Jurisdiction
West Virginia §31I — the sleeper dynasty jurisdiction
1,000-year dynasty horizon. A licensed private trust company you actually own. And — under current statute — the potential to fully exempt accumulated income distributions from state income tax.
Horizon
1,000 yrs
Dynasty cap
Statute
§31I
W. Va. Code 31I-1-1 et seq.
Modification
§44D-4-411
WV UTC consent + court
How to charter a §31I private trust company
Step 1
Charter the entity
Form the WV LLC or corporation that will become the PTC, with a principal office in West Virginia and a WV registered agent.
Step 2
Capitalize and document
Attest to the minimum capital and adopt board-level governance documents (operating agreement, board resolutions, fiduciary policies).
Step 3
Appoint qualified officers
Name a President, Trust Officer, and Compliance Officer that meet §31I qualification (typically 5+ years of trust experience).
Step 4
File Form WVSAO-PTC-01
Submit the application packet to the West Virginia State Auditor with the nonrefundable filing fee and supporting exhibits.
Step 5
Receive license
Once the Auditor approves, the PTC is licensed to act as a fiduciary for the defined family group — the platform's badge flips from Pending to Licensed.
FAQ
A private trust company (PTC) licensed by the West Virginia State Auditor under W. Va. Code §31I-1-1 et seq. acts as fiduciary for a single family group. Unlike a public trust company, it serves only one related family, which lowers regulatory burden and lets the family control trustee-level decisions.
West Virginia permits trusts to continue for up to 1,000 years under its modified rule against perpetuities, putting WV among the longest-horizon dynasty-trust jurisdictions in the United States.
Under the WV Uniform Trust Code (W. Va. Code §44D-4-411), a noncharitable irrevocable trust may be modified or terminated with the unanimous consent of all beneficiaries and the approval of a court.
WV combines the 1,000-year dynasty horizon, a §31I PTC license that is meaningfully cheaper than DE/SD equivalents, and — under current statute — the potential to fully exempt accumulated income distributions from state income tax, which the comparable peer jurisdictions do not all offer.
File Form WVSAO-PTC-01 with the West Virginia State Auditor along with the nonrefundable application fee, evidence of capital, qualified officers, the registered agent and principal office in WV, and the family definition the PTC will serve.
Build your §31I PTC on the platform
The PTC Operations hub walks you through Form WVSAO-PTC-01 prep, officer qualification, board minutes, fiduciary decision logging, and the 1,000-year dynasty horizon planner.
Open PTC Operations →