Wealth and succession · RAK ICC

UAE foundations for family wealth and succession planning

A foundation may form part of a family’s long-term wealth plan. The decision should begin with the assets involved, the people who need to make decisions and the countries connected to the structure. Tarkia is an international wealth and business structuring consultancy based in Dubai, and a registered agent at RAK ICC.

Discuss your circumstances

DEFINITION

What is a RAK ICC foundation?

A RAK ICC foundation is an entity with legal personality separate from its founder, registered at RAK International Corporate Centre in Ras Al Khaimah. It has no shareholders. It acts through a council, which administers the assets according to the charter and the by-laws, and it must appoint a registered agent licensed by the registry. A guardian may be appointed where the family wants an additional layer of oversight.^[1]

Its purposes can include holding and managing family assets, holding shares in operating or holding companies, and philanthropic objectives. The charter is filed with the registry; the by-laws, which usually contain the distribution rules, remain private. Disputes may be referred to the courts designated in the regulations.

BEFORE FORMATION

What should be decided before formation?

Identify the proposed assets, their current ownership, existing obligations and the family’s objectives. Formation and asset transfers should be treated as separate workstreams, each with its own documents, costs and timetable.

The assets

Which companies, property, investments and receivables are intended for the foundation, where they are located, who owns them today and what charges or obligations attach to them.

The people

Founder, council members, guardian where appointed, and beneficiaries, with the tax residence of each. Residence affects how the structure is reported in the countries concerned.

The decisions

How decisions are taken and recorded, what happens on incapacity or death, how members are replaced, and which matters require unanimity or a guardian’s consent.

The transfers

Each proposed transfer is assessed individually: the law of the place where the asset sits, the consents required, the tax treatment of the transfer itself and the reporting that follows.

What stays outside

Assets and personal matters that will not sit inside the foundation still need to be addressed, typically through wills and local documents in each jurisdiction.

The running cost

Registry fees, registered agent, accounting, any audit required and the administration of the council itself. A structure that is not maintained does not do what it was designed to do.

Please note: no proposal should describe protection as absolute or assume that the founder’s powers have no limits. The RAK ICC regulations preserve supervisory rules that the charter cannot displace and contemplate creditor claims in defined circumstances. The constitutional documents and the applicable law require review together.^[1]

Governance

Governance and asset protection

The project should define responsibilities, decision procedures and the response to changes within the family.

Documents

Charter and by-laws

The charter establishes the foundation and its purposes; the by-laws set out how assets are administered and distributed.

Powers reserved to the founder, and their limits
Composition and replacement of the council
Distribution rules and the treatment of future beneficiaries
Deadlock, incapacity and succession provisions

Scope of protection

What a foundation does not do

Separating legal ownership is not the same as removing risk. The limits should be stated in the proposal, not discovered later.

Transfers made to defeat existing creditors can be challenged
Forced heirship and local property rules still apply where assets sit
Reporting duties of founder and beneficiaries continue in their countries of residence
The structure must be administered in practice, not only on paper

Additional layers

Should a holding company be included?

An additional entity should have a clear purpose. The proposed structure should show the role of each layer, the people responsible for it and its continuing costs.

A holding layer is justified when corporate control requires it
Each layer adds filings, accounts and maintenance
See UAE holding companies

Tax position

Tax treatment must be assessed separately

Incorporation does not, by itself, determine the tax outcome for the family.

UAE Corporate Tax

A Family Foundation may apply to the Federal Tax Authority to be treated as an Unincorporated Partnership, which gives it fiscally transparent treatment. This is subject to the conditions in Article 17 of the Corporate Tax Law and Ministerial Decision No. 127 of 2023, and to an application being made. It is not an exemption that follows automatically from incorporation.^[2]

Founder and beneficiaries

The position of each person is governed by the country where they are tax resident. A foundation in the UAE does not change the reporting duties of a founder or beneficiary resident elsewhere.

Brazil and Portugal

For individuals resident in Brazil, Law No. 14.754/2023 expressly includes foundations within the entities that can be treated as controlled entities, with annual taxation of profits in the cases it defines. Portuguese residents are assessed under their own rules. Both are examined before, not after, formation.^[3]

Where the assets sit

Property, companies and accounts remain subject to the law and the tax rules of the country in which they are located, including on transfer and on succession.

Why Tarkia

Dubai base, three jurisdictions in view

Tarkia acts as a registered agent at RAK ICC and coordinates the design from Dubai, involving professionals in Brazil and Portugal where the case requires it.

Diagnosis before structure, with the alternatives compared in writing

Formation and asset transfers scoped and priced separately

The tax position of founder and beneficiaries assessed in their own countries

Maintenance with a calendar of obligations and named responsibilities

At a glance

Starting point

The assets involved, the people who decide and the countries connected to them

Deliverables

Assessment, structure design with the role of each entity, formation and a maintenance plan

Registry

RAK ICC, Ras Al Khaimah. Tarkia acts as registered agent

Languages

English and Portuguese

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

No. Family circumstances, the nature and location of the assets, the jurisdictions connected to each person and the maintenance costs should also inform the decision. There is no threshold above which a foundation becomes automatically appropriate.

No. The implementation plan should assess each proposed asset individually, considering the law of the place where it sits, the consents required, the cost of the transfer and whether the asset is better held directly or through an intermediate company.

No. The project should identify the assets and personal matters that remain outside the structure and assess how they will be addressed, including guardianship of minor children and assets held personally in each country. A registered will in the UAE is often part of the answer.

A Family Foundation may apply to the Federal Tax Authority to be treated as an Unincorporated Partnership and so be fiscally transparent, subject to the conditions in Article 17 of the Corporate Tax Law and Ministerial Decision No. 127 of 2023. Without that treatment, the general Corporate Tax rules apply. The position of each beneficiary in their own country is a separate question.

The proposal should distinguish the analysis, the formation itself, the asset transfers, work carried out by third parties in other countries and the ongoing maintenance. Registry fees and the registered agent are recurring items and are shown separately.

Next step

Discuss your circumstances

Tell us which assets are involved, who needs to take decisions and which countries are connected to the structure. The assessment comes before any recommendation.

Contact Tarkia

Official sources

RAK ICC, Foundations, and the RAK ICC Foundations Regulations: legal personality, council, registered agent, charter and by-laws, permitted purposes and creditor claims.
Ministry of Finance (UAE), Corporate Tax FAQ; Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Article 17, and Ministerial Decision No. 127 of 2023 on Family Foundations.
Brazil, Law No. 14.754/2023, Article 5, which includes foundations among the entities capable of being treated as controlled entities.

This page is for information only. It is not legal, accounting or tax advice, and it is not an offer of regulated services. Rules, timescales and outcomes vary with the circumstances. Reviewed in September 2026.

Conteúdo informativo · não constitui consultoria jurídica, contábil ou tributária nem recomendação de investimento · investir ou abrir empresa nos EAU não substitui saída fiscal · regras, prazos e resultados variam conforme o caso · atualizado em ago/2026