Panama Private Interest Foundation has a Founder, a Foundation Council, a Protector and Beneficiaries.

Founder: The Founder is the person or entity that establishes the Foundation in the Public Registry of Panama. In case, if you can not physically be in Panama for the formation of the Foundation, we can provide service of Nominee Founder of Panama Private Interest Foundation. If one wants to be the Founder of Panama Private Interest Foundation he must be physically in Panama to appear before the public notary to sign the Founding Act. It is important to say that the Founder of the Foundation, once it is registered in the Public Registry, can not be changed.

Foundation Council: The Council of the Foundation has the same function as the board of directors or officers in the corporation. In the Public Registry names, addresses, and identifications of the Foundation Council members are inscribed, indicating the position of each, as President, Secretary and Treasurer, who may be natural persons or legal entities. If the Foundation Council is composed by individuals, requires three (3) members of the Foundation Council. If the Foundation Council is composed by legal persons, it requires only one member of the Foundation Council. We offer the "Nominee Council" to complete the positions of the Foundation Council, and thus provide additional privacy and confidentiality to you. When we name the Nominee Council, we also provide you with resignation letters, undated, previously signed by each member of the nominee council, so that you can replace the council at any time.

Protector: The Protector is the person or entity that has ultimate control over the foundation and all the assets within it. The Protector is appointed by the Foundation Council when the foundation is established, however, once the Protector is empowered to exercise their power, the Protector can then remove the members of the Council at any time without anyone's consent . The Protector can be appointed privately by a private document, signed by the Foundation Council. Thus, the Protector can maintain this position free of public knowledge.
Usually, you can appoint yourself as a Protector of the foundation, through a Private Protectorate Document, so that you will maintain full control of the Foundation, privately and anonymously. Once a Protector is appointed, hr can always be changed by desire of Protector. However, a Protector is not required and if you prefer, you can choose not to use a Protector, or use the services of a Nominee Protector.

Beneficiaries: Unlike a corporation that issues a stock certificate to certify who are the owners, the private interest foundation has no owners, but may have Beneficiaries. Beneficiaries of the foundation are appointed by the Founder or Protector through a Letter of Wishes, or more formally through a series of Statutes established within a Foundation Regulations (Statutes shall be in writing, with the assistance of a Panamanian lawyer). In any case, the privacy and confidentiality of beneficiaries can be protected through their appointment in the Letter of Protest Private Will, or through Statutes Foundation (Foundation Regulations), since the content of the Charter of Manifestation Will or the Statutes remain private and need only be known to interested parties. In addition, a foundation can be established for the Founder or Protector is the sole beneficiary until his death, at which time the foundation continues for the benefit of other beneficiaries.

Letter of Wishes: The Letter of Wishes is a simple letter, written by the Founder or Protector, which specifies exactly how the assets of the foundation should be handled or distributed in case of an unexpected event arise as death or incapacity of the Protector and Founder. Letter of Wishes must also state whether the Foundation should continue to exist and have a new Protector appointed, or if the Foundation should be dissolved upon the death of Protector and Founder. There is no specific format regarding how the Letter of Wishes must be written, and can it be written or modified at any time after the Foundation has been formed by the will of the Protector. The Letter of Wishes can be private or can be registered in the Public Registry. Generally, most people prefer to maintain the Letter of Wishes privately, so that the Beneficiaries and Protector remain anonymous and private.

Foundation By-Laws: The foundation does not need Foundation By-Laws, as the Letter of Wishes is legally sufficient to express the testamentary instructions requested. However, if you want to have more formal testamentary document, written and signed by a Panamanian Attorney, and notarized by a Public Notary of Panama, then you can seek the assistance of a Panamanian attorney to draft the Foundation By-Laws. The Foundation By-Laws is essentially managed as the letter of wishes, as Laws should specify exactly how the Foundations assets should be handled or distributed to a triggering event such as death or incapacity of the Protector and Founder. The Laws should also state whether the Foundation should continue existing, and have a new Protector appointed, or if the foundation must be dissolved before a specific event (s). There is a specific format that the contents should be written, however, the content of the Foundation By-Laws can be changed at any time after the foundation is constituted by the will of the Protector and Founder. Foundation By-Laws can be saved privately, or may be registered in the Public Registry. Generally most people prefer to maintain the Foundation By-Laws in private, so that the Beneficiaries and Protector remain anonymous and private.