Nevis

Why Nevis. Nevis is the second offshore trust jurisdiction most often chosen by American clients, and for some clients the first. Its International Exempt Trust Ordinance, in force since 1994, follows the Cook Islands model closely: a fraudulent-disposition claim that must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, a solvency safe harbor, short limitation periods and a refusal to recognize foreign judgments (see supra ch. 22). Nevis adds three features of its own. A creditor who sues to reach trust property must first post a bond of EC$270,000, about US$100,000. Its limited liability company statute, substantially rewritten in 2017, makes the charging order the exclusive remedy against single-member as well as multi-member companies and limits the order to three years. And Nevis lies in the Eastern Caribbean, in the same time zone as the American East Coast, a few hours by air from Miami. For clients who value proximity and an integrated trust and LLC regime, Nevis is a natural choice.

The jurisdiction. Nevis is the smaller of the two islands that form the Federation of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, an independent Commonwealth realm since 1983. Nevis has its own legislature, the Nevis Island Legislature, consisting of the Crown and the Nevis Island Assembly, and its own administration. Constitution of St Christopher and Nevis 1983, §§ 100–102. The Legislature makes laws, styled Ordinances, on the matters listed in Schedule 5 to the Constitution, which include industries, trades and businesses. Id. § 103 & sched. 5, pt. 1. The Constitution gives Nevis a right to secede, by a bill passed by two-thirds of the elected members of the Assembly and approved by two-thirds of the votes cast in a referendum on the island. Id. § 113. In a referendum held on August 10, 1998, 2,427 votes (about 61.8 percent) were cast in favor of secession and 1,498 against, short of the two-thirds required, and the proposal failed. Nevis's financial services are regulated by the Nevis branch of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, a federal body. The legal system is based on English common law, and the courts are those of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, with final appeal to the Privy Council (see infra ¶ 2360).

Scope of the chapter. This chapter applies the framework of chapter 21 to Nevis. It examines the International Exempt Trust Ordinance (see infra ¶ 2310), the fraudulent-disposition rule (see infra ¶ 2320), the bond and other barriers to litigation (see infra ¶ 2330), settlor powers, protectors and duress (see infra ¶ 2340), the Nevis LLC (see infra ¶ 2350), the courts, cases and constitution (see infra ¶ 2360), regulation, transparency and U.S. reporting (see infra ¶ 2370) and structuring with Nevis (see infra ¶ 2380), and closes with Nevis in the Threat Matrix (see infra ¶ 2390).

Sources. The provisions described here are drawn from the consolidated revised editions of the Ordinances published by the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (Nevis Branch), and from the amending ordinances published since. Section numbers in the revised editions differ from the original numbering, and older secondary sources cite the original numbers: the fraudulent-disposition section, for example, was originally section 24 and is now section 26. A 2020 consultation draft of a replacement trust ordinance used different numbering again; there is no record of its enactment. The Commission continues to publish Cap. 7.03(N) as the governing text, and the fee regulations made in December 2024 recite section 64 of Cap. 7.03(N) as their authority. Nevis International Exempt Trust (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024, S.R.O. No. 12 of 2024 (N), pmbl. The draft's numbers should not be cited. The planner should obtain the current text and an opinion from Nevis counsel before relying on any provision.

The suitable client. Nevis suits the same client as the Cook Islands: a solvent client with substantial liquid assets beyond the client's needs, a realistic risk of large future claims and the willingness to give up control to an independent trustee (see supra ¶ 2210.07). Within that group, Nevis has particular appeal for clients in the eastern United States and Latin America who value a trustee in their own time zone and a short flight away, for clients who want a single jurisdiction for both trust and LLC, and for clients whose dominant threat is a well-funded commercial creditor, against whom the bond and the three-year charging order limit are most effective. It is less suitable for a client who places the highest weight on a long public record of judicial decisions, where the Cook Islands has the advantage (see supra ¶ 2280.06).