Nevis trust: formation and how it works

What a Nevis trust is

It is a trust set up under the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance (source: Nevis FSRC: Trusts). You transfer assets to the trustee, and the trustee holds them for the people the deed names or describes.

Registration is part of the set-up. The trust is entered on the register of international trusts, and the entry is made through a registered agent in Nevis.

Settlor and beneficiaries must at all times be non-residents of Nevis. The structure is therefore for people who live elsewhere, not for residents of the island.

Many Nevis deeds are discretionary, so the trustee decides on distributions guided by the deed and your letter of wishes. Your lawyer checks how much control you may keep without weakening the arrangement.

There are only a few roles. The settlor creates the trust and moves assets into it. The trustee holds them and decides under the deed.

The people who may benefit can be named or described as a class, such as your children. A protector, if the deed provides one, gives consent on important decisions.

People often call a Nevis offshore trust an asset protection trust. That is a product name, not a promise. Whether the rules help in your case is for your lawyer to answer.

The statute and its limits are set out on the law and features page.

Who uses Nevis trusts

This structure suits business owners and professionals in fields with high liability exposure, who plan well before any claim arises. It also suits families who want assets held under one deed by a trustee outside their home country.

Common reasons for choosing this kind of structure include:

• They want a structure their own lawyer has examined against the risks of their work.
• They hold assets in several countries and want one trustee and one set of records.
• They are planning succession and want the trustee to follow written wishes.
• They are comparing island options and want sourced facts, not sales copy.

Every enquiry goes through our client acceptance policy, and we tell you early if we cannot take a case.

Counsel at home must confirm that a structure in Nevis is suitable and lawful where you live. Your tax adviser tells you what to report at home.

We replace neither of them. We work alongside both from the first message and send them the same drafts we send you.

A trust is not the right tool for every goal, and the first review may show that another route suits you better.

How formation works

The order of work is fixed. Your lawyer must review the deed, and the trustee must agree to act, before anything is signed. The sequence is:

1. Enquiry, then client acceptance and identity checks.
2. Design of the structure with your lawyer, including any holding company.
3. Drafting of the deed and your letter of wishes.
4. Signing, acceptance by the trustee and registration through the registered agent.
5. Transfer of assets to the trustee or to a company the trust owns.

Assets often sit below the trust in a holding company, such as a limited liability company. The trustee then holds shares rather than the assets themselves.

Whether that suits you is a question for counsel. It changes who signs what and where the records sit.

First we gather identity documents, proof of where your funds and wealth came from, and beneficiary details. Afterwards, speed depends on others: your lawyer, the trustee, the bank, the registered agent and the register.

You get a checklist with open items shown and no promised date. A single missing bank letter can hold up each later step.

The step-by-step formation guide lists the documents the trustee asks for.

What drives the cost

Cost is driven by the size and shape of the structure rather than by the place. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust or foundation; annual administration, event-based work and third-party charges are quoted after we review your case.

The figures in an estimate come from the written terms of the trustee and the law firm, and government charges appear on their own line.

The main drivers are:

• The number of parties, holding companies and bank accounts under the trust.
• The kinds of assets, since shares in private companies take more work than cash.
• The legal drafting, which grows with every special clause or role.
• The trustee’s yearly work: meetings, resolutions, records and reporting.
• Government registration and renewal charges, which the authorities set, not us.

Tell us which assets you expect to transfer and whether a holding company is involved. Those two answers are the best place to start.

A quote is not an offer. It becomes firm once the trustee and the law firm have read your papers and set their terms in writing. The guide to what shapes the price goes through each item and shows how to ask for one.

Pros and cons, with sources

A fair list holds both columns. The table sets out each point with what the official summary says and what your lawyer still has to weigh.

Basis: Nevis FSRC, Trusts page, accessed 2026-11-05. Sources and review dates are in the facts table.

The cons are practical. A structure costs money to set up and to run, and it adds paperwork. A court at home may look through it when you keep too much control.

None of this is a result we promise. Outcomes depend on your facts and on courts we do not control.

Nevis compared with the Cook Islands

Both places sell the same idea: a trust under local law, run by a local trustee, for people who live abroad. They differ in the statute, the trustee rules and the sources a lawyer reads.

The Cook Islands rest on their own Act, set out on our Cook Islands law page. Nevis rests on an ordinance with its own register and a trustee that is a Nevis corporation or trust company.

Which suits you depends on where you live and what your lawyer finds. Our Cook Islands guide lays out the other side, and the comparison tool puts the two beside each other.

Trust companies and your role

A Nevis trust company holds office as trustee, and we are your contact as a settlor living abroad.

We run the identity checks, collect the documents and prepare the structure with your lawyer. The partner and the registered agent make the formal filings and keep the records.

This split matters when something changes, such as a distribution or a new beneficiary. You send us the request; we prepare the papers, and the trustee decides under the deed.

Reviewing the structure once a year is sensible, and again after any change in family or assets, for instance a marriage, a birth, a move or a business sale.

Tell us what you are planning and we tell you what to prepare. Existing structures can move to us for administration; our page on administration of an existing trust explains how.

Tax and reporting

Tax follows the individuals as well as the trust. Your home country decides how you are treated as settlor or beneficiary, and your own adviser tells you what to file.

We give the adviser the draft deed and the asset list. The advice then rests on the real documents rather than a summary.

Which reporting duties apply to a Nevis trust under the Common Reporting Standard and FATCA is a point your lawyer confirms for your case, and your tax adviser confirms what you file at home.

We collect self-certification forms at the start so deadlines are planned from day one.

We promise no tax outcome. A deed that reads as efficient may still be taxed differently where you live.

For the broader subject of planning against claims, see our page on wealth structuring and asset protection. The plain-answers page gives short replies to common questions.