Model Belize International Trust Deed

Purpose of the appendix. This appendix sets out a complete model deed of settlement for a discretionary international trust governed by the Trusts Act, Cap. 202, of Belize, as amended by the Trusts (Amendment) Act, 2023, No. 40 of 2023. The deed is drafted for the structure examined throughout Part II and in chapter 27: a trust created under Belize law, registered under Part XA of the Act, with a Belize corporate or licensed trustee, a licensed trust agent, an independent protector outside the settlor's home jurisdiction, no powers reserved to the settlor, protective and spendthrift provisions, a duress clause, a power to change the proper law, and assets held through an underlying company or LLC (see supra ¶¶ 2720, 2730). The settlor contemplated by the base form is a United States person who is one of the discretionary beneficiaries. Variants at ¶ B80 adapt the form for a settlor who is not a United States person, for a private trust company as trustee, and for a purpose trust holding the shares of that company.

How the form is presented. Each article of the deed appears as a model provision, followed by drafting notes that state the statutory basis of the article, the choices the drafter must make and the chapter of this volume in which the law is examined. The articles are numbered 1 to 26 and the schedules 1 to 4. Square brackets mark text the drafter must complete or choose, such as [name], [date] or [amount]. The notes are not part of the deed and must be removed from the executed instrument.

Law stated. The form states the law as of November 2026. It takes account of the substituted definition of "international trust or offshore trust" in section 64(1), which since 2023 requires at least one trustee that is a company incorporated under the Belize Companies Act or a licensed trust company doing business in Belize; the substituted section 28 on information; sections 30A and 30B on disclosure of trustee status and the annual attestation report; and the 2023 definition of beneficial owner in section 67(1) (see supra ¶ 570). It also reflects the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Act 2025 and its effect on section 7(7) (see supra ¶ 2460). Belize counsel must review the deed against the Act and the Commission's notices as they stand on the date of signing.

The structure the deed assumes. The base form assumes the following facts, each of which the drafter should confirm before using it without change:

1. The settlor is an individual who is not resident in Belize, as section 64(1)(b) requires, and is solvent on the tests examined in chapter 23 when the deed is signed and when each addition is made.
2. None of the beneficiaries is resident in Belize, as section 64(1)(c) requires, and the trust property will not include land in Belize, as section 64(1)(d) requires.
3. The Original Trustee is a Belize trust company licensed by the Financial Services Commission, which satisfies section 64(1)(a)(ii) and can also act as trust agent under section 65E (see supra ¶¶ 710, 660).
4. The protector is a professional fiduciary resident outside the settlor's home jurisdiction, who is neither the settlor nor a beneficiary nor related or subordinate to the settlor.
5. The assets will be held through an underlying company or LLC outside the settlor's home jurisdiction, of which the trustee is the sole shareholder or member (see supra ¶ 2730).

Before the deed is signed. The deed is the last of several steps. Before signing, the planner should have: obtained the settlor's solvency declaration in the form at ¶ 2390.02 and a schedule of assets and liabilities (see supra ch. 23); confirmed that no claim is pending or threatened against the settlor; obtained the trustee's acceptance after its own customer due diligence under the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) Act (see supra ch. 29); identified the protector, the successor protector and the underlying company; confirmed with the intended bank or custodian that it will accept the trust; and confirmed the United States tax reporting the settlor will bear (see supra ch. 30). The registration and funding checklist at ¶ B90 sets out the order in which the steps should be taken.

The registration clock. Section 65B(1) requires an application to register an international trust "within 90 days of the date of creation of the trust," and section 66(2) provides that a trust is created "at the time at which property is first received by or vested in the trustee." The nominal initial fund described in Schedule 1 therefore starts the 90-day period on the day it is paid. Under section 65B(7), section 7 applies to an international trust only while it is duly registered, and an international trust that is not registered "shall be invalid and unenforceable" (see supra ¶ 660). The form requires registration within thirty days of the first receipt and before any further addition is accepted, so that the statutory period is never at risk (Article 4).

Express choice of Belize law. Since 2023 a trust may be an international trust whether "the law of Belize is or is not selected as the proper law" (s. 64(1)(e)). Section 7(6), however, protects only a trust "created under the law of Belize." A trust governed by another law, administered by a Belize trustee and registered in Belize, does not have the protection of section 7(6) (see supra ¶¶ 650.07, 1120). The form therefore declares that the trust is created under the law of Belize and that Belize law governs its validity, construction, effect and administration (Article 2).

Section 7 and the insolvency reading. The deed is drafted on the footing stated in chapters 11 and 23: section 7(6)(c) directs the Belize court not to vary or set aside the trust, or recognise any claim against the trust property under foreign law or a foreign order, in respect of "the claims of creditors in an insolvency"; insolvency in that paragraph is the financial condition of a debtor who does not or cannot pay, distinct from bankruptcy as a proceeding; and the paragraph reaches the fraudulent-transfer claims of ordinary creditors as well as claims made in a bankruptcy, as the express override of section 149 of the Law of Property Act in section 7(7) confirms (see supra ¶¶ 1150, 1160, 2330). The deed adds the trustee's own obligations to refuse foreign orders and to seek directions (Article 17), which operate whatever claim is made.

United States tax position. The base form produces a foreign trust under section 7701(a)(31)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code, because no United States court exercises primary supervision over its administration and no United States person controls its substantial decisions (see supra ch. 30). Because the settlor is a United States person and a beneficiary, the trust is treated as owned by the settlor for income tax purposes under section 679, and the settlor and trustee bear the reporting obligations of section 6048 (see supra ¶ 890). The gift of property to the trust may be complete or incomplete for gift tax purposes depending on the settlor's retained interests; the form does not attempt to fix that result, and the planner should settle it with tax counsel before signing.

Variants and related forms. The variants at ¶ B80 cover a settlor who is not a United States person (Variant A), a private trust company as trustee (Variant B; see supra ch. 13) and a non-charitable purpose trust holding the shares of that company (Variant C; see supra ch. 10). Appendix E contains the forms used with the deed: the trustee's and protector's acceptances, a deed of addition, a deed of change of proper law, a declaration of an event of duress and an application for directions. Appendix F contains the formation and annual compliance checklists and the filing calendar.