Why Kenyans in the Diaspora Should Consider Setting Up a Family Trust in Kenya

Date: 7 May 2025

From: CM Advocates LLP – Private Wealth and Estate Planning Team

A Strategic Step for Securing Your Family’s Future

For Kenyans living and working abroad, managing and protecting your wealth back home—especially real estate, shares, and other investments—can be challenging. Many are forced to rely on relatives or acquaintances to hold assets on their behalf, a practice that often leads to disputes, loss, or mismanagement.

But there’s a smarter solution.

Establishing a family trust in Kenya offers a secure, private, and legally recognized way to own and manage your assets from anywhere in the world. Thanks to recent legislative reforms, family trusts can now own property and shares in their own name, just like a company. This eliminates the need to use proxies or nominees, giving you full control, peace of mind, and legal protection.

Why a Family Trust Makes Sense for the Kenyan Diaspora

1. Direct Ownership Without Proxies

A registered family trust is a legal person. It can own land, hold shares, and manage investments in Kenya in its own name, removing the need to register property under the names of family members, friends, or untested third parties. This prevents many of the ownership conflicts and misappropriation issues commonly faced by Kenyans in the diaspora.

2. Asset Protection

Once assets are transferred into a trust, they are legally separate from your personal estate. This protects them from personal creditors, lawsuits, or tax recovery claims, ensuring long-term security for your investments.

3. Preserving Wealth Across Generations

Trusts enable you to set clear, binding instructions on how your assets should be used or distributed across generations, safeguarding wealth from mismanagement, misuse, or unintended inheritance disputes.

4. Efficient and Cost-Effective Estate Planning

Avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process. Trust assets pass directly to beneficiaries without going through the court, saving your family time, money, and stress.

5. Privacy and Confidentiality

Unlike wills, which become public documents once probated, trusts maintain your family’s financial affairs in strict confidence.

6. Tax Efficiency and Reliefs

Properly structured family trusts can attract exemptions from stamp duty and capital gains tax (CGT) on asset transfers. There may also be future income tax advantages depending on how the trust is structured.

7. Support for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

Trusts are ideal for providing long-term support for dependents such as children, elderly parents, or persons with disabilities, ensuring their needs are met even in your absence.

8. Control and Flexibility

You can establish rules for how and when distributions are made, whether based on age, education, health needs, or other conditions—giving you long-term oversight and flexibility.

9. Protection from Matrimonial Claims

Assets held in a trust are typically excluded from matrimonial property, offering protection from division during divorce or separation proceedings.

Legal Framework in Kenya

The modernization of trust laws under the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) (Amendment) Act, 2021 and the Perpetuities and Accumulations (Amendment) Act, 2021 has made Kenya one of the most progressive jurisdictions in East Africa for establishing family trusts. These laws allow trusts to:

• Be registered as corporate bodies with their own legal identity and perpetual succession.

• Own and manage property directly in the trust’s name.

• Operate similarly to companies, with the ability to contract, sue, and be sued independently.

How to Set Up a Family Trust in Kenya

1. Define Your Objectives:
   
   Clarify the goals, beneficiaries, and scope of your trust, including asset types and long-term intentions.

2. Engage a Private Wealth Lawyer:
   
   Work with a qualified estate planning professional to draft your trust deed, ensure compliance, and advise on tax matters.

3. Register the Trust:
   
   The trust is registered with the Business Registration Service (BRS), and issued a certificate of incorporation, typically within 14–60 days.

4. Transfer the Assets:
   
   Properties, cash, shares, and other assets are transferred into the trust. Legal support is provided to obtain exemptions and handle due diligence.

How CM Advocates LLP Can Help

At CM Advocates LLP, our Private Wealth and Estate Planning Team specializes in assisting Kenyans in the diaspora with secure and customized wealth management solutions through family trusts. Whether you own property, run a business, or are planning for future generations, we offer:

• Custom legal structuring

• Full registration and compliance support

• Tax efficiency planning

• Asset protection and family succession advisory

Avoid the risks of informal arrangements or relying on proxies. Let us help you formalize your estate plan and protect your legacy—legally, securely, and efficiently.

📩 Reach out today at cmaina@cmadvocates.com to book a consultation or request our Family Trust Guide for Kenyans in the Diaspora.

Let me know if you’d like this adapted into a downloadable brochure, PowerPoint for webinars, or newsletter format.

Certainly! Here’s the finalized and enhanced version of the article with the current date (16 May 2025):

Why Kenyans in the Diaspora Should Consider Setting Up a Family Trust in Kenya

Date: 16 May 2025

From: CM Advocates LLP – Private Wealth and Estate Planning Team

A Strategic Step for Securing Your Family’s Future

For Kenyans living and working abroad, managing and protecting your wealth back home—especially real estate, shares, and other investments—can be challenging. Many are forced to rely on relatives or acquaintances to hold assets on their behalf, a practice that often leads to disputes, loss, or mismanagement.

But there’s a smarter solution.

Establishing a family trust in Kenya offers a secure, private, and legally recognized way to own and manage your assets from anywhere in the world. Thanks to recent legislative reforms, family trusts can now own property and shares in their own name, just like a company. This eliminates the need to use proxies or nominees, giving you full control, peace of mind, and legal protection.

Why a Family Trust Makes Sense for the Kenyan Diaspora

1. Direct Ownership Without Proxies

A registered family trust is a legal person. It can own land, hold shares, and manage investments in Kenya in its own name, removing the need to register property under the names of family members, friends, or untested third parties. This prevents many of the ownership conflicts and misappropriation issues commonly faced by Kenyans in the diaspora.

2. Asset Protection

Once assets are transferred into a trust, they are legally separate from your personal estate. This protects them from personal creditors, lawsuits, or tax recovery claims, ensuring long-term security for your investments.

3. Preserving Wealth Across Generations

Trusts enable you to set clear, binding instructions on how your assets should be used or distributed across generations, safeguarding wealth from mismanagement, misuse, or unintended inheritance disputes.

4. Efficient and Cost-Effective Estate Planning

Avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process. Trust assets pass directly to beneficiaries without going through the court, saving your family time, money, and stress.

5. Privacy and Confidentiality

Unlike wills, which become public documents once probated, trusts maintain your family’s financial affairs in strict confidence.

6. Tax Efficiency and Reliefs

Properly structured family trusts can attract exemptions from stamp duty and capital gains tax (CGT) on asset transfers. There may also be future income tax advantages depending on how the trust is structured.

7. Support for Vulnerable Beneficiaries

Trusts are ideal for providing long-term support for dependents such as children, elderly parents, or persons with disabilities, ensuring their needs are met even in your absence.

8. Control and Flexibility

You can establish rules for how and when distributions are made, whether based on age, education, health needs, or other conditions—giving you long-term oversight and flexibility.

9. Protection from Matrimonial Claims

Assets held in a trust are typically excluded from matrimonial property, offering protection from division during divorce or separation proceedings.

Legal Framework in Kenya

The modernization of trust laws under the Trustees (Perpetual Succession) (Amendment) Act, 2021 and the Perpetuities and Accumulations (Amendment) Act, 2021 has made Kenya one of the most progressive jurisdictions in East Africa for establishing family trusts. These laws allow trusts to:

• Be registered as corporate bodies with their own legal identity and perpetual succession.

• Own and manage property directly in the trust’s name.

• Operate similarly to companies, with the ability to contract, sue, and be sued independently.

How to Set Up a Family Trust in Kenya

1. Define Your Objectives:
   
   Clarify the goals, beneficiaries, and scope of your trust, including asset types and long-term intentions.

2. Engage a Private Wealth Lawyer:
   
   Work with a qualified estate planning professional to draft your trust deed, ensure compliance, and advise on tax matters.

3. Register the Trust:
   
   The trust is registered with the Business Registration Service (BRS), and issued a certificate of incorporation, typically within 14–60 days.

4. Transfer the Assets:
   
   Properties, cash, shares, and other assets are transferred into the trust. Legal support is provided to obtain exemptions and handle due diligence.

How CM Advocates LLP Can Help

At CM Advocates LLP, our Private Wealth and Estate Planning Team specializes in assisting Kenyans in the diaspora with secure and customized wealth management solutions through family trusts. Whether you own property, run a business, or are planning for future generations, we offer:

• Custom legal structuring

• Full registration and compliance support

• Tax efficiency planning

• Asset protection and family succession advisory

Avoid the risks of informal arrangements or relying on proxies. Let us help you formalize your estate plan and protect your legacy—legally, securely, and efficiently.

📩 Reach out today at cmaina@cmadvocates.com to book a consultation or request our Family Trust Guide for Kenyans in the Diaspora.