Let’s cut to the number you’re actually here for: a Cook Islands trust can cost anywhere from USD $5,000 to $150,000+ to set up, with most people landing somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000, plus roughly $6,000 to $20,000 or more a year to maintain.

That’s a genuinely wide range, and it’s wide for good reason – it depends on which route you take, how complex your situation is, and how you plan to use the structure once it’s built. Stick with us and we’ll walk through exactly what drives that number.

One thing worth being upfront about: the fee for actually drafting and structuring your trust is set by whichever attorney (or other provider) you work with, not by us. What we can speak to with real confidence is the pattern we consistently see across our network of 200+ preferred partner attorneys – mostly U.S. asset protection and estate planning specialists. Southpac established the first licensed trustee company in the Cook Islands back in 1982, and roughly one in three Cook Islands trusts in existence today was set up through us. So when we talk cost, we’re describing what we see play out across a genuinely meaningful share of the jurisdiction – not quoting you a price ourselves.

The Quick Breakdown

Setup – one-time cost

A quick but important note on that top row: it’s genuinely possible to set up a trust for less by going through a non-attorney provider or dealing with a trustee company directly. We just don’t recommend it without independent legal advice – an offshore trust is a serious piece of legal structuring, and a good attorney is what makes sure it actually holds up when it matters. Most people we work with go through an attorney, which is why the $30,000-$40,000 band is what we see most often.

Ongoing – annual cost

Add it up and a standard trust typically runs $6,000 to $20,000 or more a year, scaling up from there for anything more complex. We’ll break each of these down below.

Why Is the Range So Wide?

Because “set up a trust” can mean wildly different things depending on who’s asking. A simple trust holding a brokerage account is a different job entirely from one supporting a complex international business, multiple asset classes, or a multi-generational succession plan – and the fee reflects that difference honestly.

Most people land in the $30,000-$40,000 bracket. That covers the majority of trusts set up through our network: a standard structure, often paired with a Nevis LLC, funded with cash, securities, or a straightforward business interest.

It’s also worth knowing that, jurisdiction for jurisdiction, Cook Islands and Nevis trusts tend to come in lower on both setup and annual fees than comparable structures in jurisdictions like the BVI, Cayman Islands, Jersey, or Guernsey – one more reason they’re such well-established choices for asset protection specifically, rather than just a cheaper alternative for its own sake.

What Actually Drives the Fee?

There isn’t one single reason trust costs vary so much – it’s usually some mix of these:

• The attorney’s own level of experience and expertise. More on this below – it’s a bigger factor than people expect.
• How complex the structure is, including tax complexity.
• How much ongoing support the attorney provides after the trust is established, not just at setup.
• The level of risk involved, including whether there’s ongoing or potential litigation, and whether the situation is high-profile.
• Local market rates – attorney fees vary by region like any other legal service.
• How much wealth is actually being protected.

That first factor – experience and expertise – is worth sitting with for a moment, because it’s often misunderstood.

Once you’re paying toward the higher end of the range, it’s frequently less about the trust itself being more legally complicated, and more about who’s drafting it. Think of an attorney who works almost exclusively with professional athletes, for example – someone who’s handled dozens of pro sports contracts, understands the income patterns and timing pressures of a short, high-earning career, and knows exactly what that client needs almost before they’ve finished explaining it.

The same goes for attorneys focused on entertainers, or business owners in a specific high-litigation industry – or, just as often, attorneys who specialize in high-value estate planning, drafting trust agreements with complex tax provisions designed to save their clients millions of dollars in estate taxes. Putting something like that together well is its own genuinely specialized skill, and it commands a premium accordingly. That kind of deep, specific expertise – combined with the “high-profile” risk factor above – is a big part of why some engagements run well past $50,000.

The Ongoing Fees, in Detail

Setup is a one-off fee, but a trust needs looking after once it exists. Here’s what that actually involves.

Trustee administration typically runs $5,000 to $15,000 a year for a standard trust, depending on the trustee and what the trust is actually used for. Trusts involved in frequent transactions or ongoing/potential litigation can run $30,000 or more annually – the trustee is doing meaningfully more work in those cases. Some trustees charge this as a simple all-inclusive flat fee; others charge a base fee plus time for any transactional work, so it’s worth asking upfront which model you’re dealing with. Where the trust holds a bank account, trustee fees can often be drawn directly from it, so you’re not necessarily paying this out of pocket separately.

A referrer liaison fee is one people don’t always expect. Some professional referrers charge an ongoing annual fee (up to around $5,000, plus transactional costs) for liaising with the trustee on your behalf. Others have no ongoing involvement after setup and charge nothing further. Worth clarifying with whoever refers you which camp they fall into.

CPA fees add an incremental $1,000 to $2,000 on top of whatever you already pay your CPA, specifically for offshore trust tax reporting – Form 3520 for transfers and distributions, and Form 3520-A for the trust’s own return. These aren’t optional, and the penalties for skipping them are steep: the greater of $10,000 or 35% of the transferred amount for a missed 3520. Worth stressing: this is a compliance cost, not tax owed. For most US clients, a properly structured Cook Islands trust is a grantor trust for U.S. tax purposes, so you’re taxed exactly as if the trust didn’t exist.

If there’s a Nevis LLC and bank account involved, there’s registered agent and standard account-keeping costs on top of all the above.

If the Trust Holds a Managed Bank Account

This is a cost dimension that’s easy to miss because it isn’t a flat fee – it scales with what’s actually in the account.

If the account needs an investment manager, the typical fee for an SEC-registered manager is around 1.2% of assets under management per year, generally collected directly from the account rather than billed separately. That rate is usually negotiable for accounts of US$3 million or more. Not every offshore bank account needs an investment manager, so this won’t apply to everyone.

Offshore banks also tend to charge custodial fees of around 0.3% of assets under management per year, again typically drawn directly from the account and negotiable for larger balances.

For context – and this is genuinely ballpark, indicative only, and not a guarantee of anything – balanced, professionally managed investment accounts through the advisors we work with have returned around 7% annually on average over the past ten years. Past performance doesn’t predict future results, but it’s a useful reference point when weighing the ongoing cost of a managed account against what it’s actually been earning.

Is It Actually Worth the Cost?

That depends entirely on what you’re protecting – genuinely a personal calculation, not a universal answer.

Timing is the single biggest factor in whether the trust holds up at all. Set up while things are calm, and you’re on solid ground. Wait until a demand letter or lawsuit is already on the table, and any transfer risks being unwound as fraudulent. The people who get the most value here act years before any dispute they can see coming.

It’s also worth being honest about fit. If your assets are modest or your risk is genuinely low, the ongoing fees might just not be worth it – and a good attorney will tell you that plainly.

Getting started, practically speaking, means a drafted deed, a selected trustee, and funding documentation for whatever you’re moving in. We’ve laid out exactly what that looks like in our how-to-set-up guide, and if you’re still weighing whether this makes sense for you at all, is a Cook Islands trust worth it goes deeper on who really benefits. If a domestic asset protection trust is also on your radar, our Cook Islands vs. DAPT comparison is worth a read before deciding on price alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Cook Islands trust cost?

Setup can range from USD $5,000 through non-attorney or direct-trustee routes up to $150,000+ for complex, specialist structuring – most people land between $30,000 and $40,000 with a standard attorney-drafted trust. Ongoing costs typically run $6,000 to $20,000+ a year, depending on trustee fees, CPA reporting, and any referrer liaison fee.

What’s included in the fees?

Setup covers attorney (or provider) drafting, trustee setup, and, if applicable, a companion Nevis LLC. Ongoing fees cover trustee administration, incremental CPA costs for trust tax reporting, any referrer liaison fee, and LLC or banking maintenance – plus investment manager and custodial fees if the trust holds a managed bank account.

Why such a wide range?

Attorney experience and expertise, structural and tax complexity, the level of ongoing support provided, how much risk is involved (including litigation and how high-profile the situation is), local market rates, and the amount of wealth being protected all factor in.

Are there costs after setup?

Yes – typically $6,000 to $20,000+ a year for a standard structure, separate from the one-time establishment cost, and potentially more if the trust holds a managed investment account or is involved in frequent transactions.

Is it worth it?

Usually, yes, if you’ve got meaningful litigation or creditor exposure and you act before any dispute arises. Less so if your risk is genuinely low or your assets are modest.

Get in Touch

The ranges above are a starting point, not a quote – your attorney (or chosen provider) sets and quotes their own drafting fee, and we can only speak directly to the trustee side.

If you’re an attorney, advisor, or other professional interested in setting up an entity or partnering with us – enquire here.

If you’re an individual exploring this for yourself, enquire here and we’ll forward you to one of our trusted, experienced preferred partners.