WHAT IS A TRUST?

Inspired by the Anglo-Saxon trust, the fiducie is an innovative and effective asset management and financing tool.

It is established by entering into a fiducie agreement (trust agreement), governed by Articles 2011 to 2030, 2372-1 to 2372-5,

and 2488-1 to 2488-5 of the French Civil Code.

Any individual or legal entity (the “settlor”) may transfer assets belonging to them, whether existing or future, to a trustee,

who is responsible forcarrying out the purpose set out in the agreement, for the benefit of the settlor itself or of other

beneficiaries designated by the settlor.

Such transfer may serve two distinct purposes: asset management (management fiducie), or the allocation of assets as

security for the benefit of creditors in connection with financing (security fiducie), in which case the creditors become the

beneficiaries of the arrangement.

In both cases, the transferred assets are held in a separate estate, distinct from both the settlor’s estate and the trustee’s

own estate.

This segregation is at the heart of the effectiveness of the fiducie as a legal instrument.

The fiducie agreement, which may have a maximum term of 99 years, must be registered in order to be valid.

As a general principle, the fiducie is tax-neutral, with the transfer being carried out at net book value.