A Letter of Wishes is a document that has no ‘real’ legal status. A Letter of Wishes is often used in connection with offshore trusts in order to transmit the wishes of the creator or the alleged owner of the trust to the trustee. It is a separate document and not a part of the trust instrument. Letters of wishes are generally used by the beneficial owner of the trust assets to retain some control over the trust assets. A Letter of Wishes enables a trustee to exercise his or her discretion having in mind the wishes of the grantor. The trustee may consider the letter but is not bound or otherwise accountable by its terms. In reality the letter of wishes will be honored as if it were a binding legal document.
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