Family Trust in Mauritius

A family trust in Mauritius is a private arrangement governed by the Trusts Act 2001. A person, the settlor, transfers assets to a trustee, who holds them under the terms of a written deed for the benefit of named family members or a defined class of relatives. The trust is not a company and has no shareholders: ownership of the assets sits with the trustee, who must use them for the beneficiaries and in line with the deed.

This page looks at the family trust in Mauritius as a structure: who is involved, how the parts fit together and what families use it for. For the general legal framework, see Mauritius trust law and the Trusts Act explained. Nothing here is personal advice; the right design depends on your family, your assets and your country of residence.

How a family trust is organised

Four roles recur in almost every family trust. A fifth, the protector, is optional but common.

The settlor creates the trust and transfers the initial assets. The trustee holds the legal title and administers the trust. The beneficiaries are the people who benefit. The protector, where the deed provides for one, stands beside the trustee as a check on its decisions.

The trust deed sits at the centre

Everything flows from the deed: who the beneficiaries are, how income and capital may be used, which powers the settlor keeps and when the trust ends. A letter of wishes often accompanies it. It is not binding in the same way, but it tells the trustee how the family hopes its discretion will be used. The contents of a deed are covered in what a trust deed contains.

Who is involved

The settlor

Under section 8 of the Trusts Act 2001, the settlor may also be a trustee, a beneficiary, a protector or an enforcer, but cannot be the sole beneficiary of the trust they created. The same section provides that a transfer by a non-citizen settlor cannot be set aside under the succession rules of that person's domicile or nationality. The Act also presumes, under section 11, that a trust is irrevocable by the settlor and the settlor's legal representative unless the deed expressly provides for revocation. How much control a settlor can keep without undermining the structure is examined in how much control a settlor can keep.

The trustee

The trustee holds the assets and must keep accounts and records up to date. Under section 38(3), it also keeps an alphabetical register of the names and last known addresses of each beneficiary and settlor. Accounting records must be kept for at least 5 years after the operations concerned are completed.

A trust may have up to 4 trustees, and at least one must be a qualified trustee at all times, under section 28. A trust does not become invalid or void merely because a trustee or a qualified trustee is missing. Under section 2, a qualified trustee is a FSC-licensed corporate service provider (Management Licence) or another person resident in Mauritius whom the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has authorised to provide trustee services. The detailed obligations are set out in duties of a trustee toward the family.

The beneficiaries

Beneficiaries may be named individuals or a class, such as "my children and their descendants". What they can expect depends on the deed. In a discretionary arrangement they hold no fixed entitlement and rely on the trustee's judgement; see trust beneficiaries: rights and expectations.

The protector of a family trust

The protector of a family trust is a person or body that oversees the trustee on the family's behalf. Under section 24, the deed may provide for a protector, an adult (including the settlor) or a legal person, whose role is to advise the trustee. Unless the deed says otherwise, a protector can remove and appoint trustees, fix the law governing the trust, change the place of administration and withhold consent to certain acts. A protector does not become a trustee by doing so.

Many families see the protector as a safeguard: a trusted adviser or relative who can replace a trustee that is not performing. Whether you need one at all is discussed in do you need a trust protector?, and the powers are detailed in powers of a trust protector.

The enforcer

An enforcer is required for purpose trusts, which have no beneficiaries. It is not a standard feature of a family trust whose beneficiaries are relatives. Where the role exists, the same person cannot be both trustee and enforcer of one trust, under section 21.

Typical family uses

Protective terms

Section 18 recognises the protective or spendthrift trust. A beneficiary's interest can be made subject to termination, to a restriction on transfer or to suspension if the beneficiary becomes insolvent or if their property is seized. This is a design choice written into the deed, not an automatic feature.

Succession planning

Families often compare a trust with a will, a gift or a usufruct. They work differently. A trust can hold assets continuously, while a will takes effect only on death. The choice also has to be reconciled with the rules on reserved shares, which are covered in forced heirship and trusts. For the comparison, see trust or will for passing on assets.

How long a family trust can last

For a trust other than a purpose trust, section 9 sets a maximum duration of 99 years from creation, unless it ends earlier. Section 10 allows income to be accumulated for as long as the trust can run, but accumulation cannot exceed 25 years when the trust holds immovable property in Mauritius. Perpetual duration, introduced by Act 20/11 with effect from 16 July 2011, is available only to purpose trusts. A trust for family members is therefore time-limited. See how long a Mauritius trust can last.

Tax, transparency and compliance

Tax treatment depends on residence, on the nature of the assets and on the beneficiaries' own countries. The Income Tax Act, consolidated to the Finance Act 2026, taxes any trust on its taxable income at the Part IV rate of the First Schedule, which is 15%. The former exemption for a non-resident trust on filing a declaration was repealed by the Finance Act 2021, with deemed effect from 1 July 2021, and does not appear in the current consolidation. Under section 46(4), a distribution to a beneficiary is treated as a dividend for the beneficiary. Whether a given family faces further tax elsewhere is a question for a qualified adviser; our pages on how trusts are taxed and tax on distributions to beneficiaries give the framework.

Registers and beneficial ownership

Section 26A of the Financial Services Act 2007 requires the FSC to keep a register of domestic trusts and of foreign trusts with at least one qualified trustee. It holds, among other things, the trust's name and characteristics, the deed and its amendments, and the identity and addresses of beneficiaries, trustees, settlors, protectors and enforcers. It also records the purpose, governing law, place of administration and service providers. Under section 26A(3), the qualified trustee must supply the information in the form and within the time set by the FSC. Section 26A(2) was amended by Act 13 of 2026, effective 1 September 2026, which repealed paragraph (g) of the list. For the practical meaning, see is there a register of trusts in Mauritius?.

In the FIAMLA 2002 (FIU 2026 version), the beneficial owners of a trust-type legal arrangement include the settlor, the trustee, any protector, each beneficiary (or the class of beneficiaries and the objects of a power) and any other individual with ultimate effective control, including through a chain of control. Section 17C(5A) of the FIAMLA requires the trustee of an express trust to declare that capacity to a reporting person, such as a bank, when forming a business relationship or carrying out an occasional transaction of at least Rs 500 000 or the foreign-currency equivalent.

Confidentiality is preserved but not absolute. Under section 33 of the Trusts Act, as rewritten by Act 9/19 with effect from 29 May 2019, the trustee keeps trust information confidential. A court orders disclosure only on the application of an investigating authority where the information is required in good faith for an investigation or proceedings concerning financial crime.

Choosing between a trust and other structures

A family trust is not the only vehicle. A foundation has its own legal personality, which a trust lacks; under section 5 of the Foundations Act 2012, a foundation has legal personality only once registered with the Registrar and issued a certificate of registration. The differences are set out in trust vs foundation. Whether a trust protects assets against creditors or marital claims is a separate question, addressed in asset protection with a trust and protecting trust assets from divorce.

Checklist before approaching a provider

• List the people you want to provide for, and the order in which they should benefit
• Decide whether the trustees should have discretion or fixed entitlements
• Decide whether you want a protector and who could fill the role
• Identify the assets and where they are located
• Check your own tax position and that of the beneficiaries with an adviser
• Prepare a letter of wishes to accompany the deed

If you would like a licensed provider to look at your situation, use the contact form.