Your Luxembourg trust cost depends mainly on the structure: the parties, the assets, the drafting and the trustee's yearly work. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust in Luxembourg on this page; annual administration, event-based work and third-party charges are quoted after we review your case. This page shows each cost line.
The set-up fee for a Luxembourg trust is shown under the key facts. The other groups of cost depend on the structure and are quoted after we review your case.
Set-up
Structure design and onboarding checks
Trust deed drafting by the law firm
Trustee acceptance and account opening
Ongoing
Annual trustee fee
Accounting, minutes and records
Reporting to authorities
Third party
Bank and custodian charges
Tax and legal advice in other countries
Registry or stamp duty where it applies
Key facts
Trust structure
No domestic trust; foreign trusts recognised through the Hague Convention[1]
Governing law
Law of 27 July 2003 on trusts and fiduciary contracts[1]
Trustee requirement
Fiduciary in a fiducie must be a financial institution that the law lists[1]
Numbers in brackets point to the Sources list at the end of this page.
Set-up fee
Standard trust
USD 13,000
Trust set-up in Luxembourg: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed drafted through a partner law firm
Acceptance of trusteeship by One Pacific Trust or a partner trustee, confirmed in your quote.
Filing of any registration the law requires
Excludes
Government fees, initial and annual (passed through at cost)
Stamp duty
Holding or underlying companies
Bank account opening
Tax advice in other countries
Annual trustee, administration and event fees (quoted separately)
VAT or GST where applicable
Set-up fees shown are One Pacific Trust fees in US dollars for the standard scope described, before government, registry, bank and other third-party charges, which are passed through at cost or billed to you directly.
Annual administration, event-based work and anything outside the standard scope are quoted after we review your case.
A published fee is not an offer and is not tax or legal advice; the terms that apply are those set out in writing when you engage us.
Set-up costs: what they cover
Illustration, not a real client.
Set-up charges cover the work done before the trust holds a single asset. Each is a one-off, and the written terms say when it falls due.
Acceptance and design. Our identity and source-of-funds review, plus design work with your lawyer on the structure and the governing law.
Legal drafting. A law firm drafts the deed and letter of wishes under the deed’s governing law, which may not be Luxembourg law. Each extra clause or role adds time.
Trustee onboarding. The trustee reads the whole file, runs checks of its own and then accepts office.
Company under the trust. Forming a company, if the structure uses one, is a separate line.
Your lawyer and tax adviser at home bill you directly. Their fees sit outside our estimate, yet they belong in your budget for the structure.
Ongoing trustee and administration costs
Once the trust holds assets the yearly charges begin, and across the trust’s life they can outweigh the set-up work. The trustee bills for holding office, keeping the accounts and records, and running meetings and resolutions.
Our administration covers reporting, the annual review of identity papers and the preparation of the requests you send.
Events bring extra charges: a distribution, a new beneficiary, a new protector, a change to the deed or the end of the trust.
A quiet year costs less than a year of frequent distributions or many accounts.
Work is uneven across the years. It peaks while accounts open and assets move in.
It rises again when a beneficiary comes of age, when a family member moves to a country with new reporting rules, or when the trust winds down.
Ask when and how the trustee may revise its charges, and how much notice it must give. Ask too what leaving would cost if you later change trustee.
Put the answers in the written terms; we request them for you. Compare yearly items with the same care as the set-up line, because a cheap start can hide a heavy annual bill.
Third-party costs
Several charges are set by others, and each appears as a separate line in the estimate. The main ones are:
Charges set by Luxembourg authorities, not by us.
Corporate services firm fees, for forming and running a holding company.
Custody and account charges at the banks that hold the trust’s assets.
Accountant or auditor fees for companies under the trust.
Translation and certification of papers that are not in English, French or German.
These amounts move over time, so we confirm each one in writing on the date of your estimate. Which of these charges apply to your structure is a point your lawyer confirms for your case.
What changes the total
Five points move the estimate most, and knowing them first saves a round of questions.
Factor
Why it matters
Kinds of assets
Shares in private companies and property need more work than cash
Holding companies
Each company adds formation, agent and accounting charges
Number of accounts
Each bank or brokerage relationship adds checks and reporting
Roles in the deed
A protector or adviser adds drafting and notices
Activity each year
Distributions and changes bring event charges
Basis: our pricing approach for this service, 2026-11-05. The set-up fee shown on this page is for a standard trust; an estimate for other lines follows the written terms of the trustee and the law firm.
A thin deed or poor record-keeping can cost far more later. Our estimate lists every line, so you can see what drafting and record-keeping include.
Tell us your plans in plain words and we turn them into an estimate. Before you commit, the written terms of the trustee and the law firm prevail over any estimate.
Our enquiry asks what kinds of assets you expect to transfer, whether a holding company is involved and how many beneficiaries there are. A protector or an investment adviser changes the drafting, so mention those roles too.
What do I pay for when I set up a trust in Luxembourg?
You pay for client acceptance and design, the law firm's drafting of the deed, the trustee's acceptance of office and the formation of any company under the trust. Translation of papers adds a line where needed. Your own lawyer and tax adviser bill you directly, outside our estimate.
Are there ongoing costs for a trust in Luxembourg?
Yes. The trustee charges for holding office, keeping accounts, holding meetings and passing resolutions. Event charges apply when something changes, such as a distribution or a new beneficiary. Over the life of a trust, yearly charges can exceed the set-up.
How do I get an estimate for a trust in Luxembourg?
Send us a short note on the assets you expect to move, any holding company in the picture, and the number of beneficiaries. We turn that into an estimate showing every line rather than one total, and you see the trustee's and law firm's written terms before you commit to anything.
Pick a question for a short answer from our FAQ. Nothing you choose here is sent anywhere. This is a scripted guide from our FAQ, not live chat and not advice.
Setting up, the law and tax
What happens, step by step, when you set up an offshore trust?
First agree the purpose and who should benefit. Your lawyer drafts the deed under the chosen law while the trustee checks identity and the source of the assets. After signing, the assets move into the trustee’s name and are recorded. The guide shows each stage in more detail.
Usually the owner transfers the shares or membership interest to the trustee under the deed, after checking the company’s own documents and any consent a lender or partner must give. The trustee then holds the interest and the company carries on. Company, tax and local law checks come first, so involve your lawyer.
Yes, in the places whose law provides for them. A trust needs a lawful purpose, a valid deed under its governing law, and taxes and reporting dealt with where the people involved live. It cannot be used to hide assets, defeat existing creditors or evade tax. A trustee will refuse a trust whose purpose or funding it cannot confirm.
It depends on where the settlor, the beneficiaries, the trustee and the assets are, and on the law that governs the trust. Many countries tax trust income or distributions in the hands of the people they treat as owners or recipients, and exchange account data under international reporting rules. We do not give tax advice, so ask your own adviser before you sign.
How long does it take to appoint a Hong Kong trustee?
Time depends mostly on how quickly documents arrive and on checks by banks and registries outside our control, so we do not promise a date. Once you apply, the client portal shows each step and what is outstanding, and a 30-minute call sets out what to prepare first.
The cost depends on the structure, the places and assets involved, how many parties the trustee must check, and how much work the trust needs each year. We publish the set-up fee for each place; annual administration and event-based work are quoted after we review your case. Banking, legal and registry charges outside our control can add to it.
A trustee can borrow only if the deed and the governing law allow it. A lender will usually ask to see the deed, the trustee’s authority and the purpose of the loan. Some deeds limit borrowing or need a protector’s consent. Ask a lawyer before approaching a lender.
What is asset management, and is it what a trustee does?
Asset management means running investments for a client, usually under a licence. A trustee does something different: it holds the assets, checks instructions against the deed, approves distributions and keeps the record. A bank or licensed manager that the deed allows for can run the investments.
Hong Kong
Singapore
BVI
Jersey
