What is a Nevis trust

The four roles

A Nevis trust is a relationship rather than a legal entity. Nothing is incorporated. What exists is a set of obligations recorded in a deed, governed by the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance 1994 and owed by the trustee to the beneficiaries. Four roles carry the structure.

The mechanism is the same as the Cook Islands: the settlor owns nothing in the transferred assets, so a creditor pursuing the settlor is pursuing someone who no longer holds what the creditor wants. A discretionary interest held by a beneficiary is an expectancy rather than property that can be attached.

What the settlor gives up and keeps

After transfer, the settlor owns nothing in the trust assets. They cannot demand a distribution, instruct the trustee on investments directly, or compel any particular outcome. What they keep is influence: through a non-binding letter of wishes expressing preferences, through any powers explicitly reserved in the deed, and through the choice of protector who oversees the trustee.

Retained control is the structural error that has undone offshore trusts in US courts. The Cook Islands cases — Anderson, Lawrence — both involved settlors who retained routes back to the assets. The Nevis statute does not protect a settlor who retained practical control any more than the Cook Islands statute does. Genuine transfer to a genuinely independent trustee is the mechanism in both jurisdictions.

The trustee's independence

The Nevis trustee must be licensed under Nevis law. They hold legal title to the assets, owe fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries, and are the party who refuses a repatriation order when one arrives. Their independence from the settlor is what makes that refusal credible: a trustee who would follow the settlor's instruction when pressured is a trustee through whom the settlor's control is effectively preserved.

Unlike the Cook Islands, which has approximately ten licensed trustees in a concentrated and closely regulated market, the Nevis trustee market is much larger. Hundreds of companies hold licences. This creates more competitive pricing but requires more careful selection. Not every licensed Nevis trustee has the institutional depth to hold its position when a serious creditor applies pressure. See choosing a Nevis trustee.

The creditor bond and limitation framework

Two features of the Nevis framework work together to make challenges expensive. First, the creditor bond: before commencing any proceedings against a Nevis trust, a creditor must post a bond of approximately EC$20,000. If the challenge fails, the bond pays the trustee's costs. This is a procedural requirement that exists nowhere in the Cook Islands framework.

Second, the limitation period: a fraudulent transfer claim must be brought within two years of the transfer, and the creditor must prove their case beyond reasonable doubt on two separate limbs. The combination of the bond, the limitation period, and the criminal standard of proof makes Nevis proceedings expensive and uncertain for any creditor considering them. See the creditor bond and the limitation period for the full analysis.

Nevis vs Cook Islands structurally

Both jurisdictions use the same core mechanism: discretionary trust, independent trustee, non-recognition of foreign judgments, and a high standard of proof for fraudulent transfer claims. The Cook Islands has more reported case law. Nevis has the creditor bond. Nevis costs less. The Cook Islands statute has been tested by the FTC. These are real differences, not marketing claims. See the full comparison for the analysis that decides between them.

General information, not legal advice. See formation and cost for the practical next steps.