Households and couples can be effectively protected through a trust. It can be applied to different family situations: from married to de facto couples, civil partnerships and extended families. Unlike other more conventional asset management arrangements used in Italy, such as so-called “fondi patrimoniali”, for example, which could not be established by couples in a de facto relationship, a trust would enable the eligible couples to maintain a certain standard of living, while ensuring rights and guarantees in the case of illness or unforeseen events.
Moreover, when a couple splits up a trust is an excellent arrangement for managing and settling financial matters between them and is often recommended by judges and established in connection with a separation or divorce.
Trusts can also be established in conjunction with other arrangements, as a fund into which the revenues from a segregated management may flow, either immediately or in the future, such as life insurance policies or investment funds, thus avoiding the freezing of the assets, especially where the beneficiaries are minors.
