Wamuyu Kanyiri
Managing partner
She holds an LL.B degree from the University of Nairobi and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law, with over five years of post-admission experience.
Family trusts
Holding family wealth in one structure that continues after you, for the generations that follow.
Consultation · Ksh 7,000 · 60 min · Virtual
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Who it helps
Couples and parents who want family wealth preserved for their children and grandchildren, including blended families, family businesses and families providing for a child with special needs.
A Family Trust is one of the most powerful and versatile tools available for protecting and preserving family wealth.
What is a Family Trust?
Simply put, a Family Trust is a legal arrangement created by a person known as the Settlor who places assets into a Trust to be held and managed by Trustees for the benefit of specified persons, known as the Beneficiaries.
Those beneficiaries may include the Settlor, a spouse, children, future children, grandchildren or other family members. The Settlor can also be the Trustee during their lifetime.
The rules governing the Trust are set out in a Trust Deed. This is the document that determines, among other things, who the beneficiaries are, who the trustees are, how the Trust assets may be used, how decisions are made and what should ultimately happen to the wealth held within the Trust.
Once the Trust is established, the Settlor transfers their assets into it. These may include land and other real estate, shares in companies, investments, cash and other assets intended to form part of the family wealth.
The Trust can then continue beyond the Settlor's lifetime, with successor Trustees taking over its management and continuing to administer the Trust assets for the benefit of the family in accordance with the Trust Deed without ever needing to step into court for succession proceedings.
Advocates
Wanjiku Muchoki
Partner
She believes that estate planning is an act of love, a way of caring for ourselves and the people who matter to us.
Georgia Kangogo
Associate advocate
Georgia is an Associate Advocate at the firm particularly drawn to the art of preserving legacies and delivering legal solutions that create lasting value.
Insights
Family trusts: see all briefings on this topic
Why a Family Trust?
Among the various tools available for estate planning, a Family Trust is arguably one of the most powerful, versatile and comprehensive.
Family trusts: see all briefings on this topic
Family Trusts in Kenya: why now?
For Kenyans considering a Family Trust, there has arguably never been a better time to establish one.