Portugal examines legal framework for stewardship and trust structures

In Portugal, the concept of stewardship is being discussed as a model of responsible, long‑term governance for families, family businesses and family offices. The debate compares the common‑law trust – a legal instrument that separates control of assets from personal benefit and imposes fiduciary duties on trustees – with the continental legal tradition, which lacks an exact equivalent. Existing Portuguese instruments such as the fideicomisso, succession and corporate solutions, family protocols, family councils, advisory boards, shareholder agreements and foundations are cited as partial ways to achieve the same purpose. The aim is to create legal mechanisms that ensure assets, companies and legacies survive beyond their founders, preserving continuity, identity and purpose across generations. The challenge for European and Portuguese law is to combine these tools effectively rather than simply copying common‑law trusts, thereby building a robust architecture for intergenerational wealth and governance.