Technical article
How Much Privacy Does a Trust Give Once Heirs File Reports in Their Own Countries?
The places that keep trusts private also take part in account-information exchange.
Imagine a trust run from a place with no public register. The deed is private. The three children live in Mexico, Spain and Japan. The family hopes that nobody outside the trustee's office will ever see the trust. What changes once each child has to fill in a tax return at home?
The sources split the question in two. One part is the public: neighbours, journalists, anyone who types a name into a search box. The other part is the tax office where each heir lives. The first is often kept out. The second often is not.
What the trust side can keep private
Some places go a long way. In the Cayman Islands the documents filed for an exempted trust are not open to the public. In Nevis the register of international trusts is closed to inspection. In the Cook Islands the registrar may confirm only the trust name, the date and number, the registered office and the trustee company. Telling more is an offence except where the law allows it, and court cases are heard in private. Guernsey added 2026 changes that extend confidentiality to protectors and enforcers and allow private court hearings.
None of that reaches the heir's own tax return.
What each heir's country asks
| Where the heir lives | What the sources show | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | The tax authority may ask trustees, settlors and beneficiaries for up-to-date information on the controlling beneficiaries, within 15 business days, and may share it with foreign tax authorities under treaties. Receipts over MXN 500,000, inheritances included, go on the annual return | B |
| Spain | A foreign-assets form above EUR 50,000 per category, filed between 1 January and 31 March. The central register for a trust with a link to Spain names the settlor, trustee, protector and beneficiaries | C |
| Italy | A discretionary beneficiary of a foreign opaque trust shows the interest in a section of the return called RW, according to a 2021 ruling. Register entries are visible to authorities, professionals and people with a legal interest | U |
| France | The trustee files each year by 15 June. A guide says the beneficiary reports distributions on the French return | U |
| Germany | Any taxable acquisition goes to the inheritance tax office within 3 months of learning of it. A 10% share in a foreign asset pool, or cost over EUR 150,000, is reported with the return | A |
| Japan | A resident other than a non-permanent resident reports overseas assets above JPY 50 million at 31 December, by 15 March | A |
| Brazil | A Brazilian holder lists trust assets in the yearly return at acquisition cost, and reports to the central bank if USD 1 million or more is abroad | B |
Each of these duties belongs to the heir, in the heir's own country.
Banks add another reader
The places that keep trusts private also take part in account-information exchange. That includes the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda (tier A). A bank there reports an account holder to the home tax office of that holder.
Who sees what
For this family the sources suggest four readers. The public sees little where there is no public register. The trustee sees everything. Each heir's tax office sees what its own law asks for. The banks pass account details along.
You could
You could ask each heir to write down what their country asks of someone named in a trust, and when. You could ask your trustee which banks hold the accounts and what each one reports. You could also decide, as a family, who learns about the trust and when, before a form forces the subject.
Is privacy the thing your family wants from a trust, or is it something else, such as order or control? Tell us what you found when you asked. Someone planning for children in several countries may find it useful.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.
Sources
- Cayman General Registry (A)
- Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance (A)
- Cook Islands Financial Supervisory Commission (A)
- Walkers on Guernsey reforms, 2026 (B)
- Mexican tax code article 32-B Ter and Chambers Mexico guide, 2025 (B)
- Royal Decree 609/2023 and Spanish firm summaries (A, C)
- Italian Revenue ruling 693 of 2021 via adviser pages (U)
- French trust guides, 2026 (U)
- Gesetze im Internet inheritance tax and tax code sections (A)
- National Tax Agency overseas assets guide, Japan (A)
- Brazil central bank declaration notes, 2026 (B)
- US Treasury FATCA agreement tables (A)
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