Hong Kong trust law and key features

The governing law

Trust law in Hong Kong starts from the common law of trusts, which Hong Kong shares with England and other common law places. Statute then fills in the detail.

Statute covers the trustee’s powers, how trustees are appointed and replaced, how long a trust may last, and what a trust deed may or may not excuse.

A major reform came through the Trust Law (Amendment) Ordinance 2013, which came into operation on 1 December 2013 (source: Hong Kong Government press release, 26 July 2013).

Tax reporting goes to the Inland Revenue Department. The tax and reporting page explains what the trustee files.

Who may act as trustee

An individual or a company can be a trustee. A professional trustee is a business that acts as trustee for clients and keeps the records that the deed and the law require.

A family can also set up a private trust company, or PTC, to act as trustee of its own trust. The rules that apply to a PTC depend on how it is set up and what it does.

A Hong Kong lawyer confirms those rules before the PTC is formed. The step-by-step guide shows the structure design stage, where that check usually happens.

Choosing between an individual and a professional trustee is a practical decision. Think about continuity if the person dies or moves away, how records are kept, and how much time the role takes.

Why the deed matters

The statute sets default rules, and a trust deed can adjust many of them. A deed that says nothing on a point leaves the trustee to follow the default.

For that reason, the wording of the deed decides much of how a trust runs day to day. Families usually have a lawyer draft or review it before any asset moves.

The trustee then reads the deed together with the statute whenever a decision is needed, such as a distribution or a change of investment.

Features the law allows

Hong Kong law, as reformed in 2013, allows several features that families comparing places tend to ask about.

• No fixed end date. The government said the reform lets settlors set up perpetual trusts in Hong Kong (source: Hong Kong Government press release, 26 July 2013). For an older trust, the answer depends on when and how it was made.
• Forced heirship rules. The government said the reform means home-country forced heirship rules are not meant to override the settlor’s wishes on how trust assets are allocated (same source). Ask your lawyer how courts elsewhere see it.
• Reserved powers. Under the amended Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29), a settlor can keep certain powers, such as investment powers, without the trust failing for that reason. How far a reservation works depends on the deed’s wording.
• Stronger default powers for trustees. The government said the reform enhanced trustees’ default powers and duties (same source), so a deed can rely on statute for more of the routine administration.
• Protectors and letters of wishes. These come from the deed rather than from statute. The law leaves room for them, and the deed defines them.

Each feature is a tool, not a result. Whether it works for your family depends on your residence, your assets and the law of the places where they sit.

Limits and requirements

The law also sets limits, and they serve the beneficiaries as much as the settlor.

A trust deed cannot relieve a paid professional trustee of liability for its own fraud, wilful misconduct or gross negligence (source: Hong Kong Government press release, 26 July 2013).

That rule has applied to new trusts since 1 December 2013, and to trusts that already existed since 1 December 2014 (same source).

Before accepting a trust, we identify and verify the settlor, any protector and the other people connected with it, and keep records of that work.

The trustee also has reporting duties. Hong Kong has carried out automatic exchange of financial account information since September 2018 (source: Inland Revenue Department, AEOI frequently asked questions).

It runs the exchange under the Common Reporting Standard (source: Inland Revenue Department, AEOI Ordinance 2026).

Transfers of Hong Kong shares or property into a trust can attract stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117), which the law firm checks when the structure is designed, before the deed is drafted.

The cost guide lists who charges for that work.

We review the facts on this page when the law or the official guidance changes.

The overview of Hong Kong trusts puts them in context, and the common questions page answers the practical ones.