Asia PacificCook Islands
Nature
Non-binding
Binding defeats the purpose
Followed
In ordinary course
Trustees read it closely
Confidential
Usually yes
Not registered
Update
When circumstances change
No formal process
What it is, and what it isn't
This is a private note the settlor gives the trustee setting out how they would prefer the trust to be run. Trustees study it carefully and, in normal circumstances, act on it. Yet it forms no part of the deed, goes unregistered, and imposes no legal obligation on the trustee. Those three absences are exactly what the document is meant to achieve.
Why non-binding is the point
If a trustee is compelled to do as you say, that trustee is effectively serving as your agent, and an agent's choices get traced back to the principal. When a court probes retained control, it asks whether the trustee held real discretion, and a binding document strips that discretion away before proceedings even begin. Each reported Cook Islands contempt case has hinged on some version of this issue.
What to include
- Distribution preferences arranged by beneficiary and situation, worded as suggestions rather than orders
- Specific assets matters you hold strong views about, together with your reasoning
- Investment philosophy without directing specific trades
- Beneficiary circumstances things the trustee would have no way of knowing otherwise
- How things should proceed once you are gone, covering who succeeds the protector along with family contact details
What to leave out
Wording that comes across as a command. Saying "The trustee shall" is the wrong approach; "I would wish" or "my preference would be" is the right one. Also leave out any commercially sensitive content you would not want surfacing in discovery.
Updating it
Send the trustee a fresh letter noted as replacing the earlier one. There is no need for formal execution or witnesses. Refresh it any time your situation shifts meaningfully: a new beneficiary, a change in finances, the death of someone named, an added asset. Reviewing it once a year is a sensible baseline even if nothing major has moved.
See the trust deed and reserved powers.
(Review & sourcing)
Written by
Connor Steens
BBus, business development
Reviewed by
John Evans
20+ years, offshore structuring
Last updated
General information
Sourced from
Trustee practice
Licensed Cook Islands trustees
01International Trusts Act 1984 — consolidated text.
02Trustee Companies Act 2014 — licensing requirements.
(COMMON QUESTIONS)
Common questions people ask about the letter of wishes
No, and that is by design. Making it binding strips the trustee of real discretion and casts the trustee as your agent.
Under normal conditions, yes, and they read it carefully.
Usually yes. Although it is not registered, it sits on the trustee's file and a court can order it produced.
'I would wish' or 'my preference would be', rather than 'the trustee shall'.
Any time your circumstances shift meaningfully, and at least once a year.
No. Just send the trustee the replacement letter, marked as superseding the earlier version.
It does exist and a court can order it produced, so keep commercially sensitive material out of it.
Provide what the trustee genuinely needs to administer things well, but exercise care over anything that could do harm if it surfaced in discovery.
(MORE ON THE SETUP)
Sources and further reading on the Setup
References
In-depth reference pages on the Setup.
1 min
Cook Islands Trust Beneficiary Class
Who can benefit, why their discretionary interest is not attachable property, and the drafting choices that preserve flexibility.
1 min
Cook Islands Trust Letter Of Wishes
Non-binding guidance to the trustee. Why it must not be binding, what it should say, and how often to update it.
1 min
Cook Islands Trust Registration
What gets filed, what remains private, and why registration triggers the protective provisions rather than deed execution.
1 min
Funding A Cook Islands Trust
Which assets move easily, which need separate work, why staging is faster, and the timing question that decides whether it holds.
1 min
Reserved Powers In A Cook Islands Trust
What you can keep without undermining the structure, what you should not, and the audit question every power must pass.
1 min
The Cook Islands Trust Deed
What must be in the deed, the five provisions that matter under pressure, and what cannot be included.
1 min
The Cook Islands Trust Duress Clause
Authorises the trustee to refuse a repatriation order. What it protects and what it cannot, explained through Anderson.
1 min
The Cook Islands Trust Jones Clause
Names a known creditor and authorises payment. The counterintuitive tool that weakens the fraudulent intent argument.
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