Procedures for Establishing a Panama Foundation

Procedures for Establishing a Panama Foundation

If you have read this far, it means that you are now convinced that a Panama Foundation is for you, and you are ready to incorporate. Now it is just a matter of clicking on "Order Now" and completing an online order form. Read the simple procedures below to establish a Panama Foundation.

1. Personal Information: Complete the online application with your personal contact details.

2. Indicate what type of entity(s) you want: Indicate whether you want a new Panama Foundation or a Panama shelf Foundation. If you choose to purchase a shelf Foundation, then simply indicate that you want a Panama shelf Foundation, and you can skip the name section of the online application. Also, indicate how many Panama Foundations you want of each type.

3. Selecting the Name(s): On the online application, you should indicate three name choices for each Panama Foundation. Panama Foundations names can be in any language and must include the word "Foundation" within the name (in any language):

English spelling: Foundation
Spanish spelling: Fundación

For example, typical names for Panama Foundations could be: "Rogers Foundation", "Save the Ducks Foundation", "Latin Educational Foundation", or "Klein Family Foundation".

Once you have submitted the online application including the name(s) for your Panama Foundation(s), we will check to see if the names you selected are available in the Panamanian Public Registry. We can have this done within a few hours. The first available name selections will be incorporated as soon as we have received payment.

4. Foundation Council (Directors): On the online application, you should indicate who you want to appoint as council members (directors) of your Panama Foundation(s). The council members can be either individuals or entities. If the council members are individuals, the law requires 3 council members (President, Secretary and Treasurer). If the council members are entities, the law only requires one council member.

If our client is appointed as council member on the Panama Foundation, then his/her name is publicly known as council member since the council members names and identifications must be presented in the public registry when the Panama Foundation is formed. Generally, the only documentation on public record is the Foundation Charter (or articles) of incorporation and the names and addresses of the council members and Registered Agent.

We offer our clients the optional service of using our "Nominee Council" for their Panama Foundation(s). For purposes of confidentiality, most of our clients prefer that we provide a nominee council for their Foundations. When we appoint a nominee council for the entities that we establish for our clients, we always provide our clients with pre-signed, undated letters of resignation from the directors so that our client can replace the council/directors at any time. There is no additional fee for the use of our nominee council.

Otherwise, if clients prefer to appoint their own council, they simply complete our online application with the names of the council members that they wish to use (they also must send us a photocopy of their council members passports).

5. Beneficiaries: The Beneficiaries of the Foundation need not to be known by us when registering the Foundation. When you receive the Foundation documents, you will appoint the Protector, by signing the Private Protectorate Document. The Protector will need to write a Letter of Wishes, indicating who the beneficiaries of the Foundation are.

6. Payment: On the online application, you should indicate your preferred method of payment. Payment can be made by Bank Wire Transfer, Western Union Cash Transfer, USD Check, or USD International Money Order. For fastest processing, we highly recommend paying by Bank Wire Transfer, Western Union. Checks and International Money Orders take two weeks to clear, and we do not begin processing until payment has cleared. After submitting the online application, you will be contacted by our service staff and will be provided with payment instructions.

7. Time Frame: A new Panama Foundation can be established within 3 to 5 business days. Panama shelf foundations are also available if you need a Panama Foundation immediately. Panama shelf Foundations are the same, except that they have already been incorporated and are ready to engage in business immediately if you are in a rush to do something very quickly. Simply notify us on the online order form if you prefer a shelf name and we will provide one for you.