“We feel very strongly that people are entitled to some semblance of financial privacy,” the Premier of Nevis, himself an offshore lawyer, told the British newspaper The Guardian in 2018. “Why shouldn’t you be entitled to a secret?”
The Guardian’s writer, who apparently believes that everybody’s personal finances should be an open book, goes on to lament that a hacker once broke into the Nevis corporate registry, but there was no juicy gossip to be found: “…ownership information is so secret there that even the island’s own corporate registry doesn’t know. In other words, there was nothing substantial to leak.”
If Nevis sounds like just the kind of place you have been looking for to safeguard your own assets from foreign judgments, creditor claims, and political risk, you should know that everything starts and started with a Nevis trust. The Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance (NIETO), the island’s first offshore legislation passed in 1984, provides one of the strongest statutory “firewalls” globally.
Here at Offshore Pro Group, we believe that financial privacy is a human right. In an unstable world, Nevis has been a beacon of continuity, discreetly safeguarding the assets of thousands of families away from prying eyes since 1984. As long as you are not found guilty of a crime in a court of law, and as long as you are not trying to evade taxes, financial privacy should be a basic human right. Nevis law respects this way of thinking.
However, we have one crucial warning: the effectiveness of any Nevis trust depends heavily on how it is designed at the outset. You cannot easily amend trust deeds after they have been created. Unfortunately there are many unqualified and unregulated company formation providers out there who would like to sell you a Nevis trust without really understanding what it’s all about.
Setting up a Nevis trust is a lot more complex than setting up a company. Whilst a company typically uses a boilerplate Memorandum and Articles, Operating Agreement or Bylaws, a trust deed should always be personalized with the help of a knowledgeable and suitably-qualified trust lawyer.
A properly structured Nevis trust can provide multigenerational wealth preservation, creditor immunity, tax efficiency, confidentiality, good banking and brokerage access worldwide, and estate-planning simplicity. A poorly structured trust can create the exact opposite—regulatory risk, unwanted tax exposure, and jeopardized asset protection, melded into a toxic legal structure that no bank will want to touch. It can also lead to unpleasant family feuds, with beneficiaries fighting over unclear terms.
Here at Offshore Pro Group, once you have decided to go ahead with a Nevis trust, the most important part of the procedure is an onboarding meeting with the expert who will be your guide going forward.
Below are the 15 critical questions that an experienced trustee should ask you when preparing to establish a Nevis trust. Each question reflects a core dimension of legal, tax, fiduciary, and practical planning.
1. What Are Your Primary Objectives for the Trust?
A trustee cannot do his job without first understanding why the trust is being established. Common goals include:
- Long-term, multigenerational wealth preservation
- Asset protection from commercial risk, a messy divorce, or political instability in your home country.
- Tax planning (within the bounds of anti-avoidance rules)
- Family governance and succession planning: a more sophisticated alternative to wills, where you can write in more contingencies.
- Confidentiality and privacy
- Simplified probate and cross-border estate administration for families with business and personal interests in multiple jurisdictions.
The structure of the trust—including the use of protectors, enforcers, reserved powers, and underlying LLCs—will always be based on the client’s underlying purpose.
2. Who Is the Settlor, and What Is Their Tax, Legal, and Residency Profile?
The settlor, known as the Grantor under US law, will have jurisdictional ties that directly impact:
- Tax treatment: for example, for US taxpayers it’s essential to understand a grantor vs. non-grantor trust; whereas other major countries like France may have wildly different laws regarding foreign trusts.
- CRS and FATCA classification and reporting.
- Whether the settlor can—or should—retain reserved powers and whether the trust should be revocable or irrevocable.
- Greater or lesser vulnerability to creditor challenges
Our Nevis trust lawyer will need to ascertain:
- Residency and domicile
- Citizenship(s)
- Your source of wealth: a general profile, the big picture and not just related to the assets you are actually putting into the trust.
- Any existing or pending litigation or legal threats. The best case scenario is that you have none. A trust is like insurance, that cannot be bought after disaster strikes.
3. Who Are the Beneficiaries, and Should the Class Be Broad or Specific?
Nevis law allows broad flexibility regarding beneficiaries. Our Nevis trust expert must clarify:
- Primary beneficiaries
- Secondary or contingent beneficiaries
- Inclusion of unborn descendants
- Treatment of future spouses, both your own and your descendants’. (Often excluded)
- Whether classes of beneficiaries can be amended later and by whom.
- Whether distributions will be discretionary, mandatory, or governed by formal guidelines
Getting this right at the beginning reduces the risk of disputes later. The most common form of trust lists family members as beneficiaries, but trusts can also be set up for a purpose – from promoting world peace to looking after your favourite pet after your death.
4. What Assets Will the Trust Hold, and in Which Jurisdictions Are They Located?
Each type of asset triggers different considerations:
- Bank and brokerage accounts – How to set them up, who will have signatory rights, who will make investment decisions now and in the future?
- Underlying Companies – it’s common to use a Nevis LLC to add an additional layer of protection to avoid direct exposure of the trust in the case of any dispute. Ability to compartmentalize different assets into different LLCs.
- Operating companies – Economic substance requirements and how the trust will manage its ownership interest in the case of active companies with their own management.
- Real estate – Local registration, transfer taxes. From Nevis’ point of view, almost any asset can be held in the trust, but many countries have restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate that need to be factored in.
- Shares of private companies – Valuation and shareholder agreements where there are other owners.
- Crypto assets – How is custody and private key management handled, both during and after your lifetime.
- Intellectual property – Royalty flows and licensing, and issues of withholding taxes.
The trust lawyer must verify transferability, chain-of-title issues, and the fraudulent transfer look-back periods.
5. Is the Client Anticipating Any Litigation, Divorce, or Creditor Action?
Nevis trusts are extremely strong against creditor actions, but timing is crucial
Key statutory features of the Nevis Trusts Ordinance include:
- Foreign judgments are unenforceable in Nevis
- Creditors must bring action in Nevis
- They must post a significant bond minimum USD 100,000, increasing depending on the size of the claim
- They must prove beyond reasonable doubt that a transfer was fraudulent
- Statute of limitations is typically 2 years from transfer
A lawyer must determine:
- Whether any claims are reasonably foreseeable
- Whether any assets are already “tainted” and whether these can be ringfenced.
- Whether trust funding should be staged over time – It’s generally better to put all assets into the trust as soon as possible, so they are fully protected. But there are exceptions, for example intellectual property such as patents and new inventions, or shares in a startup.
This is essential to avoid subsequent claims of fraudulent conveyance.
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6. Who Will be the Trustee, and Will There Be Co-Trustees?
Nevis law requires at least one local trustee for an International Exempt Trust. Typically, this will be a local company. You can freely appoint joint trustees, custodial trustees, etc in other jurisdictions and clients often like this route because it gives them greater control – but then again, a trustee in another jurisdiction could be a weak point for asset protection purposes as courts in that other country could take on the case. You should discuss this in detail with your chosen expert.
The trust lawyer must address:
- Whether to appoint other trustees in another jurisdiction
- Mechanisms for trustee succession and changing trustees.
- Circumstances requiring retirement or removal of trustees
- How trustee powers will be supervised (protector oversight, committee structure, private trust company)
- How your Trust will be ringfenced from other trusts on which your trustee also serves.
7. Should a Protector Be Appointed, and What Should Their Powers Be?
The protector, also known as the enforcer, is a cornerstone of modern trust structuring. Nevis law explicitly allows for it. A Protector is often a better alternative to a co-trustee.
A Protector requires no special legal qualifications, and may be a family friend or your trusted legal advisor from home. However, in some countries, being a Protector triggers local reporting requirements. Banks will also want to carry out KYC on protectors. Serving as a Protector can result in automatic reporting under CRS or FATCA. It is, therefore, not a role to be taken lightly.
A popular alternative is to appoint an Independent Professional Protector. Various companies offer this service and it provides a form of checks and balances to watch over the main trustee.
Common protector powers in Nevis trusts include:
- Appointment and removal of trustees
- Approval or veto of distributions
- Ability to add or remove beneficiaries
- Approval of investment policy
- Power to migrate the trust to another jurisdiction
- Oversight of major structural changes
Stronger protector powers typically give the settlor comfort, but may have tax implications if the protector is closely related or if the powers are too “settlor-like.”
8. Should the Settlor Retain Reserved Powers?
Under Nevis law, the settlor may retain significant influence without invalidating the trust. Examples of such retained powers include:
- Directing investments
- Replacing trustees
- Adding or excluding beneficiaries
- Approving distributions
- Changing the proper law or governing jurisdiction
- Even revoking the trust itself.
The lawyer must weigh:
- Asset-protection strength vs. settlor control
- Tax considerations
- Whether the settlor is comfortable relinquishing control in exchange for greater protection.
Ultimately, of course, the client calls the shots. But it is up to the lawyer to make sure the client understands the nuances of settlor control and weighs up the benefits versus the risks.
9. How Will the Trust Be Funded, and Over What Timeframe?
Critical considerations include:
- Whether assets will be transferred immediately or gradually
- Whether ongoing contributions are expected
- Asset valuation at the moment of transfer
- Whether the trust will own an underlying Nevis LLC to act as the primary operating vehicle
The funding plan must align with creditor-claim timelines, tax planning, and the settlor’s long-term liquidity needs.
It’s very common to set up a trust with a nominal amount, comparable to the way a company is set up with initial capital. Many Nevis trusts, for example, are simply set up with $1000 and other assets are added later.
10. What Long-Term Governance Structures Does the Client Want?
Some trusts, especially as the asset base grows, might require governance beyond simply “trustee + protector.”
The lawyer should consider:
- Investment Committees
- Family Councils
- Financial Advisers with mandatory sign-off
- Distribution Committees
- Letters of Wishes addressing philosophy, family values, and long-term intentions
- Mechanisms addressing incapacity of trustees, protectors, or committee members
These frameworks ensure continuity and prevent disputes. The trust deed can allow for these mechanisms to be added later, in order to avoid a bloated and costly structure from day one. But this possibility needs to be considered and discussed when drafting the trust deed.
11. Does the Client Require the Trust to Be a Non-Grantor Trust for Tax Purposes?
This is especially relevant for:
- U.S. persons
- UK residents
- Canadians facing T1135 reporting
- French and Spanish residents subject to anti-abuse rules
- Latin American clients with CFC regimes
- South African residents under robust trust-tax laws
A non-grantor structure generally requires:
- No retained powers resembling ownership
- Completely Independent trustee discretion
- Proper economic separation between settlor and trust
It’s important to note that your Nevis trustee cannot be expected to be intimately familiar with foreign tax systems. In fact, your trust lawyer will not give you any tax advice. However, you and the trustee can jointly agree to obtain legal or tax opinions where necessary, and the trustee will have the necessary contacts to do so.
12. Should the Trust Own a Nevis LLC for Enhanced Asset Protection?
This is one of the strongest Nevis structures:
Nevis Trust → Nevis LLC → Operating companies / assets
Benefits include:
- Charging order protection
- Additional judgment firewall
- Ability to compartmentalize assets into different LLCs
- Flexibility in investment and banking arrangements
- Financial counterparties do not see the Trust name, and don’t even need to know it exists.
- An LLC can carry out commercial activity such as issuing invoices for services.
Often the settlor or protector can serve as LLC manager or hold a limited power of attorney to make investment decisions or manage a specific asset.
13. Are There Cross-Border Estate or Inheritance Tax Exposures?
The lawyer must assess things like:
- UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets for UK-domiciled clients
- French forced-heirship rules (civil law)
- Spanish succession tax
- German anti-avoidance rules
- Latin American residency-based estate taxes
A Nevis trust can legally mitigate forced-heirship—you can override it—but only if properly structured.
In some cases, a trust may need additional entities or situs planning to avoid forced-heirship attack.
We should repeat what we said above: Your Nevis trustee cannot be expected to be intimately familiar with foreign tax systems. In fact, your trust lawyer will not give you any tax advice. However, you and the trustee can jointly agree to obtain legal or tax opinions where necessary, and the trustee will have the necessary contacts to do so.
14. Should the Trust Be Registered in Nevis as a Foreign Trust to Facilitate Portability?
If the client already has a trust such as:
- A U.S. domestic trust
- A UK or Canada trust
- A Panama or Cook Islands structure
Then a conversation about portability is crucial.
Nevis permits a three step process to convert foreign trusts to Nevis trusts:
- Registration of the foreign trust in Nevis
- Migration to Nevis law
- Continuation or re-domiciliation
The lawyer must determine:
- Whether assets move, or the trust itself moves
- Whether the originating jurisdiction imposes exit taxes
- Whether the existing trustee must resign and be replaced by a Nevis trustee
15. Will There Be Loans, Compensation, or Financial Interaction Between the Settlor and the Trust?
Improperly structured loans or compensation are a particular risk. Loans to and from trusts can:
- Create tax problems
- Create creditor vulnerabilities
- Be characterized as “retained control”
- Compromise grantor vs. non-grantor status
Legitimate loan transactions must therefore be:
- Documented
- At arm’s length
- Interest-bearing (if required by the tax regime)
- Properly recorded in trust accounts
Even if there are no loan transactions planned, it’s a good idea to have this discussion at the time you set up the Nevis trust.
Conclusion: Optimal Offshore Asset Protection Depends on a Holistic, Structured Approach
The Nevis International Exempt Trust is one of the most flexible and powerful offshore asset protection structures in the world. But it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Precisely because it is so flexible, the trust must be meticulously tailored to the client’s situation, family dynamics, creditor-risk profile, and long-term governance preferences.
When a trust lawyer asks all the above 15 essential questions—and obtains clear, detailed answers—the result might well be another round of questions. Some questions can simply not be anticipated until the trustee has a clear picture of your circumstances. Don’t worry – this is completely normal. It’s worth investing the time to have an open discussion and get all this right at the beginning.
By contrast, skipping any of these topics can lead to unintended consequences, severely weakened asset protection, or even – in the worst case – to the trust being set aside as invalid.
A Nevis trust, properly structured, is a foundational cornerstone of international wealth planning—one capable of supporting families, entrepreneurs, and cross-border investors for decades or even generations.
EDITOR’S NOTE: After reading this article, some readers might wish to discuss the details of a trust with an expert lawyer BEFORE actually committing to set up the trust. We now, therefore, offer a one hour paid consultation opportunity with the expert before you commit. The fees you pay for the consultation will be applied towards the cost of a new trust, should you decide to go ahead. Please see our paid online consultation offer here.
