The word trust travels easily between English and Spanish. The institution it names does not. Colombia has answered the difficulty by statute, most recently by decree in May 2026, while Spain answers it through administrative practice alone. What follows examines why the fiducia mercantil is not a trust, and what a patrimonio autónomo means for a family with a member resident in London.
Continue Reading Neither fiducia nor fideicomiso is a trust. A Colombian and Spanish perspective
Using a company to own property in Spain is a highly debatable topic. This article is focused on international private clients acquiring prime Spanish real estate above €3 million, the historic playbook of using offshore holding companies to shield assets from wealth taxes is effectively dead. Spain’s strict “look-through” rules now aggressively pierce foreign corporate wrappers, meaning your tax exposure depends entirely on the specific Double Taxation Treaty between Spain and your home country—a test that UK, US, and Irish residents categorically fail. Facing aggressive audits and the realization that Spain does not recognize common-law trusts, savvy investors are increasingly abandoning complex offshore structures in favor of direct personal ownership, prioritizing transparency and direct access to lucrative regional tax exemptions over the illusion of anonymity.
I have spent much of my working life at the seam between two legal traditions, and I know of few instruments that sit on that seam as uneasily as the trust. To a common law adviser it is the most ordinary thing in the world. It separates legal title from
Continue Reading Anglo-Saxon trusts in Spain: the problem of selective transparency
For centuries Colombian emeralds have symbolised status and beauty, adorning the crowns of royalty and the collections of the world’s most discerning connoisseurs. In recent years that perception has shifted. Beyond their aesthetic allure, fine Colombian emeralds are now recognised as a sophisticated investment asset class. Ultra-high-net-worth investors and family
Continue Reading Colombian Emeralds: From Emotion to Allocation to Compliance — A Cross-Border Guide for International Private Clients