Types of trusts

1. Name the object before you name the product

Marketing language offers “discretionary trusts”, “family trusts”, “purpose trusts” and “charitable trusts” as if they were brands. The Act starts with the object. Section 3(1) allows a trustee to hold property:

• for the benefit of a person (a beneficiary), whether or not already ascertained or in existence;
• for a purpose, including a charitable purpose, which is not for the benefit only of the trustee; or
• for such a benefit and such a purpose.

That third limb matters. A deed can serve people and a purpose. Your file note should say so, instead of forcing a single label.

A beneficiary must be identifiable by name or ascertainable by a class or by a relationship to another person, living or not, at the time of creation (section 14). The terms may add or exclude a beneficiary, or impose an obligation as a condition of benefit. A class closes when no further member can join; a woman over 55 is deemed no longer capable of bearing a child (section 15). These are statutory class rules, not folklore.

Trusts Act, sections 3, 14 and 15. See the source register.

Discretion is a power, not a type of legal person

When people say “discretionary trust”, they usually mean that the trustee may decide which beneficiary takes, and how much. The Act does not create a separate incorporated species called a discretionary trust. It creates beneficiaries, classes, powers of appointment (section 47) and, if the deed so provides, a protector’s prior consent (section 24(1)(b)). The interest of a beneficiary is movable property and, subject to the terms, freely transmissible (section 17). If the deed restricts alienation, you may have walked into a protective or spendthrift trust (section 18).

A beneficiary may disclaim, in writing, even after receiving a benefit. The disclaimer is effective when received by a trustee, and may be temporary or revocable if it so provides (section 16).

2. Protective, purpose and charitable — three different gates

Protective or spendthrift trusts

Section 18 lets the terms make a beneficiary’s interest subject to termination, restriction on alienation, or diminution, suspension or termination if the beneficiary becomes insolvent or the interest would otherwise become payable to creditors. If a determining event occurs, the trustee holds the income on a statutory discretionary trust for the beneficiary and specified family members. This is not a general “asset protection product”. It is a statutory mechanism with a defined trigger. Section 11’s creditor rules remain a separate analysis, and they do not apply in the same way to a trust set up by a Mauritian national or domiciliary.

Purpose trusts

A trust may be created for a purpose even though there is no beneficiary (section 19(1)). It is not valid and enforceable unless all of the following are true (section 19(2)):

• the purpose, charitable or not, is specific, reasonable and capable of fulfilment, and is not immoral, unlawful or contrary to public policy;
• the terms appoint an enforcer who is capable of enforcing the trust, and a successor enforcer;
• at least one trustee is a qualified trustee;
• the instrument says what happens to surplus assets on termination.

A non-charitable purpose trust cannot take immovable property situated in Mauritius (section 19(3)). If the settlor is a Mauritian national, the appointment of the enforcer and the designated successor must be approved by the Commission (section 19(6)). The FSC directory still lists separate authorisations for an enforcer, and a successor enforcer, of a purpose trust created by a Mauritian national.

The enforcer’s duty is to enforce the trust in accordance with its terms and purposes (section 21). No person may act as both trustee and enforcer of the same trust. Acceptance is required. The enforcer must not profit beyond a reasonable fee, and must receive annual accounts and the instrument.

Charitable trusts

A trust is deemed charitable where its exclusive purpose or object is one or more of: relief of poverty; advancement of education; advancement of religion; protection of the environment; advancement of human rights and fundamental freedoms; or any other purpose beneficial to the public in general (section 20(1)). Section 20(2) then loosens several common-law anxieties: a section of the public may benefit; private benefit to non-residents in a class is not automatically fatal; the trust may be discretionary; the objects may be pursued in Mauritius or elsewhere. Articles 910 and 911 of the Code do not apply.

A charitable trust is a purpose trust for the Act’s defined terms (section 2). It may be perpetual (section 9(2)). It is still not a licence, and it is still not a tax exemption — Income Tax Act questions about exclusively charitable purpose belong in the tax course.

Trusts Act, sections 18–21. FSC directory entries for enforcer authorisations sit with the qualified-trustee overlay, not with section 20’s exclusive-purpose list.

3. Constructive, resulting and foreign

Not every trust is born of a deed.

Section 5 applies the Act to trusts arising voluntarily, or resulting by operation of law, or by judicial decision. Section 6’s writing rule expressly spares constructive and resulting trusts and trusts arising by operation of law or judicial decision.

Constructive trust has a statutory core in section 53: a person who derives a profit from a breach of fiduciary duty, or a trustee who profits from a breach of trust, is deemed a trustee of that profit or property for the person owed the duty, or for the beneficiary. Good faith is a defence. The section does not exclude other circumstances in which a constructive trust may arise. Tracing follows in section 54, with bona fide purchaser protection.

Resulting-type failure is handled in section 55. If an interest lapses, the trust terminates, there is no beneficiary and none can arise, or property is vested in a person otherwise than for that person’s sole benefit without a communicated trust, the property is held for the settlor, or for the settlor’s heirs.

Foreign trusts. A foreign trust is one whose proper law is not Mauritius law (section 2). Proper law is the law expressed or intended, otherwise the closest connection, with a fallback to Mauritius law if the chosen law does not provide for trusts (section 61). Enforceability of a foreign trust has its own limits in section 60, including a bar on a foreign trust that purports to apply directly to immovable property situated in Mauritius.

Do not treat a foreign deed as a Mauritius express trust merely because a Mauritius qualified trustee has agreed to help. Ask which law is proper, then which Act applies.

4. How the types differ in practice

Keep a short comparison in the file:

Question	Beneficiary trust	Protective / spendthrift	Non-charitable purpose	Charitable purpose
Who can enforce?	Beneficiaries (and others with standing)	Beneficiary until a determining event, then the statutory class	Enforcer (not the trustee)	Enforcer; Attorney-General / Commission overlay for some charities
Identifiable beneficiary required?	Yes (s.12(2)(c))	Yes	No	No (purpose trust)
Maximum duration	99 years	99 years	May be perpetual	May be perpetual
Mauritius immovable	Allowed, with s.22 if a non-citizen benefits	Same	Void (s.19(3))	Purpose-trust rules; still read s.22 if a non-citizen interest appears
Writing?	Yes, if express	Yes, if express	Yes	Yes

A letter of wishes is not a sixth type. Section 27 lets a settlor or a beneficiary give wishes. The trustees may have regard to them and are not accountable for refusing to do so. No fiduciary duty arises merely from the letter. If the letter tries to appoint an enforcer or to revoke an irrevocable trust, it is the wrong instrument.

5. Five trust-file simulations

Work each scenario with the facts on the page. Change one input and watch which statutory gate opens or closes. The stories are fictional. The provisions are not.

SIMULATION 01 · THE INSTRUMENT

Five particulars, or no trust.

A family wants a Mauritius discretionary trust over a securities portfolio. The draft deed names a qualified trustee and the settlor’s children as a class of beneficiaries. Decide whether missing duration, or missing writing, stops the trust coming into existence.

Scenario date: Facts assessed at 20 September 2026

How is the trust being created?A written trust instrumentAn oral instruction to the trustee onlyDoes the instrument state the duration of the trust?Yes — a stated period of 80 yearsNo duration is stated

Explore the outcome Reset scenario

Read the assumptions behind this scenario

• This is an express inter vivos trust, not a constructive trust, a resulting trust, a unit trust, or a trust arising by operation of law.
• At least one proposed trustee is a qualified trustee.
• The children are an ascertainable class. The object is not a purpose trust.
• The exercise tests section 6. It does not draft a deed or stamp a transfer.

Follow the sources: Trusts Act 2001 — Laws of Mauritius (Version 3)

SIMULATION 02 · SETTLOR AS BENEFICIARY

A settlor may benefit. Not alone.

Maya settles a Mauritius trust and asks to be named as the only beneficiary “for flexibility”. Compare that request with a deed that names Maya and her two children.

Scenario date: Facts assessed at 20 September 2026

Who is named as beneficiary?Maya and her two childrenMaya alone

Explore the outcome Reset scenario

Read the assumptions behind this scenario

• Maya has capacity to contract and is of sound mind.
• She may also be protector or a co-trustee; this exercise tests only the sole-beneficiary rule in section 8(2).
• The trust is not a purpose trust.
• Tax residence of the settlor is a different question, sent to the Mauritius Tax course.

Follow the sources: Trusts Act 2001 — Laws of Mauritius (Version 3)

SIMULATION 03 · PURPOSE TRUST

No beneficiary. Still an enforcer.

A client wants a non-charitable purpose trust “to maintain a family art collection in London”. There is no human beneficiary. Test the statutory conditions that make a purpose trust valid and enforceable.

Scenario date: Facts assessed at 20 September 2026

Does the deed appoint an enforcer and a successor enforcer?Yes — both offices are named and capable of actingNo enforcer is namedDoes the proposed trust property include immovable property in Mauritius?No — only movable assets held abroadYes — a house in Curepipe

Explore the outcome Reset scenario

Read the assumptions behind this scenario

• The stated purpose is treated as specific, reasonable and capable of fulfilment, and not immoral or contrary to public policy.
• At least one trustee is a qualified trustee. Surplus assets on termination are dealt with in the instrument.
• The settlor is not a Mauritian national, so the extra Commission approval of the enforcer in section 19(6) is not engaged.
• This is not a charitable-purpose analysis under section 20.

Follow the sources: Trusts Act 2001 — Laws of Mauritius (Version 3) · Financial Services Act — qualified trustee and management company

SIMULATION 04 · DURATION

Ninety-nine years is not forever.

Two drafts sit on the desk. One is a family discretionary trust. The other is a charitable purpose trust. Decide which duration the Act allows.

Scenario date: Facts assessed at 20 September 2026

Which draft are you reading?A family discretionary trust with named beneficiariesA purpose trust, whether charitable or not

Explore the outcome Reset scenario

Read the assumptions behind this scenario

• “Purpose trust” in section 9 includes a charitable trust.
• A family trust with beneficiaries is not a purpose trust merely because the settlor also states a hope.
• Accumulation of income from Mauritius immovable property has a separate 25-year cap in section 10(2); this exercise tests duration of the trust itself.
• Early termination under the deed or section 57 remains possible.

Follow the sources: Trusts Act 2001 — Laws of Mauritius (Version 3)

SIMULATION 05 · MAURITIUS LAND

A house is not just another asset.

A non-citizen beneficiary is to take an interest in a Mauritius trust that will hold a house in Moka. Section 22 sits on top of the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act. Change the approval fact and read the consequence.

Scenario date: Facts assessed at 20 September 2026

Has the Prime Minister approved the non-citizen’s interest in the Mauritius immovable?No approval is on the fileWritten approval under the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act is on the file

Explore the outcome Reset scenario

Read the assumptions behind this scenario

• The trust property includes immovable property situated in Mauritius.
• The proposed beneficiary is a non-citizen.
• A non-charitable purpose trust cannot take Mauritius immovable property at all (section 19(3)); this scenario is a beneficiary trust.
• The exercise does not complete a Prime Minister’s application or certify a current form.

Follow the sources: Trusts Act 2001 — Laws of Mauritius (Version 3) · Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act

Next: name every person — settlor, trustee, beneficiary, protector, enforcer — and the duties that actually bite.