How do trusts work in New Zealand?

A settlor transfers assets to trustees, who hold them for the beneficiaries under a written deed. Most families use a discretionary trust guided by a letter of wishes. A New Zealand foreign trust also registers with Inland Revenue and files an annual return.

The trustees hold the assets as legal owners and manage them for the beneficiaries under the deed and the law. They keep records, accounts and minutes, take the decisions the deed gives them, run identity checks, and handle the annual return and updates for Inland Revenue.

No. A company is a legal person in its own right, owned by shareholders and run by directors. A trust is a relationship: the trustees own the assets and hold them for the beneficiaries under the deed. Many families combine the two, for example a trust that owns the shares of a holding company over a family business.

Usually your hopes for how the trustees use their discretion: who should benefit, when children should receive money, and how a family company or other key assets should be handled. The letter guides the trustees but does not bind them, and you can update it whenever circumstances change.

A conversation about the family, the assets and the aim, so we can say which structure fits. We reply with the questions that matter for your case, and the identity checks start once you decide to go ahead. The stages after that are in the step-by-step set-up guide.

Read the step-by-step set-up guide

Yes, for a New Zealand foreign trust. When the contact trustee registers the trust in myIR, it uploads the trust deed and any amending deeds, and lists the settlements and connected persons. Think about that before you decide, and ask your lawyer to explain how the information is used.

Often, yes. The usual route is a deed of retirement and appointment: the current trustee retires and a New Zealand resident trustee is appointed. The trust's deed and governing law decide whether that works. We can also coordinate the papers and reporting with the current trustee.

Yes. Holding shares in a family company is a common reason to set up a trust, usually through a holding company. Moving shares can involve filings and third parties, so the law firm checks the steps when the structure is designed, before the deed is drafted.

Often, if the deed allows it. You can keep investment decisions yourself or appoint a professional manager. How far a reservation works depends on the deed's wording and the governing law. The trustees still hold the assets and keep the records.

Usually, if the deed gives someone that power. Many deeds let the trustees add or exclude beneficiaries, often with the protector's consent. The power and its steps are written in at the start, so think ahead about children and marriages.

Sometimes. It depends on the deed and the governing law. Many deeds let the trustees or a protector change administrative terms or add beneficiaries. Where the deed gives no such power, your lawyer advises whether any other route exists before a change is attempted.

The trust carries on under its deed. Assets already placed in it stay with the trustees, who keep following the deed and any letter of wishes, and your lawyer confirms how that works for assets held in other countries. Assets still in your own name follow the will or the intestacy rules.

We cannot say, and we promise no tax result. The outcome turns on where you, your beneficiaries and your assets are located, and on how the trust is built and run. The contact trustee's filings with Inland Revenue are separate from your own tax position, which your tax advisers confirm before you sign anything.

Yes. Book a call to go through your family, your assets and what the trust is for. We explain how a New Zealand structure works and what we need from you, and you can bring your own advisers in when you are ready. A quote request is another place to start.

Bring the purpose of the trust, a rough list of assets and where they are held, the people you want to benefit, and the names of your lawyer and tax adviser if you have them. Nothing has to be final at this stage.

Ask how the trustee verifies identity, who handles your trust day to day, how decisions and records are kept, how the annual return is handled, and how fees are quoted. Ask for the answers in writing and compare them with your lawyer's view.