire confidence. Moreover, this dissertation will also determine whether there must be an increase in awareness to advertise more Trusts Companies which will be revealed from the surveys and questionnaires carried out.