St Kitts trust cost depends on who takes part: the law firm, the trustee, the Registrar of Trusts and your own advisers each bill separately. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust in St Kitts 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 St Kitts 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
Charitable, spendthrift or protective, unit and common trusts[2]
Governing law
Trusts Act (Cap. 5.19), with 2018 and 2019 amending Acts[1]
Trustee requirement
At least one trustee who ordinarily resides in the Federation[3]
Numbers in brackets point to the Sources list at the end of this page.
Set-up fee
Standard trust
USD 11,500
Trust set-up in St Kitts: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed drafted through a partner law firm
Acceptance of trusteeship by a 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.
Before a trust is funded, a handful of professionals do the groundwork. Each keeps to a separate part of it and sends a separate bill.
Law firm. Drafts the deed under the Trusts Act, in the trust type you chose.
Resident trustee. A local trust company that meets the residence condition and vets you first.
Registrar filing. Filing the trust attestation and obtaining the certificate.
Our coordination. Identity papers, the signed deed pack and one checklist of open items.
The set-up fee shown on this page covers the standard scope. Ongoing administration, work tied to events and outside charges are quoted once we review your case. Other figures tell you little until the parties, the assets and the scope of drafting are settled.
Whatever figures an estimate holds are copied from the written terms of the trustee and the law firm, with nothing added by us.
Ongoing trustee and administration costs
People tend to forget the recurring bill. The trustee convenes meetings, signs resolutions, maintains accounts and prepares filings, and charges for the effort.
The assets decide how heavy that effort is. Listed shares and cash are simple to account for; a private company or a property takes longer.
Work is not spread evenly across the years. The first stretch is the busiest, as accounts are opened and assets are transferred.
It rises once more when a beneficiary reaches adulthood, when a family member relocates to a place with different reporting rules, or when the trust is closed.
Find out how often the trustee reviews its charges and how much notice it gives. Find out as well what it bills should you later appoint another trustee.
The written terms should hold those answers, and we ask for them in your name.
If several providers send estimates, weigh their yearly lines as heavily as the opening line. A modest first bill can hide a costly routine.
Third-party costs
A number of costs come from others and appear separately in the estimate. The common ones are:
Government filing and renewal charges, set by the authorities in St Kitts, not by us.
Fees of the 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 charge you directly. We request a fee estimate from each early on, to avoid surprises.
What changes the total
Four factors move the total most, and you can influence most of them.
Trust type. A unit, protective or common trust needs different drafting, which adds to the law firm’s work.
Resident trustee. The condition points you to local trust companies, so compare their written terms line by line.
Kind of assets. Cash is simple. Shares in a private company, property and art need valuations and longer drafting.
Number of parties. Every settlor, beneficiary and protector adds identity checks and records.
A plain design tends to cost less to build and to run, and your lawyer says whether it is enough for your goal.
Do not choose on price. A cheap deed that fails when tested ends up dearer than a careful one.
Suppose the trust holds only a bank balance and listed shares. One trustee, one deed and one filing keep the estimate short.
Bring in a building and a family company, and the estimate adds valuations, more drafting and a longer yearly review, each as its own line.
Ask every provider to price the same list of assets and roles.
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.
Please send three details:
Where you live and where each beneficiary lives.
The assets you expect to move in, in broad terms.
Whether a holding company or a particular trust type is likely.
We send a written estimate with every line set out on its own.
What do I pay for when I set up a trust in St Kitts?
You pay for the law firm that drafts the deed under the Trusts Act, the resident trustee's acceptance work, the filing that brings the Registrar's certificate, and our coordination. Extra structures such as a holding company or a bank account bring their own charges. The trustee's line is shown apart from the law firm's, so you can see who charges for what.
Are there ongoing costs for a trust in St Kitts?
Yes. The resident trustee bills for its yearly work: meetings, resolutions, records and reporting. Any charge from the Registrar of Trusts, a holding company and the bank add lines of their own. Ask the resident trustee to show its yearly line apart from the others.
How do I get a quote for a trust in St Kitts?
Start with the kind of trust you have in mind, such as a spendthrift or charitable trust, and the assets it would hold. Say where the settlor and beneficiaries live. We send a quote that is confirmed once the trustee and the law firm confirm their terms.
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
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