The private client sector in Bermuda, aided by a buoyant restructuring trend, continues to show considerable strength, according to Carey Olsen Bermuda partner Keith Robinson.
Robinson (pictured), who has particular expertise in high-value trust matters and court approved trust restructurings and is the current chair of the executive committee of the Bermuda Branch of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners, was a speaker at the Transcontinental Trusts International Forum 2018 in Bermuda yesterday. Carey Olsen Bermuda opened in late 2017 and Carey Olsen is a sponsor of the conference for the first time.
Appearing as part of panel session entitled ‘Offshore update – Bermuda, Bahamas & Cayman’, Robinson said: “We continue to see strong interest in very high value trust structures migrating to Bermuda to take advantage of our flexible court based restructuring regime. The ability to perpetuate trusts by an efficient court process also continues to attract wealth planning structures to the island. In the last 12 months Bermuda has also seen several notable cases involving high value trusts where the trustees successfully sought the Bermuda Court’s approval for a proposed course of action.”
Natasha Kapp, a partner in Carey Olsen’s Guernsey trusts and private wealth group, was also speaking at the conference. She co-presented the international trust litigation segment and, in addition, was part of the offshore update panel session, providing the Channel Islands update. Ms Kapp noted during her presentation that the Channel Islands are at the forefront of recent trust jurisprudence and both Guernsey and Jersey were updating their trust legislation in line with recent developments and trends.
The event at the Hamilton Princess is regarded as one of the key global conferences for the trusts industry, bringing together more than 200 leading practitioners from around the world to discuss the latest issues and challenges facing the sector. As Robinson noted: “The Transcontinental Trusts International Forum continues to go from strength to strength and is undoubtedly a ‘must attend’ event in the annual private client calendar.”
