Offshores and Offshore Trusts

Offshore trusts are considered the best asset protection instrument available on the market. Usually, the asset protection trust is an irrevocable trust established in one of the jurisdictions that adopted a specific asset protection legislation. The irrevocability of the trust means that the assets don’t belong to the settlor anymore. Thus, the creditors cannot reach them. In addition, asset protection legislation in the best offshore jurisdiction ensures that the threshold for challenging the legality of establishing trust and transferring money is high enough to prevent any unwarranted legal attacks on trusts, their settlors, and beneficiaries.

However, not all offshore jurisdictions are created equal. Moreover, the offshore world is rapidly changing under the pressure of the USA, EU, and other countries, which launched a broad campaign against money laundering and tax evasion more than ten years ago. As a result, more and more offshore jurisdictions are reporting the tax information to other countries. For the American citizens and other US tax residents, the exchange of tax information takes place under the guidelines of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) . 

To those who are not US tax residents, the exchange of the tax information is going along the lines of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) . Over 100 countries pledged to exchange the tax information under numerous multilateral and bilateral treaties drafted along the lines of the CRS.

The world became much more transparent. However, offshore trusts still have many advantages for those who do not hide assets but want to protect them from unwarranted lawsuits and create a structure to transfer wealth to their heirs.

Nevis Offshore Jurisdiction

Nevis and the Cook Islands are the two best jurisdictions for setting up an asset protection trust. In its turn, the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance of 1994 is one of the most advanced and comprehensive laws on trusts.

Among other things, Nevis as an offshore trust jurisdiction has the following benefits:

-stable democratic political and legal system;

-stable currency (Eastern Caribbean dollar);

-developed banking system;

-many local and international trust companies;

-Kitts and Nevis has a famous citizenship by investment program.

The Nevis Legal System

The Nevis legal system is one of the most modern, advanced, and comprehensive. It aims at providing the trust settlors and beneficiaries with the best legal protection and most comprehensive regulations. Like the Cook Islands legislation, the Nevis legal system seeks to create the best environment for forming trusts, offshore companies and promoting investment activities.

Some of the most important Nevis legal system features are:

-Kitts and Nevis legal system is based on British common law.

-Lawyers from the UK can represent clients in litigation in Nevis.

-The Nevis courts do not recognize foreign judgments.

-Robust protection of the confidential information on trusts registered in Nevis;

-There is no rule against perpetuities, allowing the trust established in Nevis to run with no time limits;

-Attorney’s contingency fees are prohibited, which means that the creditor will have to pay part of the attorney’s fees in advance and the rest along the process;

-The only way to challenge the legality of the trust is to file a complaint in the Nevis court.

-To successfully attack the Nevis trust, one should prove fraudulent intent.

-The fraudulent intent must be proven “beyond reasonable doubt” – the highest standard usually used in criminal justice (in civil cases, the standard of proof is by “a preponderance of the evidence”).

-The statute of limitation is short (the timeframe to bring the lawsuit): not more than two years of the cause of action.

How to Form a Nevis Trust?

We frequently travel to Nevis and have personal connections with the best attorneys and trust companies’ managers. We can help you form a trust in Nevis, as well as registering a company and opening a bank account in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Setting up a trust in Nevis means writing a trust agreement (trust deed), picking up a trustee, registering the trust, and taking care of other related issues. Usually, it is also good to register a company under the trust and open a bank account.

Get in touch with us if you need help in forming an asset protection trust in Nevis. We can assist you in every step of the process, from drafting the trust agreement through registering the trust, opening a bank account, and providing the post-registration services in Nevis.