Trusts and international wealth structures

The trust in the Dominican Republic

Law 189-11 for the Development of the Mortgage Market and the Trust introduced the trust (fideicomiso) into Dominican law: the settlor transfers assets to an authorized trustee, which administers them as a separate estate for the benefit of the beneficiaries. There are succession planning, administration, guarantee, real estate investment and public offering trusts. The trust estate is separate from the assets of both the settlor and the trustee, which protects it from the creditors of either, absent fraud.

We advise families and businesses on the choice of trust type, negotiation of the agreement with the trust company, transfer of the assets, tax treatment and coordination with wills and structures abroad.

• Succession planning and wealth administration trusts
• Guarantee trusts in financings and real estate trusts in developments
• Dominican and foreign holding companies to hold assets
• Cross border succession planning and coordination of wills across jurisdictions
• Structures in Puerto Rico and the United States for families present in both countries
• Compliance: beneficial ownership, FATCA, CRS and anti money laundering
• Restructuring of existing structures that no longer meet current regulation

International structures with compliance

The era of opaque structures is over. The structures that work today are transparent to tax authorities, declare their beneficial owners and comply with FATCA, the Common Reporting Standard and Law 155-17. We design holding companies, trusts and combinations of both that achieve legitimate goals, such as protection from business liabilities, continuity in succession and the tax efficiency treaties allow, without exposing the client to regulatory risk.

Binational families

Many of our clients are Dominican families with children in the United States, or Americans with property and businesses in the Dominican Republic. The succession of such an estate is governed by different rules in each country, and the Dominican forced heirship reserve limits testamentary freedom. We coordinate the Dominican trust with the U.S. will or trust so both work without contradicting each other.

Content reviewed by C. Constantin Poindexter Salcedo, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, partner at VSP Consultores Legales. Updated September 22, 2026.