Jurisdictions · Structures

Private Trust Company: What It Is and Where to Set One Up

Updated 20 October 2026 · 9 places · 26 general sources plus each place's own · ✓ How we check

How a PTC works

In a trust, the trustee holds legal title to the assets and takes the decisions, for the beneficiaries. A family can give that job to a bank or a licensed trust company, or to a company of its own. Law firms define a PTC as a company formed solely to act as trustee of a specific trust or group of trusts, which is not a commercial trustee providing services to other clients. [1, 2]

The board usually mixes family members, trusted advisers and professionals. [1, 3] Mourant notes that BVI law sets no rules on who may be a director, but that an experienced trust practitioner on the board can be an advantage. [4]

Who owns the PTC matters too. Shares held by a family member are part of that person's estate, which can cause difficulties on death, divorce or insolvency, Ocorian says. Law firm guides therefore usually describe the shares as held by a purpose trust, a trust with no beneficiaries that exists for a stated purpose, or by a foundation. Mourant adds that a purpose trust lets the ownership of the PTC be perpetual. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

PTC, professional trustee or foundation

When a PTC makes sense, and when it does not

Reasons law firms give for a PTC:

• Control. Ogier calls the additional element of control the key advantage; Carey Olsen says the family keeps greater control over the trustee's decisions. [2, 5]
• Family assets that need special knowledge. Walkers names a privately held business as an example, and Carey Olsen families that want alternative or high-risk investments, which a more risk-averse licensed or individual trustee may be less inclined to make. [1, 5]
• Continuity. Legal title stays with the PTC throughout, while staff at licensed trustees can change. [1, 5]
• Confidentiality and speed. Ocorian cites the need for confidentiality, and Ogier says a PTC allows rapid commercial decisions. [2, 3]

Reasons against:

• Set-up cost. Ogier and Suntera both call it the main disadvantage. On running costs, Ogier says annual costs are often significantly lower than with a public trust company. [2, 8]
• Work and friction. Katten warns that compliance and reporting can be a burden without expert help, and that family control of decisions can lead to infighting. [9]
• Liability. Walkers notes that in a breach of trust claim the liability sits with the PTC itself and is harder to pass on to its directors, which can be attractive to directors and less so to beneficiaries. [1]

None of the law firm guides we read gives a cost range for setting one up. One old benchmark from the United States: in 2013 the director of South Dakota's banking division told the Minneapolis Fed that, by a rule of thumb he had heard, a family needs $200 million to $250 million in assets to make a PTC worthwhile. [10]

Where you can set one up: 9 places

We checked all 37 places in our database. These 9 have a rule for PTCs in their law or from their regulator; in Switzerland it is the general exemption for family ties, which the Financial Institutions Ordinance extends to a trustee controlled by a person with family ties. Each place links to its guide, where the full rule is set out with numbered sources.

Each row is a one-line summary. Fees are as the official texts state them, in the currency they name; where a text prints only "$", so do we. Reported means a law firm or another reliable source, not an official one.

Places we left out

• Dubai (DIFC). The DFSA's rules as made in 2013 said a PTC that serves only a single family, and does not offer trust services outside it, is not providing trust services by way of business. We could not open the current rulebook to confirm today's wording, so DIFC is not in the table. [11]
• Cyprus and Mauritius. Service providers describe a licence-free route for family PTCs (Trident Trust for Cyprus, Sunibel for Mauritius), but we did not find it in the official texts we could open. [12, 13]
• Hong Kong. The Companies Registry says a company that acts only as trustee of a private family trust still needs a trust or company service provider licence if it acts by way of business, which is a question of fact. [14]
• The other places, including Abu Dhabi (ADGM), Liechtenstein and the UK: we found no rule specific to PTCs.

How to set one up, step by step

1. Choose the place. The table above shows what each one asks of a PTC.
2. Decide who owns the PTC. A purpose trust or a foundation is usual; Ocorian says the choice depends on family dynamics and tax considerations. [3]
3. Choose the board. Some places add rules: Cayman requires a natural person among the directors, and The Bahamas a Special Director with at least five years' relevant experience, with some exceptions (see the Cayman and Bahamas guides).
4. Register, notify or apply. In Cayman the PTC registers with CIMA; in Bermuda it notifies the BMA within three months; in Guernsey it applies for a limited permission; in the BVI and Singapore the rules we read set no filing with the regulator.
5. Appoint the local firm where required. For example a registered office at a trust licensee (Cayman), a registered agent with a Class I trust licence (BVI) or a registered trust company business to administer it (Jersey).
6. Make the PTC trustee of the family's trusts, under each trust deed.
7. Run it properly. Simcocks stresses corporate formalities: accounts, minutes of meetings and records of the trust powers used. [15]

Timing varies. Conyers (2020) gives about three to four business days for a registered PTC in Cayman, and Ogier (2023) says one can be set up there in a matter of days in most cases. A US trust company charter takes about five to nine months, according to a 2021 article by David Peterson of American Fiduciary Solutions. [16, 17, 18]

Risks

• Too much control by the settlor. Simcocks, an Isle of Man law firm, warns that family directors must not act as mere nominees of the settlor and recommends that the settlor and family be a minority on the board. Conyers says family involvement does not affect the validity of the trust provided the PTC is run properly, with all formalities observed. [15, 16]
• Tax residence. Simcocks notes that who sits on the board, and where it is managed and controlled, can matter for the PTC's tax residence. Where the board really meets and decides is a question for tax advisers in every country involved. [15]
• Directors' duties. Ogier says directors' duties are owed to the PTC, not to the trust; Carey Olsen says directors and members benefit from the corporate veil, and that without dishonesty or obligations they take on personally it is ordinarily very difficult to make them liable. [2, 5]
• Yearly filings. Several places ask for an annual declaration or certificate: Cayman by 31 January, The Bahamas by 31 January, Bermuda by 31 March. Jersey has required PTCs to register for anti-money laundering supervision since 2023 (see each place guide).

United States: family trust companies

In the United States, several states have laws for trust companies that serve one family. They include South Dakota (private trust companies, supervised by the Division of Banking), Wyoming (the Wyoming Chartered Family Trust Company Act, in force since 1 July 2015), Nevada (family trust companies under chapter 669A), New Hampshire (the Family Trust Company Act, RSA chapter 383-D, 2015), Delaware (a family trust company charter under SB 327, signed on 13 July 2026) and Texas (an exemption from some trust company rules for family-owned trust companies with only family clients, in Finance Code section 182.011). [19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24] South Dakota publishes its terms: a $5,000 application fee, capital of at least $200,000 and a yearly supervision fee of $3,750 to $20,000 (2022). [25] See also our United States guide.

Questions

Sources

General sources for this page. The rules for each place, with their own numbered sources, are in the place guides linked from the table.

1. Jersey trust law series: private trust companies (PTCs). Walkers, 13 May 2026.
2. The use of Private Trust Companies. Ogier, 2022.
3. Five key questions to consider before setting up a Private Trust Company. Ocorian, 11 December 2024.
4. British Virgin Islands: Private Trust Companies. Mourant, 20 February 2026.
5. The Bermuda Private Trust Company Guide. Carey Olsen, 12 March 2019.
6. Structuring options for holding wealth in Guernsey. Carey Olsen, 11 July 2025.
7. Fundamentals: Family ownership vehicles. PwC Middle East, October 2020.
8. Managing wealth with a Private Trust Company. Suntera Global (Russell Bedford), February 2022.
9. PTC Me ASAP: Estate Planning with Private Trust Companies. Katten Muchin Rosenman, 6 December 2022.
10. Money, and more money: Public and private trusts. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, fedgazette, 26 February 2013.
11. DFSA General Rule-making Instrument (No. 119) 2013, General Module (GEN), Rule 2.3.5 (copy hosted by ICNL). Dubai Financial Services Authority, 13 June 2013. official
12. Cyprus Key Facts: Cyprus International Trusts. Trident Trust, August 2026.
13. Private Trust Company in Mauritius: Guide 2026. Sunibel, January 2026.
14. Frequently Asked Questions on trust companies (question 5). Companies Registry, Hong Kong (Registry for Trust and Company Service Providers), 9 May 2018. official
15. Private Trust Companies: Isle of Man (Phil Games, Simcocks). Mondaq, 22 March 2021.
16. Cayman Islands Private Trust Companies. Conyers, June 2020.
17. Private Trust Companies in the Cayman Islands. Ogier, 18 April 2023.
18. Is a Private Family Trust Company Right for Your Client? (David Peterson). WealthManagement.com, 29 March 2021.
19. Trust companies. South Dakota Division of Banking, accessed 20 October 2026. official
20. 2015 HB0061, Enrolled Act No. 55: Wyoming Chartered Family Trust Company Act. Wyoming Legislature, 2015. official
21. Nevada Administrative Code, Chapter 669A: Family Trust Companies. Nevada Legislature, 13 April 2026. official
22. RSA 383-D:1-102, Family Trust Company Act: Scope. New Hampshire General Court, 2015. official
23. SB 327: An Act relating to family trust companies (153rd General Assembly). Delaware General Assembly, 13 July 2026. official
24. Bill analysis, S.B. 875 (84th Legislature, enrolled), on Finance Code section 182.011. Texas Legislature, Senate Research Center, 2015. official
25. Private Trust Company Mandates (rev. 07/2022). South Dakota Division of Banking, July 2022. official
26. Structuring It Right: Asian Family Offices. Ogier, 27 March 2017.

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