Recently, mainly thanks to the Finance Minister Andrej Babiš, the public has become more aware of the institute called the Trust Fund.

Trust funds have entered the Czech legal environment after recodification of private law took place.

As of now, the trust fund – as a subject without legal personality – is not recorded in any public register and neither the individual parties involved (trustee, settlor, and beneficiary) are made public anywhere.

This is about to change starting 1^st January 2018 when the amendment to the Civil Code comes into force, more specifically regulation No. 460/2016 Coll., since this regulation provides for rules which state that trust funds will be established the day they are recorded in a trust fund register. Trust funds that have been established according to regulations effective until 1^st January 2018 shall be recorded in the trust fund register within six months from the day the new regulation comes into force. Should the application for registration not be submitted within this period, the trust fund administration will cease to exist.

Data which shall be recorded in the trust fund register are:

1. Name of the trust fund;
2. Purpose of the trust fund;
3. Day of establishment and day of termination of the trust fund;
4. Identifying number of the trust fund which will be assigned by the court (the court maintaining the company register);
5. Name, address, and date of birth of the trustee (similarly in case it is a legal person);
6. Number of trustees and the way they act;
7. Name, address, and date of birth of the settlor (similarly in case it is a legal person);
8. Name, address, and date of birth of the beneficiary in case it is a trust fund created for private/personal purposes (similarly in case it is a legal person); and others.

In case you are interested in this topic and would like a consultation, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Author: Štěpán Hrubý