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The Nevis Multiform Foundation Ordinance is a very unique and cutting-edge legislation which was designed to remedy some of the problems seen in other foundation products.

The Nevis Multiform Foundations Ordinance provides that each Nevis Foundation will have a stated ‘multiform’. This means that the constitution of the foundation will state how it is to be treated whether as a trust, a company, a partnership or an ordinary foundation. Through the ‘multiform’ concept the stated identity of the Foundation can be changed during its lifetime, thus allowing for there to be greater flexibility in its use and application. Generally, the Nevis Multiform Foundation product can be used for estate planning, charity, financing and special investment holding arrangements.

There are five basic requirements for establishing a Nevis Multiform Foundation:

1. It must have a Nevis based registered agent
2. It must have a Nevis registered office
3. It must have an acceptable name
4. It must have a management board and secretary and
5. It must have a memorandum of establishment

The Nevis Multiform Foundation Ordinance also provides for entities to be converted or transformed, continued or consolidated and merged into a Nevis Multiform Foundations. Through the process of Continuance, a foundation in another jurisdiction can be continued in Nevis as Multiform Foundation. Through the process of Transformation, any entity outside of Nevis can be transformed into a foundation in Nevis. Therefore, a trust in Jersey can become a multiform foundation in Nevis.

Through the process of Conversion, an existing Nevis entity like an IBC can be converted to a multiform foundation. Through the process of Consolidation or Merger, any two or more entities can merge into a multiform foundation and alternatively, through the process of Discontinuance, a multiform foundation can move to another jurisdiction. These provisions allow for the mobility of the foundations as an entity into and out of Nevis and give the founder an extremely valuable estate planning tool.

The use of the international trust remains an important feature of estate planning.

The Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance provides for the creation of various types of international trusts including Charitable Trust, Non-Charitable Trust, Spendthrift or Protective Trust and Qualified Foreign Trust.

To qualify as an international trust under the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance, the following criteria must be met:

• There must be at least one trustee, which can be a corporation incorporated under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance;
• The Settlor and Beneficiaries must at all times be non-residents of Nevis; and
• The trust property must not include any land situated in St Kitts and Nevis.

There are many important estate planning features of the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance including:

1. An international trust cannot be declared void, voidable or defective by reason of any forced heirship rules of the Settlor’s domicile, residence, place of current incorporation, formation or establishment;
2. The rule against perpetuities does not apply to an international trust and unless otherwise provided, an international trust shall have unlimited duration.
3. Foreign Judgments against the trust are not enforceable in Nevis. Any civil action to recover assets from an international trust must be brought anew in the Courts of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
4. The Ordinance was amended recently to give a trustee additional powers to help achieve the purpose of an international trust by allowing the trustee to combine two or more separate trusts into a single trust or divide a single trust into two or more separate trusts provided that such action does not impair the rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect the purpose of the trust or trusts. Rules governing any such combination or severance are also provided for in the Ordinance.
5. The Ordinance also allows property owned by tenants by the entireties (“TBE”) contributed to an international trust (or to a trust that subsequently becomes an international trust) by married couples to continue to be treated as TBE property. TBE is a form of property ownership for married couples that in many jurisdictions prevents the creditors of only one spouse from attaching to the property. This form of property ownership is severed upon contribution to a trust in the absence of a provision explicitly recognizing its continued existence.
6. The 2015 amendment also expanded the list of authorized trust investments to include such assets approved by the protector so that trustees can hold a wider variety of assets.
7. The sole remedy available to a creditor is to allege fraudulent transfer or disposition. If the Trust is settled after the expiration of one year from the date that the creditor’s cause of action accrued or originated, it is not deemed fraudulent. In any event, a creditor seeking to set aside a transfer to an international trust must prove beyond a reasonable doubt and with clear and convincing evidence that the transfer constituted a fraudulent disposition;
8. A creditor of a beneficiary cannot compel or force a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest in an international trust or compel or force a trustee to exercise the trustee’s discretion to make a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest in an international trust. Neither can a creditor of a beneficiary compel or force a protector to exercise a power to direct a trustee to make such distributions to any beneficiary of an international trust. Furthermore, a trustee is permitted to make payments on behalf of the beneficiary without liability to any creditor.
9. Creditors of a beneficiary of an international trust will have a right to a beneficiary’s interest only in the circumstances where the beneficiary has unfettered control of the trust property and exercises such control. Similarly, creditors will only have a right to a settlor’s interest in an international trust if that settlor has retained a power to revoke the international trust entirely and to appoint the trust property to the settlor, the settlor’s estate, the settlor’s creditors, or the creditors of the settlor’s estate, to the extent the settlor exercised such retained power.

Note that the Ordinance provides for the appointment of a Protector, who is responsible for monitoring the operations of the international trust. This provision allows the Protector to ensure that the purpose of the international trust is fulfilled. The Ordinance was recently amended to clarify the role of the Protector who has the authority to direct a trustee to make and approve distributions made by a trustee or direct the trustee to make particular investments. Statutory protection is also given to the trustee for acting in accordance with the directions of a Protector absent the trustee’s own willful misconduct.

The Proper Law of the international trust is the law of the jurisdiction expressed by the terms of the trust, or failing that, with which the trust at the time it was created had the closer connection. Failing either, then the proper law of the international trust shall be the law of Nevis.

AML/CFT Regulations mandate that the Registered Agent responsible for the registration of an international trust is under an obligation to maintain accurate and updated information on their customers including beneficial owners of the trust. This includes information on the settlor, trustee(s), protector(s) and beneficiaries of the trust. Additionally, the Ordinance provides that all non-criminal judicial proceedings relating to the international trust shall be heard in private and that no details may be published without leave of the court.

A corporation formed under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance (NBCO) is the equivalent of what is commonly termed as an International Business Corporation (IBC). The Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance provides for a corporation to be incorporated to conduct any lawful business. A person interested in incorporating an IBC in Nevis must first engage the services of a registered agent licensed by the Nevis Island Administration with a registered office in Nevis. The legislation stipulates that the office of the registered agent is the registered office of the corporation.

The name of the desired IBC must be submitted to the registered agent, who would instantaneously reserve the name of the IBC using the Nevis Online Registration Module or by contacting the Corporate Registry. Once the name has been reserved, the Nevis IBC can be incorporated by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Registrar of Corporations. If the incorporation documents comply with the NBCO, a certificate of incorporation and/or endorsement certificate certifying the incorporation can be issued.

The benefits of using the Nevis Business Corporation can be summarized as follows:

• The NBCO permits the use of shareholders, officers and directors, who may be of any nationality and who may reside anywhere. Also, a Managing Director may be appointed to guide the corporation’s activities. The Corporate Secretary may be a corporation or an individual. Corporations may serve as directors, and alternate or substitute directors may be appointed. All shareholders and directors may act by unanimous consent, without a meeting and are allowed to issue proxies in writing.
• Corporate and accounting records may be kept but must be readily accessible by the Registered Agent of the corporation and the FSRC – Nevis Branch upon request. Whenever there is a change in beneficial owners, shareholders, directors or officers, this change must be reflected in the records held by the Registered Agent as stipulated in the NBCO and AML/CFT Regulations. AML/CFT On-site Examinations are conducted by the FSRC – Nevis Branch to ensure that Registered Agents comply with these stipulations.
• The authorized share capital of the Nevis IBC may be demonstrated in any recognized currency. The identity of beneficial owners and shareholders are required to be obtained and maintained by the Registered Agent of the corporation.
• With respect to bearer shares, they have been restricted.  Bearer shares are only permitted with the approval of the Registrar of Corporations or the Regulator. The Registered Agent must maintain custody of the bearer share certificate on behalf of the beneficial owner and must maintain a register of each bearer share.  AML/CFT On-site Examinations are conducted by the FSRC – Nevis Branch to ensure that Registered Agents comply with these stipulations.
• Nevis IBCs may amend their Articles of Incorporation, merge or consolidate with foreign corporations or other Nevis corporations, or file Articles of Dissolution in accordance with liberal provisions contained in the NBCO. 
• Additionally, the Ordinance provides that any corporation may re-domicile into or out of Nevis. Companies formed under or that have been re-domiciled or continued under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, can be easily converted into corporations by a simple conversion procedure.  The Ordinance also provides for the emergency transfer of domicile to Nevis upon the approval of the Registrar of Corporations.
• Charges in writing created or entered into by Nevis IBCs can be registered with the Registrar of Corporations.

The Nevis LLC is a business entity that provides an alternative to those who might consider using corporations or partnerships. An LLC formed under the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance (NLLCO) shall be a legal entity with separate rights and liabilities, distinct from its managers or members. Therefore, the LLC shall be liable for its own debts, obligations and liabilities.

An LLC formed in Nevis may be used for any lawful business purpose. It may be used for any legitimate business venture or professional practice including international financing arrangements for US or non-US operations, real estate holdings, manufacturing concerns and as an operational or investment vehicle for international trusts.

The owner of a Nevis LLC is referred to as a member, who may be thought of in the same way as one thinks of partners in a partnership or shareholders in a corporation. Their precise characterisation depends on the nature of the LLC’s management. One or more persons can form a Nevis LLC, such person or persons do not have to be a member of the LLC. The Nevis LLC should have at least one member and such member can be the Manager. Any other person or business entity can also act as Manager. The LLC can be supervised exclusive of the members or by all of the members. Corporations are permitted to act as Managers and/or members. The Nevis LLC does not require the appointment of officers. This allows for there to be flexibility in the management structure.

By virtue of the legislation, a Nevis LLC is required to maintain a registered agent in Nevis. Failure to do this can result in the dissolution of the LLC. A Nevis LLC is formed by filing Articles of Organisation with the Registrar of Companies. No initial capital is required at the formation of a Nevis LLC and the LLC is not required to issue any membership interest to commence operations. The members of a LLC may enter into written “Operating Agreement” but this is not mandatory unless specified by the Articles of Organization. The company’s operation and the rights among the members are defined through the operating agreement.

A foreign LLC (or similar entity) may easily transfer its domicile to Nevis. Other foreign entities, such as corporations, may convert to a Nevis LLC after transferring their domicile under an equally simple process. There is also provision for emergency transfer of domicile into Nevis by application to the Registrar of Companies.