AUSTRIA: The foreign trust as an inheritance planning tool in Austria

Abstract Austria’s civil law provides the private foundation (“Privatstiftung”) as a general inheritance planning tool. Due to the growing complexity of this legal form, caused by case law and legislation, there is a greater demand for alternative foreign instruments, in particular foreign trusts. However, as Austrian law does not recognize the legal form of the trust, its classification often causes difficulties. The following article provides an overview and introduction to how Austrian civil law classifies trusts.