Nevis Trust

Nevis Trusts

Nevis Trust Ordinance 1994 is the current international trust law in Nevis. International trusts are used by individuals, families and corporations for many reasons, more particularly for estate, succession and tax planning, for protection against spendthrift habits and for privacy (the content of a trust are not public).

When a trust is used in place of a will, the wishes of the settlor can be carried out privately, without the high cost and time of the probate process. Unlike a will, the details of the offshore trusts are not public information.

Nevis trusts can be set up as revocable or irrevocable trusts, each with preferential uses. The irrevocable trust is better suited for asset protection purposes as it is an international trust that cannot be withdrawn (annulled, reversed, repealed, overturned) or changed easily. On the other hand, the revocable trust is better for estate planning as the settlor can change or amend or cancel the trust at will. The revocable Nevis trust is not the best option if the main purpose of the offshore trust is for asset protection since, by interpretation, the settlor changes the details or cancels the trust at any time, and the ownership of the assets can easily be reverted to the settlor.

Nevis Trust Features

Nevis Exempt International Trusts:

• Can be used for any legal purpose (outside of Nevis)
• can hold various types of assets in its name, such as IBC shares
• Have minimal administration requirements
• Can be formed in under a week
• Can be a charitable, non-charitable or spendthrift trust
• Allow revocable and irrevocable trust

Nevis Trust Benefits

All Nevis Offshore Trusts benefit from:

• Total tax exemptions
• Stamp duty exemptions
• Low annual maintenance fees
• Strong legislation protecting trust interests

Nevis Trusts Requirements

• The trust can be created by a minimum of one person or corporate body
• The trusts must have a minimum of one beneficiary who is identified by name, or reference to a class, or reference to a relationship
• Trust should have a minimum of one trustee; the trustee may be a beneficiary, the settlor, the protector and may be an individual or corporate trustee; In Nevis, one of the trustees must be either a Nevis Company or a trust company doing business in Nevis
• Trustees shall maintain (non public) accounts that reflects all matters of income and expenditure, sales and purchases
• The settlor and the beneficiaries are at all times non- resident; trust property can not include local property
• A trust protector can be appointed if needed; the protector can be the settlor, trustee or beneficiary
• All trusts must have appointed a local registered agent and a registered address

Nevis Trust Formation

The application document for Nevis trust formation is a prescribed Registration application. This application should contain:

• The prescribed fees
• A certificate of Trust declaration
• The name of the trust
• The purpose of the trust
• Duration of trust
• Date of creation
• Laws of settlement
• Settlor name, address
• Beneficiaries names and addresses
• The name and address of the registered office

After successful formation, a Certificate of Registration for the offshore trust is prepared by the registry. The existence of the trust is registered and legitimatized in the process but the instructions and the content of the trust, in the form of a trust deed are known only to settlor and who the settlor deems necessary.

Offshore Trusts Purposes and Uses

Offshore trusts provide sound asset protection as the property placed into a trust is legally separate from the settlor (the creator) and no longer makes up part of the settlor’s estate; assets in the trust cannot be included in any matters concerning the settlor’s estate such as divorce settlements, lawsuit settlements, or other claims.

Trusts are widely used in common law territories for estate, succession and tax planning, for protection against spendthrift habits and for privacy (the content of a trust are not public). Whenever a trust is used in place of a will, the wishes of the settlor can be carried out privately and without the high cost and time that come with the probate of wills. Unlike a will, the details of trusts are NOT public information.

Nevis Trust Package with Trustee Service from  $1440