Cook Islands Trust Registrations Hit a Record. What We Have Built

New Cook Islands international trust registrations rose 42 percent last year to a record 433, according to a Cook Islands Government report cited by Southpac Group. The same report attributes roughly 85 percent of licensed trustee company revenue to clients in the United States.

This page explains what those figures show, what they do not show, and what Blake Harris Law has built and published over the same period.

What Do the New Cook Islands Figures Show?

The figures come from a Cook Islands Government report, as described in a September 2026 release from Southpac Group, a trust administration group with operations in the Cook Islands and Nevis. The release does not name the report, and we have not reviewed it directly. We report the numbers as they were published.

Two limits are worth keeping in view. These are counts of new registrations, not a measure of assets under trust. And a registration count says nothing about how well any individual trust was drafted, funded or administered.

Southpac Group's CEO, Mike Arand, is quoted in the release as saying that "[t]he United States has driven much of the sector's recent growth and will remain its most important market." Matthew Smith, the group's director of business development, describes the demand in these terms. "We are seeing more business owners and professionals consider asset protection as part of their broader risk-management and succession planning rather than waiting until a legal claim emerges."

We agree with that last point, and it is the one most likely to matter to a reader.

Why Are More Americans Choosing Cook Islands Trusts?

The release attributes the demand to concern among U.S. business owners and professionals about litigation, professional liability and broader commercial risk. That matches what prospective clients generally tell us.

The legal reasons are older than the current growth. The Cook Islands International Trusts Act 1984 has governed these trusts for more than four decades. Cook Islands courts generally do not enforce U.S. judgments against a qualifying international trust, so a creditor may have to bring a new claim locally under Cook Islands law. The full mechanics are on our Cook Islands Trust page.

Does a Record Year Make Any One Trust Safer?

No. A trust does not become stronger because more people set one up. In the reported decisions our attorneys have reviewed, outcomes turned on the conduct of the person involved rather than on the jurisdiction's popularity.

We summarize those factors as TICC: Timing, Illegal, Comply, Control. A trust funded before any claim exists, used for lawful purposes, disclosed and complied with, and administered by an independent trustee is in a very different position from one that is not. Each rule is explained in The Four Rules of Offshore Trusts.

Growth can also bring more providers into the market, and not all of them may be law firms. That makes the choice of attorney and trustee at least as important as the choice of jurisdiction.

What Has Blake Harris Law Been Doing During This Period?

We do not claim credit for a government's registration count. Growth of this kind generally depends on many things no single firm controls.

What we can describe is what we have built and published over the same two years. Mr. Smith's comments point to what a growing industry may need, including investment in skilled people and compliance, and credibility with U.S. lawyers and clients. Most of our recent work sits on that side of the industry.

We co-founded a Cook Islands trust company

The Cook Islands Financial Supervisory Commission approved Blake Harris to hold a license for a Cook Islands trust company. He co-founded Atlas Trust Company in 2025 with its CEO, Marcos Almeida, who leads day-to-day operations.

Atlas adds another licensed trustee to a small field of trustee companies supervised by the Financial Supervisory Commission. We disclose the relationship. Blake retains a non-majority beneficial interest in Atlas, and it is the trustee we currently recommend. Clients are not required to use it. Our guide to choosing a Cook Islands trustee sets out what to verify with any trustee, including ours.

We read every case on the "failed trust" lists

Several lists of supposedly failed offshore trust cases circulate among estate planners. One was a 45-entry chart carrying the footer "Copyright 2025 by Steven J. Oshins, Esq." So, we began publishing a case-by-case review of every available decision on it and on the other lists.

The finding has been the same each time. In the reported decisions our attorneys have reviewed, no properly formed, timely funded offshore trust with an independent trustee was defeated on the merits, and no one was jailed for creating a trust. After those findings were set out publicly, the 45-case list and other falsified offshore case lists were removed or revised to show there was never a failure of an offshore trust. The questions we put to the author of multiple lists are in our review of Steven Oshins's claims.

Our view is that an industry that grows while its case law is misdescribed may be growing on weak ground. Accurate case descriptions can help both clients and the attorneys who advise them.

We publish our prices

Our standard Cook Islands Trust engagement is a flat $25,000 for setup, then $7,000 a year. Of the annual fee, $5,000 goes to the trust company, $1,500 to the firm and $500 to the Protector. The full breakdown is on our pricing page, so a prospect can see the cost before any call.

We run a public reporting channel

The Offshore Watchdog lets anyone report asset protection planning that looks faulty, misleading or fraudulent. Reports are free and confidential, and the reporter does not need to be a client.

We teach other attorneys

Blake has presented continuing legal education programs on offshore trusts and asset protection since 2023, for providers including myLawCLE, Lawline, Celesq, LawPracticeCLE and the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education. A list of his programs is on his profile.

We work alongside other attorneys

Many clients who need offshore planning already have an estate planning or business attorney. Through our attorney partnerships program we can work as co-counsel on the offshore portion or take a referral, and the client relationship stays with the referring attorney.

We filed a federal false-advertising action

In December 2025, Blake Harris Law filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Kevin Wessell, asserting claims under the Lanham Act, the federal statute that governs false advertising. The case is Blake Harris Law, LLC v. Wessell, No. 0:25-cv-62552.

What Should a U.S. Client Take From the Growth?

A popular jurisdiction is not a reason to set up a trust on its own. Some assets may already be protected by state law. A qualifying homestead or qualifying retirement accounts, for example, may not need an offshore structure at all, and moving them could add cost without adding much protection.

For someone who does have exposure outside those protections, three checks generally matter more than any registration count:

• Timing: A trust funded before any claim exists is in a very different position from one funded afterwards. See our page on fraudulent transfer timing.
• The provider: Confirm that a licensed U.S. attorney handles the engagement and that the trustee holds a current Financial Supervisory Commission license. Our guide to choosing an asset protection attorney lists the questions to ask.
• Legitimacy: A Cook Islands Trust is reported to the IRS every year and does not reduce U.S. tax. We cover the common concerns in are Cook Islands trusts legitimate.

The Southpac release closes on the same point. "Asset protection trusts are intended for lawful planning before claims or disputes arise and do not override tax, criminal, insolvency or disclosure obligations."

We decline engagements structured to defeat a known creditor.

The Bottom Line

The Cook Islands figures describe a jurisdiction that more U.S. clients appear to be choosing. They do not describe whether any particular trust will hold up, which generally depends on how and when it was set up.

Over the same period, we have built a trust company, published our case-law research and our pricing, opened a public reporting channel, taught other attorneys and gone to federal court over false advertising. If you would like to know whether a Cook Islands Trust may make sense for you, request a free consultation.

Disclosure: Blake Harris, managing attorney of Blake Harris Law, co-founded Atlas Trust Company and retains a non-majority beneficial interest in it.