Singapore VCC insights

US Private Trust Company vs Singapore: South Dakota, Nevada and Delaware Compared for Asian Families

By VCC Editorial Team · Published 16 October 2026

Short answer: South Dakota, Nevada and Delaware allow longer-lived trusts than Singapore and have detailed directed-trust and family trust company statutes. Singapore caps trusts at 100 years, but its private trust company needs no licence or prescribed capital. For non-US families, US tax status, FATCA and CRS look-through often matter more than the statute chosen.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. For matters needing legal advice, we work with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms.

The US private trust company vs Singapore question now reaches Asian families more often, usually through a US private bank or adviser recommending a South Dakota, Nevada or Delaware dynasty trust with a family-controlled trustee. This analysis compares their statutes with Singapore’s on duration, private trust company (PTC) regulation and directed trusts, then sets out the US tax and reporting position for a non-US family. All statutes, regulations and guidance were checked on official legislature, regulator, IRS and Singapore government sites on 16 October 2026.

US private trust company vs Singapore: how do the regimes compare?

The US states offer longer duration and more developed directed-trust rules; Singapore offers a lighter PTC regime and proximity to Asian banking. The table summarises the provisions checked.

Feature	South Dakota	Nevada	Delaware	Singapore
Duration	Common-law rule not in force (43-5-8); statutory alienation limit does not apply where trustee has power of sale (43-5-4)	Interest must vest or terminate within 365 years (NRS 111.1031)	No limit for personal property held in trust; 110 years for real property held directly (25 Del. C. section 503)	100 years for instruments taking effect on or after 15 December 2004 (Civil Law Act 1909, section 32)
Family trustee vehicle	Private trust company chartered under chapter 51A-6A	Family trust company (licensed or unlicensed), NRS chapter 669A	Family trust company (subchapter IX) or limited purpose trust company (subchapter V), Title 5 chapter 7	Private trust company exempt under reg 4(1)(a), Trust Companies (Exemption) Regulations
Minimum capital	US$200,000 (51A-6A-19)	None if unlicensed; US$300,000 equity if licensed (669A.160)	US$250,000 plus 50% surplus (FTC); US$500,000 plus 50% surplus (LPTC)	None in the Exemption Regulations
Supervisor	Division of Banking	Commissioner, if licensed	State Bank Commissioner	No licence; must engage a licensed trust company for AML/CFT checks (reg 4(2))
Settlor or adviser control	Directed trusts, chapter 55-1B	Directed fiduciaries and trust protectors (NRS 163.5548, 163.5547)	Advisers, 12 Del. C. section 3313	Reserved investment and asset management powers, Trustees Act 1967, section 90(5)

How long can a dynasty trust last in each jurisdiction?

All three states allow trusts to run far longer than Singapore’s 100 years, by different mechanisms.

South Dakota states that “the common-law rule against perpetuities is not in force in this state” (SDCL 43-5-8). Its surviving statutory rule limits suspension of the power of alienation to lives in being plus 30 years (SDCL 43-5-1), but SDCL 43-5-4 provides that there is no suspension “if the trustee has power to sell, either expressed or implied”. Nevada’s statutory rule validates a nonvested interest that vests or terminates within 365 years after its creation (NRS 111.1031(1)(b)). Delaware provides that no interest in personal property held in trust is void by reason of any perpetuities rule (25 Del. C. section 503(a)); real property held directly in trust must be distributed after 110 years (section 503(b)), and interests in companies and partnerships are not real property for this purpose (section 503(e)).

Singapore fixes the perpetuity period at 100 years or any shorter period in the instrument; a reference to lives in being, or a longer period, is deemed to be 100 years (Civil Law Act 1909, section 32). The practical question is whether the family has a real reason to plan beyond three or four generations.

How do South Dakota, Nevada and Delaware regulate family trust companies?

South Dakota charters and examines private trust companies; Nevada lets a family trust company operate unlicensed; Delaware has just added a family trust company charter.

South Dakota

Under SDCL 51A-6A-1(12A), a public trust company is one that deals with the general public or falls outside the private trust company definition set by the State Banking Commission. That definition, in Administrative Rule 20:07:22:03, covers a company that does not hold itself out as a fiduciary for hire and “instead operates for the benefit of a family or families”. A South Dakota trust company needs minimum capital of US$200,000 and a fidelity bond and directors’ and officers’ liability policy of at least US$1,000,000 each (SDCL 51A-6A-19). The South Dakota Division of Banking states that a pledge of at least US$100,000 is required and that private trust companies pay an annual supervisory fee of between US$3,750 and US$20,000.

Nevada

A Nevada family trust company is a corporation or limited liability company that acts as fiduciary and does not transact trust company business with anyone who is not a family member (NRS 669A.080). “Family member” is wide: it reaches anyone within the tenth degree of lineal kinship or ninth degree of collateral kinship of a designated relative (NRS 669A.070). An unlicensed family trust company is not required to be licensed and is not subject to supervision by the Commissioner (NRS 669A.100), but may not advertise or use “trust” in its name (NRS 669A.150). A family trust company may opt for a licence (NRS 669A.110); a licensed one must keep a resident officer, a physical office, a registered agent and a bank account in Nevada (NRS 669A.140), and at least US$300,000 of stockholders’ equity paid in cash (NRS 669A.160).

Delaware

Delaware’s established route is the limited purpose trust company, headquartered in Delaware (5 Del. C. section 777(b)(4)) with capital stock of at least US$500,000 plus surplus of half that figure (section 745). The Family Trust Company Act, enacted as Senate Bill 327 and signed on 13 July 2026, adds a charter for one family identified by a single designated relative. Section 9 provides for implementation on the earlier of one year from enactment or notice that final regulations have been promulgated, so families should confirm with the State Bank Commissioner whether applications are being accepted. Key terms:

• capital stock of US$250,000 plus paid-in surplus of at least half that amount, with the Commissioner barred from requiring more than US$1,000,000 in total absent extraordinary circumstances (section 797F);
• an annual licence fee of US$5,000 to US$25,000 (section 797J);
• a US$1,000,000 dishonesty bond and, for companies subject to the capital rules, US$5,000,000 of general liability and errors and omissions cover per occurrence (section 797K);
• a Delaware principal place of business with at least one trust officer (section 797A(15)); and
• no public notice or hearing on the application (section 797E(c)), and confidential records (section 797L).

Singapore’s PTC sits at the light end of this range: no licence and no prescribed capital, with AML/CFT checks carried by the licensed trust company it must engage. We set out those conditions in our guide to the Singapore private trust company exemption.

How do US directed trusts compare with Singapore reserved powers?

The US states let a family split trustee functions among advisers and protect the trustee who follows directions; Singapore’s statute protects only reserved investment and asset management powers.

South Dakota’s chapter 55-1B provides that an “excluded fiduciary” is not liable for any loss that results from compliance with a direction of a trust advisor (SDCL 55-1B-2). Delaware treats anyone given authority to direct, consent to or veto a fiduciary’s investment, distribution or other decisions as an adviser (12 Del. C. section 3313(a)); a fiduciary that follows such a direction is not liable except for wilful misconduct (section 3313(b)). Nevada’s family trust company chapter expressly cross-refers to directed fiduciaries and trust protectors (NRS 669A.082) and protects a family trust company acting in good faith on the express terms of the trust instrument (NRS 669A.135).

In Singapore, section 90(5) of the Trustees Act 1967 provides that a trust is not invalid “by reason only” of the settlor reserving powers of investment or asset management functions. It provides no equivalent statutory framework for distribution advisers. Section 90(2) also shields qualifying trusts from foreign heirship rules, provided the settlor is not a Singapore citizen or domiciliary and the trust is governed by Singapore law with Singapore-resident trustees (section 90(3)); see our analysis of the Singapore trust forced heirship shield.

Is a US dynasty trust a domestic or foreign trust for US tax purposes?

It depends on who controls the substantial decisions, not on the state named in the deed. A trust is a United States person only if a US court can exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more US persons control all of its substantial decisions (26 CFR 301.7701-7(a)). Any other trust is a foreign trust.

This matters because the people an Asian family wants in control are usually not US persons. Substantial decisions include whether and when to distribute, the amount of distributions, selection of beneficiaries, removal or replacement of trustees, and investment decisions (301.7701-7(d)(1)(ii)). “Control” means power to make all substantial decisions “with no other person having the power to veto” any of them, and all persons with such authority count, not only the trustees (301.7701-7(d)(1)(iii)). A non-US protector with a veto, or a non-US family investment committee, can therefore make a South Dakota or Delaware trust a foreign trust for US tax purposes. Where an inadvertent change, such as a death or change of residence, would flip the trust’s status, the regulation allows 12 months to restore the position (301.7701-7(d)(2)).

A foreign trust’s taxable income is computed in the same manner as that of a nonresident alien individual not present in the United States (301.7701-7(a)(3)).

What US reporting applies if family members are or become US persons?

Foreign trust reporting is triggered by US persons, so it often begins when a child settles in the United States.

The IRS states that Form 3520 is generally required when a US person transfers property to a foreign trust, receives distributions or loans from one, is treated as its owner, or receives certain large gifts or bequests from foreign persons. A US owner must also ensure the foreign trust files Form 3520-A, and other filings such as Form 8938 and FinCEN Form 114 may apply (IRS, foreign trust reporting requirements). US estate tax situs rules are covered in our note on US estate tax for Singapore residents.

How do CRS and FATCA apply to a US trust and a Singapore trust?

The United States does not participate in the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and relies on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Singapore applies both.

The United States does not appear on IRAS’s List of Participating Jurisdictions effective 2 February 2026. Under the Singapore-US FATCA Model 1 intergovernmental agreement, Singapore financial institutions report US accounts to IRAS, which passes the information to the IRS; IRAS states that Singapore has reported since 2015. Singapore implemented CRS with its first exchange in September 2018 and has committed to the OECD’s 2023 amendments from 1 January 2027, with the first exchange under them in September 2028 (IRAS e-Tax Guide, Common Reporting Standard, fifth edition, 11 August 2026).

The IRAS e-Tax Guide treats a professionally managed investment entity that is not a Participating Jurisdiction financial institution as a Passive Non-Financial Entity (paragraph 7.4.1). Where such a trust holds an account with a Singapore bank, the bank reports the controlling persons, which for a trust always include the settlors, trustees, any protectors and the beneficiaries. US trusts should therefore be chosen on their trust law and governance merits, not as a means of avoiding exchange of information. Our note on CRS 2.0 and CARF from 1 January 2027 covers the incoming changes.

When does a Singapore trust with a PTC fit better, and when a US state?

A US state is the stronger statutory choice for a family with US-resident members, US assets, a need for duration beyond 100 years, or a wish to split control among several advisers. Singapore fits better where the family, its banks and its family office are in Asia and the 100-year horizon is acceptable.

A practical sequence:

1. Map every settlor, beneficiary, protector and adviser by citizenship and tax residence.
2. Decide who must hold substantial decisions and vetoes, then test the result against the 301.7701-7 court and control tests.
3. Decide the required duration: 100 years in Singapore, 365 years in Nevada, or longer in South Dakota and Delaware.
4. Compare the trustee vehicle: a capitalised and examined US trust company, an unlicensed Nevada family trust company, or a Singapore PTC that engages a licensed trust company.
5. Confirm how each bank and custodian will classify the trust for CRS and FATCA.
6. Obtain US and Singapore legal and tax advice before assets are settled; Singapore’s trust income tax rules are summarised in our guide to the taxation of trusts in Singapore.

Some families use both, with a separate US trust for US-resident branches. For the Channel Islands alternative, see our comparison of Singapore and Jersey trusts. Our corporate secretarial affiliate, Singapore Secretary Services, incorporates and maintains Singapore PTCs and holding companies.

Frequently asked questions

Is a South Dakota or Delaware trust automatically a US domestic trust?

No. Under 26 CFR 301.7701-7, US persons must control all substantial decisions with no non-US person holding a veto.

Does a Nevada family trust company need a licence?

No. NRS 669A.100 provides that a family trust company is not required to be licensed and is not supervised by the Commissioner unless it applies for a licence.

Is Delaware’s Family Trust Company Act in force?

It was signed on 13 July 2026, with implementation by 13 July 2027 at the latest, or earlier once final regulations are notified (section 9).

Does using a US trust take a family outside CRS?

Not where it banks in Singapore. IRAS treats a professionally managed investment entity outside the Participating Jurisdictions as a Passive Non-Financial Entity, so Singapore banks report the trust’s controlling persons.

Sources

• SDCL 51A-6A-1, South Dakota Legislature
• IRAS e-Tax Guide: Common Reporting Standard (Fifth Edition)
• 5 Del. C. chapter 7, subchapter IX, Delaware Code Online
• 26 CFR 301.7701-7, eCFR
• Trust Companies (Exemption) Regulations, Singapore Statutes Online

Raffles Corporate Services helps families comparing US and Singapore trust structures to set up and maintain Singapore private trust companies, family offices and VCCs, working alongside licensed trust companies and our panel of law firms. Email hello@rafflescorporateservices.com or Call/SMS/WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or visit Raffles Corporate Services.

Last reviewed: 16 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Variable Capital Companies Act.