A trust relationship continues long after the structure is established. Mary Huang described responsive communication, a choice of jurisdictions and cooperation with other advisers as central to serving families whose assets and beneficiaries cross borders.
Speaking in the Hot Seat session at the Hubbis Wealth Planning & Structuring Forum – Hong Kong 2026, Mary Huang, Senior Solicitor (New Zealand) at Cone Marshall Group, outlined how an independent trustee can support both the establishment and continuing administration of a family’s trust arrangements.
Key Takeaways
The choice of trustee jurisdiction should reflect the family’s circumstances and the assets it needs to hold.
Communication needs to continue through administration, rather than end when a trust is established.
Families need clarity about the information reported under the Common Reporting Standard.
An independent trustee can work alongside existing bankers, wealth planners and investment managers.
A choice of jurisdictions and assets
Mary Huang began with the increasingly international character of family wealth. Against a background of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, she described families using trusts to protect assets and prepare for the transfer of wealth to future generations.
Cone Marshall’s ability to offer trustee services across several jurisdictions was an important part of her presentation. She highlighted locations familiar to Asia-based families, including Singapore, New Zealand, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and Wyoming in the United States. In her account, that range allows the structuring discussion to reflect different family circumstances rather than begin with a single jurisdiction.
The assets involved can also be varied. Mary Huang described trust arrangements holding financial and digital assets, art collections, and shares in private or listed companies. The trustee therefore needs to understand what the family owns as well as where family members are based.
Keep the conversation open after establishment
At the setup stage, Mary Huang said clients bring questions about the relationship between their operating businesses, corporate structures and proposed trust arrangements. Clear communication helps connect those concerns with asset protection and succession objectives.
“Our job doesn’t just end at the trust setup stage,” she said. She described a 24-hour response policy as one way Cone Marshall seeks to address concerns during the administration of a trust.
She singled out Common Reporting Standard reporting as an area where families need an active dialogue with their trustee. Understanding what information is reportable and what has been reported forms part of maintaining the arrangement as the family’s international circumstances evolve.
Work with the existing advisory team
Mary Huang also emphasised independence. She said Cone Marshall does not sell financial products and positioned its role as complementary to the family’s bankers, wealth planners and investment managers.
That distinction brought her presentation back to the continuing relationship. A trustee needs to help establish appropriate arrangements, communicate about their operation and cooperate with the professionals already serving the family. For a trustee, protecting wealth and carrying out the family’s intentions depend on that work continuing beyond the initial documentation.