How this is worked out
What will your trust really cost to run?
Pick a place, list what you own and who runs it: the yearly cost as a range.
Also show the cost in. At the site’s own exchange rate, used for every money-to-bring figure.
Cash and investments: value today. Zero if none.
Home you live in: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Home you live in: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Second home: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Second home: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Rental property: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Rental property: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Second rental property: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Second rental property: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Business: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Business: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Land, art or other: value today. Zero if you do not own one.
Land, art or other: fee to someone who runs it day to day. Zero if nobody does.
Who is the trustee?. A family trustee: lowest cost, but where the law wants a licensed local company its minimum fee is added. A trust company that holds the assets keeps the records and signs. One that does it all also picks the investments.
Who picks the investments?. A paid adviser charges a yearly percentage of the investments. A trust company that does it all picks them itself.
What kind of funds?. Index funds cost about 0.09% to 0.14% a year, a mix about 0.14% to 0.38% (our blend), managed funds about 0.36% to 0.40%.
Your own numbers. Quotes you have replace the estimates below.
Investment income a year. Used only for the cash flow. Your own estimate.
Trust company yearly quote. Leave empty to use the price lists.
Adviser fee quote. Leave empty to use the price lists.
Valuing a property, high, a year. Our estimate.
Valuing a business, high, a year. Our estimate.
The trust company charges its percentage on. Companies differ. “Investments only” adds BOK Financial’s property holding fee (0.60% directed, 1.20% managed) or US$1,000 a line (JTC).
How the money moves in a year. Each property and business pays its own costs and its own manager first. Only what is left goes to the trust. Not included: income tax on what the trust earns, deeds and transfer taxes when assets move in, the closing fee some companies charge at the end (up to 1% at BOK Financial), outside lawyers’ hours, and the time family spend.
Where the cost comes from. The bar is the high end of each layer. Each figure is a range from low to high. “Price lists” are companies’ own schedules (BOK Financial 2026, JTC South Dakota Trust Company).
Things to know about South Dakota. Items outside the trust net −US$15,000 a year. That goes to you, not the trust.
The same trust in other places. Scores out of 5 are our place rankings, research judgments from statutes, court cases and provider pages.
What the fee figures cover, and the evidence behind them
| South Dakota | Nevada | Isle of Man | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the fee figure covers | South Dakota trust: one trustee's set-up and yearly fee, plus a law firm's drafting and yearly range; excludes investment and tax fees. | Nevada asset protection trust: law-firm set-up (legal drafting) and yearly administration; trustee fee coverage not stated. | Isle of Man trust: one licensed trustee's minimum settlement fee and minimum yearly fee including regulatory reporting; no upper range. |
| Evidence behind it | Provider and law-firm price lists | Provider and law-firm price lists | Provider and law-firm price lists |
What changes if you move things in or out. Same place (South Dakota), same trustee, different choices of what goes inside.
What inside and outside mean for each kind of asset. These notes are our reading of law-firm and trust-company descriptions.
What inside and outside mean for each kind of asset
| Kind | Inside the trust | Outside |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and investments | Under the trustee’s control. This is the part an adviser is paid on. | Stays in your name. No trust fees, and none of the trust’s protection or shortcuts at death. |
| Home you live in | Possible, but lenders, property tax rules and homestead protections differ by place. Many families keep it outside. | Simple to keep. Gets none of the trust’s protection. |
| Second home | Often held through a company the trust owns. Adds a holding fee, a yearly return in some cases, and a yearly value. | Stays yours personally. A claim against you can reach it. |
| Rental property | Usually held through a company the trust owns, so a tenant’s claim reaches the company first. The manager is paid from the rent before the trust sees it. | Income comes to you, and a claim against you can reach the property. |
| Business | South Dakota lets an adviser value private assets and relieves the trustee of a duty to look into a family business. Nevada forms name a separate “special holdings” adviser. Net income flows up to the trust. | You own it and its income personally. Creditors of yours can reach the shares. |
| Land, art or other | Held the same way as other property. Needs a yearly value. | Stays yours personally. |
Where the numbers come from. Trust company fees: BOK Financial 2026 schedule (directed 0.50%, 0.40%, 0.35% on the first US$1 million, the next US$2 million, then the rest; managed 0.65%, 0.53%, 0.48%; US$5,000 to US$6,000 minimums) and JTC South Dakota Trust Company (about 0.10% directed, 0.20% to 0.50% managed, US$1,000 per line item, about US$5,500 minimum). Both are price lists from companies that sell the service; they are the companies’ own claims.
Where the numbers come from. Place fees, minimums and setup: our cost records for each place, most from provider price lists. Where a place has no fee in the list the calculator says so and uses the US schedule.
Where the numbers come from. Adviser fees: 1.00% to 1.25% on the first US$1 million, 0.75% to 1.00% up to US$5 million, 0.50% to 0.75% above (Investormint 2026 and a Commons sample), applied band by band.
Where the numbers come from. Fund costs: Investment Company Institute 2025 (index funds about 0.09% to 0.14%, managed funds about 0.36% to 0.40%). The “mix” is our blend.
Where the numbers come from. Tax returns: US$750 (BOK Financial) to US$2,750 (Stonehage Fleming) a filing; US$2,000 to US$3,000 a year for an accountant. Company returns up to US$1,500 each (BOK Financial).
Where the numbers come from. Property holding fees: BOK Financial 0.60% (directed) or 1.20% (managed) of value, US$1,200 or US$1,800 minimum; SECU US$1,000 a year per property.
Where the numbers come from. Our estimates, not from a price list: valuing properties and businesses, the “mix” of funds, the default manager fee of 8% for a rental, the 3% investment income, and the rule that offshore centres and the stricter US states need a licensed local trustee.
Where the numbers come from. Exchange rates: the site’s own table, built 2026-10-11 (the rates the money-to-bring figures use).
Your answer in words. South Dakota, with US$20,000,000 inside the trust: US$106,600 to US$161,300 a year, which is 0.53% to 0.81% of what is inside. Setting it up costs US$1,800 to US$15,000 once.
Some choices came from your profile.
US inflation 3.4% (August 2026, US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
How every calculator on the site is built, and what changed and when, is on How it works.