Foundation Services

A foundation is an incorporated legal entity that owns its assets in its own name, whereas a trust is a relationship in which a trustee holds assets for beneficiaries. ADGM puts it plainly: unlike trusts, foundations are incorporated as a legal entity with their own distinct attributes and legal personality, similar to companies but without shareholders. That lets a foundation contract directly, continue in perpetuity after the founder's death and give the founder more retained control than a settlor has over a trust. A foundation cannot carry on commercial activities other than those necessary, ancillary or incidental to its purposes: it is a holding and succession vehicle, not an operating company. We establish and administer foundations in both ADGM and the DIFC, and we work with foundations rather than trusts.

Source: ADGM — Setting up with ADGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (accessed 24 October 2026)

Three roles share control. The founder endows the initial assets and settles the charter and by-laws. The ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017 require a Foundation Council of at least two councillors, who run the foundation under statutory duties similar to those of company directors; the founder or a legal person may be a councillor. A guardian supervises the council and ensures it follows the charter and by-laws: ADGM makes the guardian optional during the founder's lifetime and compulsory once there is no surviving founder, appointed by the person the charter empowers or, failing that, by the ADGM Courts on a councillor's application. Each role may be held by an individual or a body corporate. We act as councillor or guardian where a client wants a professional in the seat.

Sources: ADGM — Foundations Regulations 2017; ADGM — Setting up with ADGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (accessed 24 October 2026)

The authorities' own fees are modest. ADGM's published figure is a foundation incorporation fee of USD 1,000 and an annual renewal fee of USD 500, and ADGM confirms the initial assets committed to the foundation can be as low as USD 100; section 13 of the Foundations Regulations 2017 sets that USD 100 minimum. In the DIFC, the DIFC states that individuals and corporates can establish a foundation for USD 350. On top of the authority's fees come the fees of the ADGM or DIFC company service provider that provides the registered office and, for a non-exempt ADGM foundation, acts as its CSP, together with our fees for drafting, establishment and ongoing administration. We give you the first-year and recurring figures, government and professional costs separated, before any filing.

Sources: ADGM — Establish Your Family Office in ADGM; DIFC Authority — Family Businesses (accessed 24 October 2026)

A registered office always; a service provider depends on the founder's profile. Section 5 of the ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017 requires every foundation to have at all times a registered office in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, which may be the address of its registered agent; no physical office is needed beyond that. A non-exempt foundation, one that cannot show substantial resources, experience and personnel in the UAE together with adequate governance policies, must also appoint an ADGM-licensed Company Service Provider; default exposes the foundation and every councillor in default to a fine of up to USD 25,000 and possible strike-off. In the DIFC we likewise appoint a DIFC-licensed CSP for the registered-office role. We are not that provider in either centre; we appoint and coordinate it.

Sources: ADGM — Foundations Regulations 2017; ADGM Registration Authority — Guidance and resources for the ADGM Company Service Provider regime (accessed 24 October 2026)

About three to five days. ADGM's guidance is that a new foundation should take about 3-5 days to set up once the Registrar has received all required information and documentation, and the application runs entirely through the Online Registry Solution: details and identity documents for the founder, councillors, guardian and beneficiaries, the registered office address, the appointed company service provider for a non-exempt foundation, and the charter, for which ADGM publishes a model. The certificate of registration and commercial licence are issued electronically, and ADGM states there are no requirements for personal visits or for delivery of original hard copies. Drafting the charter and by-laws to reflect the family's wishes is what takes time, so we start that before the portal filing.

Sources: ADGM — Setting up with ADGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); ADGM — ADGM Foundations Regime (accessed 24 October 2026)

Very little of it. ADGM splits formation into public and private elements: the charter and basic registration details go to the Registrar, while the by-laws, which govern matters such as the composition of the council, remain private, are provided to the Registrar only on request and would not be made available for public inspection without the founder's consent. ADGM's foundations guide describes limited public disclosure with no individuals' names on the public register, balanced by full disclosure to the Registrar. The record of beneficial owners that every ADGM entity must keep is likewise not published and is accessible only to designated Registration Authority staff. Confidentiality is not secrecy: by-laws and ownership information are disclosed to governmental authorities in the circumstances the regulations prescribe.

Sources: ADGM — Setting up with ADGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); ADGM — ADGM Foundations Regime (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Dubai Land Department in May 2017, DIFC-based companies, partnerships, foundations, real estate investment trusts and real estate funds may purchase and register properties with the DLD. That is what makes a DIFC foundation a practical holding vehicle for a family's Dubai villas and apartments: title is registered in the foundation's name and the assets then pass under the foundation's charter and by-laws, which fits the DIFC's own description of the foundation as an ideal vehicle for family succession, asset protection and corporate structuring. Registration is completed at the DLD on the foundation's documents, subject to the DLD's own fees and requirements. We prepare the foundation's resolutions and the DLD paperwork and coordinate the transfer with the DIFC company service provider.

Sources: Dubai Land Department — Dubai International Financial Centre drives Institutional Real Estate Investment through Memorandum of Understanding with Dubai Land Department; DIFC Authority — Family Businesses (accessed 24 October 2026)

ADGM's regime includes what it calls firewall provisions. Section 32 of the ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017 provides that assets transferred to a foundation become its property with full legal and beneficial title, and that a transfer to a registered foundation shall not be void, voidable or set aside by reference to a foreign rule of forced heirship or any other foreign law. ADGM describes these mechanisms as designed to assist in protection from bankruptcy claims, claims in the event of divorce and the effect of forced heirship rules. Two cautions: the protection attaches only to assets properly transferred into the foundation, and ADGM itself encourages founders to obtain independent legal and tax advice. We assess exposure before assets move and document the transfers so the firewall can be relied on.

Sources: ADGM — Foundations Regulations 2017; ADGM — Setting up with ADGM Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (accessed 24 October 2026)