educational and scientific improvement by launching institutions which support the progress and well-being of society. Long-term private wealth acts as a stabilizing factor in any society.
Lawful private wealth protection.
In 1926, as a result of the worldwide political turmoil, the Liechtenstein Private Foundation was created as a tool to protect a family's assets and as a comparable civil law instrument to the long-standing common law trust. This was the start of the success of the Liechtenstein Foundation, which continues in our days as a means of lawful private wealth protection. Today, besides the law on trusts, Liechtenstein has a very modern law on foundations which clearly distinguishes between family foundations, charitable foundations, mixed purpose foundations and private special-purpose foundations, etc. As an example, the main objectives of a family foundation are:
- Succession planning;
- Control of family businesses;
- Securing wealth over generations;
- Asset protection against unjustified attachment;
- Avoidance of problems due to spoiling effects, divorces, extravagance, etc;
- Implementation of specific intentions, such as protection of a family's art collection, a family's tradition, support of disadvantaged family members, etc.
Furthermore, Foundation Governance is a core part of the Foundation Law and ensures that the founder's intentions, as well as the beneficiaries' interests, are at all times applied. In particular, the Liechtenstein law makes specific governance provisions for the charitable foundation which is perfectly suited to cater to philanthropic purposes of a family. From all of the above we can see that a foundation is not only important to the preservation of long-term family wealth but it is also an effective means to ensure financial privacy!
The essence of financial privacy.
Privacy, in general, is a human right. Financial privacy is a specific field of privacy to which everybody should be entitled to, irrespective of the size of assets or revenue. Financial privacy is the best protection against personal attacks like theft, robbery, kidnapping or unjustified attachment. Financial privacy also protects against inflated expectations of heirs and «gold diggers» or against spoiling, etc. Privacy supports personal freedom! In former times, people protected their valuables against unjustified attacks by burying them in the forest or by hiding them under the mattress. Today financial privacy has taken over this protection and hence is one of the most effective means for protecting family values. The Liechtenstein Foundation has a great tradition in providing essential financial privacy to persons and families with lawfully acquired assets who require privacy as a basic necessity.
