How to set up a trust in the Marshall Islands

Before you start: what you decide

Four decisions come before drafting, and each one changes the deed and the papers the trustee asks for.

• What the trust is for, such as succession or planning for a family.
• Who the beneficiaries are, by name or as a described class.
• How long the trust should run, since the 2004 text of the Trust Act sets a 100-year limit for most trusts.
• Which roles you want, such as a protector, and who holds them.

Show these answers to your own lawyer and tax adviser at home first. They tell you whether the structure suits your country before anyone signs.

Start with a quote: tell us your country of residence, the assets and the purpose.

Step by step: from enquiry to signed deed

Nothing is signed until your lawyer has reviewed the deed and the trustee has confirmed it will act. The steps below run in this order.

1. Enquiry. You describe your plan. We reply with what we need and a view on whether we can take the case.
2. Identity checks. The trustee and the bank each run checks. We collect the papers once and share them under a data agreement.
3. Structure design. You and your lawyer settle the roles, the assets and any company below the trust.
4. Drafting. A law firm qualified in the islands drafts the deed. We prepare your letter of wishes alongside it.
5. Signing. The parties sign, and the trustee confirms in writing that it accepts office.
6. Registration. The Act provides for registration with the Registrar. Your lawyer confirms the current procedure.
7. Funding. Assets move to the trustee, or to a company the trust owns.

Registration under Part V is by a trustee certificate with a notice of creation, or by a copy of the trust instrument. Your lawyer confirms who files and keeps proof of the entry for the file.

The Marshall Islands sit four hours ahead of Hong Kong. Signing at a distance, with certified copies, is agreed between counsel and the trustee.

Documents the trustee asks for

The trustee confirms the exact list in writing. Expect these papers:

• A passport or national ID for each settlor, beneficiary and protector.
• Proof of address dated within the last three months.
• Evidence of the source of funds and the source of wealth.
• A schedule of the assets to be transferred.
• Details of any company the trust owns.

The registration paper your lawyer prepares is added to this list.

Papers in another language may need a certified translation. A notary, a lawyer or an embassy can certify copies, and the trustee says which it accepts.

Identity and source-of-funds checks

The checks come first because every later step waits on them. Each person is screened against sanctions and politically exposed person lists.

The trustee also asks where the money came from. Expect the trustee to ask for documents that trace each source, not a summary.

Answer follow-up questions in full the first time, since a partial answer restarts the clock. We run the checks once and share the results.

The bank that receives the assets runs its own checks, with a list that can differ from the trustee’s. Funds that arrive from a third party draw more questions, and a clear paper trail answers most of them.

After the trust is set up

Once the deed is signed, registered and funded, the trustee keeps accounts and records and acts on distributions under the deed.

Tax on a Marshall Islands trust is not covered on this page. Your own tax adviser confirms what you file at home.

Plan a review each year, and another when the family or assets change. The letter of wishes guides the trustee but does not bind it.

The cost page explains what the yearly work involves. For the rules behind these steps, read the legal features, or return to the islands overview.

Our page on administration of an existing trust explains what we do for a trust held elsewhere.