Foundations Act 2016
Foundations are, of original, the latest wealth management solution offered by Samoa. A Foundation is a legal entity governed by its Charters and Rules. An application for registration as a Samoan Foundation must be made to the Registrar of International and Foreign Companies appointed under the International Companies Act 1988. The Foundation owns the assets. The Foundation is run by a Council which may be supervised by a Supervisory Person and which has Officers to carry out the day to day administrative functions. A Foundation must have a licensed Samoan Trust Company as its Resident Agent. A Foundation must have a Purpose, which can be for persons and purposes, charitable and otherwise. There are provisions for special types of Foundations. There is a Charitable Foundation and the combination of a Foundation with a Limited Partnership.
Features:
- Created by a Founder who initially endows it with cash and/or assets
- Governed by its Charter, which must contain the information and deal with the matters prescribed
- There has to be a Guardian of a Samoan Foundation, where the Purpose of the Foundation does not involve Beneficiaries
- Notifiable Beneficiaries and Non-notifiable beneficiaries
- Asset Protection
- The Register of Foundations has a Part A, containing information available to the public, and a Par B, with information and documents filed with the Registrar under or for the purposes of the Act
- Protection against foreign rules of succession -there are similar provisions protecting the assets of a Samoan Foundation against foreign rules of succession
- Migration - An overseas foundation may apply to the Registrar of International and Foreign Companies as a Samoan foundation