Regulated vs. Unregulated

Regulated vs. Unregulated: The question of whether to establish a regulated or unregulated trust company is an extremely important one.  Many families select the regulated option so that there is much less of an opportunity to "pierce the corporate veil" as there is with an unregulated PFTC.  The formalities associated with the regulated PFTC such as capital requirements, state audits, policy and procedures manual and compliance all help to ensure that the PFTC is a properly functioning entity and trustee.  The estate tax issues are also generally lessened with a regulated versus a unregulated PFTC.  Consequently, most all wealthy families SDTC deals with choose a South Dakota regulated PFTC. The chart below further illustrates the major distinctions between regulated and unregulated PFTC jurisdictions: