Nevis trust cost is the sum of several bills sent by different parties: the law firm, the trustee, the registered agent and your own advisers. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust or foundation in Nevis 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 Nevis 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
Settlor and beneficiaries must at all times be non-residents of Nevis[1]
Governing law
Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance (Cap. 07.03(N))[1]
Registration
Entered on the register of international trusts through a registered agent[1]
Numbers in brackets point to the Sources list at the end of this page.
Set-up fee
Standard trust
USD 14,000
Trust set-up in Nevis: 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 a licensed local partner trustee, coordinated by One Pacific Trust
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 17,000
Foundation set-up in Nevis: 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 a licensed local partner trustee, coordinated by One Pacific Trust
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
This fee includes the local partner trustee's acceptance fee as agreed with One Pacific Trust.
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 ends when the trust holds its first asset. Until then the work is split between a few firms, and each sends its own invoice.
Law firm. Drafts the deed under the Nevis ordinance, with the protector powers and term you chose.
Trustee. A Nevis corporation or trust company that vets you before it accepts office.
Registered agent. Makes the register entry for the trust and bills for it.
Our coordination. Residence and identity papers, plus one checklist of open items.
We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust or foundation; the rest is quoted after we review your case. The number of parties, the assets and the length of the deed all have to be known before any other figure carries meaning.
Each figure in an estimate is taken from the written terms of the trustee and the law firm, and passed to you as received.
Ongoing trustee and administration costs
Annual cost is where a Nevis structure keeps drawing money. The trustee meets, resolves, keeps the books and prepares filings, and bills for all of it.
What sits in the trust matters. A bank balance is light work; shares in a closely held company or a building need far more care.
Effort is front-loaded. Opening accounts and moving assets in make the opening period the busiest.
It climbs again later, for instance when a beneficiary comes of age, when someone moves abroad and reporting rules change, or when the trust is wound up.
Ask the trustee how often it revisits its charges and how much warning it gives. Ask also what leaving for another trustee would cost.
Those replies should appear in the written terms, and we ask for them before you commit.
When estimates arrive from several providers, read the yearly lines with the same care as the opening one. A cheap beginning can be followed by an expensive routine.
Third-party costs
The remaining charges come from outside parties and are shown one by one in the estimate. The usual ones are:
Government registration and renewal charges, set by the authorities in Nevis, not by us.
Fees of the registered agent or corporate services firm for any holding company.
Bank or brokerage account charges in the trustee’s name.
Accounting or audit fees for companies under the trust, where required.
Translation and certification of documents, if your papers are not in English.
Your own lawyer and tax adviser invoice you directly. We ask both for an early estimate, so that nothing arrives unannounced.
What changes the total
Four things drive the total up or down, and you decide most of them.
Residence proof. The settlor and each beneficiary must be non-residents of Nevis, so every added person means more proof to collect.
Holding company. A company under the trust adds its formation, a registered agent line and its own accounts.
Kind of assets. Cash is simple. Private shares, property and art need valuations and longer drafting.
Roles in the deed. A protector or a special power adds drafting time and yearly administration.
Fewer parties and a plainer deed cost less to build and to run. Your lawyer says whether the plain version meets your aim.
A low price should not pick the design. A cheap deed that gives way under challenge costs far more than a careful one.
Picture a settlor abroad who moves one brokerage account into the trust, with two adult children as beneficiaries. The estimate stays short.
Now add a family company and a rented flat. The trustee, the law firm and the registered agent each price more work, and every line shows.
Send every provider one list of assets and roles, so the prices can be compared.
How to get a quote
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.
Three details let us start:
Where the settlor and each beneficiary live, since all must be non-residents of Nevis.
The assets you expect to transfer, in broad terms.
Whether a holding company is likely.
We send a written estimate with each line shown separately.
You pay for the law firm that drafts the deed under the Nevis ordinance, the trustee's acceptance work, the registered agent's entry on the register, and our coordination. A holding company or a bank account adds lines. Each item sits on its own line, so you can compare providers.
Are there ongoing costs for a trust in Nevis?
Yes. The trustee bills for its yearly work: meetings, resolutions, records and reporting. The registered agent bills each year for keeping the trust on the register of international trusts, so ask for that renewal as its own line. Any holding company and the bank add renewals of their own.
How do I get a quote for a trust in Nevis?
Tell us where the settlor and each beneficiary live and what residence proof you hold, since a Nevis trust needs non-resident parties. Add the assets and any company. The registered agent's charge is its own line in a written quote.
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
