On July 1, 2026, the revision of the PGR aimed at optimizing trust law will come into effect. The purpose of this revision is to address the control deficit regarding the activities of the trustee in relation to at least one person entitled to information.
Under the newly formulated Art. 928a ff. PGR, the person entitled to information is granted comprehensive rights to information and disclosure. The selection of the relevant individuals is, in principle, at the discretion of the settlor, in line with the principle of the primacy of private autonomy. The settlor may specify in the trust documents whether individual or all beneficiaries and/or other parties, such as an advisory board (protector) or an auditing body, should be designated as persons entitled to information. For existing trusts, transitional provisions determine how the person entitled to information is to be designated. If the settlor has passed away and their intentions can no longer be determined from available documents, the supervisory court, upon the trustee’s request, appoints an independent auditing body as the person entitled to information.
As part of the trust law revision, the government adopted an amendment to the Tax Regulation (SteV) on February 24, 2026. This extends the supervisory regime already established in foundation law to charitable trusts: they will henceforth be subject to the Foundation and Trust Supervisory Authority (previously: Foundation Supervisory Authority) and, analogous to charitable foundations, are required to engage an independent auditing body appointed by the District Court, which will annually review the administration and use of the trust assets. This new auditing requirement will be codified in the SteV accordingly. In addition, applications and documents for tax exemption on the grounds of charitable status must in the future be submitted exclusively to the Tax Administration. The previous option to submit them to the Office of Justice had little practical significance and will be discontinued to avoid delays.
Our specialists are available to assist you with specific concerns or questions:
Mr Thomas Jakob, Partner
Mr Roger Beggiato, Partner
