Your Netherlands 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 or foundation in the Netherlands on this page; annual administration, event-based work and third-party charges are quoted after we review your case.
The set-up fee for a Netherlands 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]
Convention in force for the Netherlands since 1 February 1996[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 the Netherlands: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed or foundation charter 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
Standard foundation
USD 7,000
Foundation set-up in the Netherlands: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed or foundation charter 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.
Everything billed before the trust holds an asset counts as set-up. These items are paid once, and the written terms state the due date of each.
Acceptance and design. Our identity and source-of-funds checks, and the structure work we do alongside your lawyer.
Legal drafting. A law firm drafts the deed and the letter of wishes under the law the deed names, which may not be Dutch law. A bespoke clause or extra role adds hours.
Trustee onboarding. The trustee studies the file, applies its own checks and then accepts office.
Company or stichting. If the plan includes either one under the trust, forming it is billed separately.
Your own lawyer and tax adviser invoice you directly. Their fees sit outside our estimate but form part of the real price of the structure.
Ongoing trustee and administration costs
After funding, the trustee’s yearly fees start, and over decades they may exceed the set-up bill. They pay for holding office, accounts and records, and the meetings and resolutions behind each decision.
Our administration covers reporting, the yearly refresh of identity papers and the preparation of your requests.
Extra fees follow events: a distribution, a new beneficiary, a protector change, an amendment or the closing of the trust.
Fees stay low in a year with few distributions and few accounts, and rise when either grows.
Effort is not even. The opening years are busy while accounts are set up and assets transferred.
Work picks up again when beneficiaries reach adulthood, when a relative moves abroad into new reporting rules, or when the trust is wound up.
Before signing, ask how the trustee may change its fees and with what notice. Ask also what a move to another trustee would cost.
The written terms should carry both answers, and we ask for them for you. When you compare offers, weigh the yearly lines as heavily as the opening one, since a low entry price can hide a high annual bill.
Third-party costs
Others set some charges, and each shows as its own line in your estimate. Typical ones are:
Dutch government charges, which public bodies set and we do not.
A corporate services firm’s fees for a holding company.
Account and custody charges at the banks that hold the assets.
Accountants or auditors for companies under the trust, where one is needed.
Translation and certification of papers that are not in English or Dutch.
These amounts shift over time, so each is confirmed in writing as of the estimate date. Which Dutch charges apply to your structure is a question for your lawyer.
What changes the total
Five points drive most of the difference between two estimates. Having them ready shortens the first exchange.
Factor
Why it matters
Kinds of assets
Private company shares and property take 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 or foundation; an estimate for other lines follows the written terms of the trustee and the law firm.
A thin deed or sloppy record-keeping can cost much more later. We show each line of the estimate, so you see what drafting and record-keeping cover.
Describe your plans in plain words and we turn them into an estimate. Before you commit, rely on the trustee’s and law firm’s written terms; they prevail over the estimate.
We ask which assets you expect to transfer, whether a holding company is involved and how many beneficiaries there are. Say if you want a protector or an investment adviser, because either role changes the drafting.
What do I pay for when I set up a trust in the Netherlands?
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 or stichting under the trust. Translation into English 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 the Netherlands?
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 the Netherlands?
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
