Description

As digital assets become increasingly common, from cryptocurrencies and NFTs to tokenised shares and domain names, trust professionals are facing a new set of legal, technical, and practical questions. How do you structure a trust that includes assets stored on a blockchain? Can trustees safely hold private keys? What happens if those assets are lost or stolen? And how should you plan for succession and disclosure when there may be no central register or recovery process?

This course is designed to address these questions in a clear, practical way. It explores how digital assets fit into the legal concept of trust property and what trustees, lawyers, and wealth planners need to know in order to manage these assets responsibly.

Whether you are drafting a trust deed, administering an estate with crypto holdings, or advising a client on how to pass digital assets to future generations, this course will give you the tools to do so with confidence.

Why you should register

• Digital assets are no longer a niche issue, they are becoming a central part of modern estates and wealth structures
• Many trust deeds and practitioners are not yet equipped to deal with the risks, volatility, and complexity of these assets
• You will learn how to future-proof trust structures to accommodate digital wealth, without exposing trustees to unnecessary risk
• You will leave with practical examples, drafting tips, and a clear understanding of how to advise clients on holding digital assets in trust

Seminar Scope

• What counts as a digital asset and how it can be included in a trust
• Legal considerations under Cyprus and common law trust principles
• How to structure and draft a trust deed for digital asset holdings
• Trustee duties, risks, and liability when managing crypto or tokenised assets
• Practical problems such as access to wallets, lost keys, or theft and how to plan for them
• The implications of enforcement, succession, and reporting obligations
• How to apply these concepts in practice through examples, case law, and real-life scenarios

Best Suitable for

The Trusts and Digital Assets course is suitable for professionals who are involved in the creation, management, or administration of trusts and estates, especially those looking to stay ahead as digital assets become a standard part of wealth structures. In particular, the course is ideal for:

• Lawyers working in private client, wealth planning, corporate structuring, or succession
• Trustees and fiduciaries responsible for safeguarding or managing digital assets
• Wealth managers and estate planners advising clients with cryptocurrency, tokenised assets, or other digital property
• Compliance officers dealing with AML, reporting, and disclosure obligations for trusts holding digital assets
• Family office professionals who oversee intergenerational planning involving digital wealth
• Accountants and auditors who need to understand how digital assets are held and reported in trust structures

It is also suitable for any professional who wants to understand the intersection of blockchain-based assets and traditional legal structures such as trusts, especially in a Cyprus or common law context. No prior experience with digital assets is required, but a working understanding of trusts will be helpful.

More Information

Course content

Module 1 – Understanding Digital Assets in the Context of Trusts

• What qualifies as a digital asset
• Characteristics of digital assets and why they present new challenges for trusts

Module 2 – Legal Recognition and Treatment of Digital Assets in Trusts

• Can digital assets be valid trust property under Cyprus trust law and international common law principles
• Case law and guidance from other common law jurisdictions (UK, Singapore, US)

Module 3 – Structuring Trusts to Hold Digital Assets

• Drafting considerations for settlors and trustees
• Clauses for risk allocation, access, and control
• Role of protectors, custodians, and digital asset managers

Module 4 – Duties and Risks for Trustees

• Fiduciary duties and risk exposure when administering digital assets
• Managing volatility, security, loss, and theft
• Insurance and indemnity clauses

Module 5 – Succession, Disclosure, and Enforcement

• Planning for succession of digital assets within a trust
• Confidentiality, reporting, and AML considerations
• Enforcing rights over digital assets across jurisdictions
• Practical steps for trust administration involving digital assets

Module 6 – Practical Exercises and Drafting Examples

• Drafting a trust deed that includes digital assets
• Model clauses