Asset protection
Once assets are transferred into the foundation, the founder no longer owns them personally. Properly established and funded, this gives meaningful protection from future creditors, claims and disputes.
ASSET PROTECTION & SUCCESSION
Panama Foundation
A civil-law structure for orderly succession, lasting asset protection and preserving your legacy across generations.
THE STRUCTURE
What is a Panama Foundation?
A Panama Private Interest Foundation is an independent legal entity created to protect wealth and carry the founder's intentions forward. Its assets sit apart from the founder's personal estate, and a Foundation Council manages them according to the founder's wishes. This gives the founder the protection of a trust and the lasting structure of a legal entity.
KEY FEATURES
The Panama Foundation at a glance
What a Panama Private Interest Foundation can and cannot do, and why it remains one of the most effective tools for preserving wealth.
Request a private consultationIndependent legal entity
Unlike a trust, a Panama foundation is a registered legal entity in its own right. It holds assets in its own name and may exist before any assets are transferred into it.
Built for preservation, not trade
A foundation cannot carry on commercial activity. It can hold investment portfolios, real estate, company shares and other assets, including companies that do trade.
Efficient and flexible
The required initial endowment is USD 10,000. It doesn't need to be paid in when the foundation is formed, and it can be made up of cash, real estate, securities or intellectual property. This makes the foundation more efficient than comparable structures in many other jurisdictions.
How the foundation is structered
- Founder: Sets up the foundation and transfers the initial assets.
- Foundation Council: Manages the assets according to the foundation charter.
- Foundation Charter: The founding document that sets out the foundation's purpose, beneficiaries and assets.
- Beneficiaries: The people or organizations who receive the foundation's benefits.
Why choose a panama foundation
- Efficient to set up and maintain compared with similar structures abroad
- Modest initial endowment, which can be paid in after formation
- Can hold many kinds of assets
- Separates assets from the founder's personal estate
- Allows orderly succession without lengthy probate
- A legal entity with established international standing
OUR APPROACH
Every step considered in advance
A sound plan is not a set of separate services. It's a coordinated legal structure where each part supports the others and serves one long-term goal.
A private conversation with your attorney about your goals, your family and your circumstances. Everything you share is kept in strict confidence.
We review the options available under Panamanian law and recommend the route and structures that best protect your interests.
We prepare your documents, set up your structures and file with the relevant authorities, and we represent you at every stage.
After each milestone, we review the results against your goals and changes in the law. We adjust the plan when your circumstances call for it.
By Private Appointment
Every engagement begins in confidence
Share your priorities, your family's future and what you want to preserve. Your attorney will listen closely and advise with care. They can shape a strategy with you from the start or carry out one you've already considered.