Private Wealth Law
New Zealand
9 years ranked
INDIVIDUAL PROFILE
Geoffrey Cone
High Net Worth 2026
Ranked in 1 practice area
About
Provided by Cone Marshall
High Net Worth
Career
Geoffrey Cone is the Founder & Chairman of Cone Marshall. He currently serves as President of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), a multidisciplinary association for professionals who advise taxpayers on cross-border transactions. Founded in 1975 and comprised of bankers, trust officers, finance directors, accountants, and lawyers, ITPA is the only association devoted solely to the study of international tax planning from the taxpayer's perspective. He is a leading international trust and tax planning attorney and a respected authority in his field, with a practice centered on cross-border trust and tax structuring, family succession planning and governance, and asset protection.
Geoffrey's career began in 1979 as a Barrister and Solicitor in Auckland. He joined Taylor Shaw & Anderson in Christchurch as Partner in 1984, and in 1987 became Chairman and Partner of Lane Neave Ronaldson in Christchurch until 1995 and has appeared as leading counsel in matters at all levels of the New Zealand judiciary, including the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, and the Privy Council in London, a combination of litigation and advisory skill that few practitioners develop to an equal degree. In 1998 founded his own firm, Cone and Co., which was renamed Cone Marshall Limited in 2007.
Cone Marshall celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. Under Geoffrey's leadership, the firm grew from a single-founder practice into one of the world's leading legal and fiduciary advisory firms, now administering about $63 billion in assets.
Geoffrey has built the firm into a network spanning key jurisdictions worldwide, including New Zealand, Switzerland, Uruguay, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, San Marino, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Its U.S. trustee company, Teton Trust Company, is based in Jackson, Wyoming. Recent milestones include new licensed trust companies in Singapore, the Cook Islands and Abu Dhabi. The firm has also established representation in Mumbai. These mark a significant step in the firm's expansion across Asia-Pacific, India, and the Middle East.
Geoffrey remains an active figure in the industry, having contributed to publications including Trusts & Trustees, the Rothschild Trust Review, and the New Zealand Law Journal, and having served as a contributing author to the World Trusts Survey and International Trust Disputes (both Oxford University Press). Cone Marshall continues to expand into key strategic markets worldwide, offering tailored, high-touch, cross-border solutions to ultra-high-net-worth families.
Publications
Trusts & Trustees, Rothschild Trust Review, New Zealand Law Journal; contributing author, World Trusts Survey and International Trust Disputes (Oxford University Press), Law of Offshore Jurisdictions, International Trusts Guide; author, Trident Guide to International Trusts
Industry Sector Expertise
Over the course of his career, Geoffrey has advised international clients across multiple continents on succession planning and structuring, and has consulted for law firms, banks, and fiduciary companies worldwide on trust management, tax planning, and the establishment of superannuation funds, trusts, management companies, mutual investment structures, and special partnerships.
In New Zealand, Geoffrey has advised on domestic income tax, gift duty, and sales tax, established and managed trust companies for twelve international trustee firms, represented taxpayers before Inland Revenue, and advised three international private banks on banking structures and tax planning. He also co-founded the New Zealand Trustee Companies Association and negotiated the country's trustee disclosure rules with Inland Revenue.
Geoffrey has written for Trusts & Trustees on New Zealand's Trusts Act 2019 and the changes it made to trustee duties and powers. He has covered the delegation of trustees' powers among protectors and co-trustees, and the application of double taxation agreements to New Zealand trusts. His STEP Journal articles cover trustees' tax obligations and court applications under New Zealand trustee law. He wrote the New Zealand chapters of The World Trust Survey and International Trust Disputes, both published by Oxford University Press, covering trust mechanics, anti-money laundering compliance, conflicts of laws, and forced heirship across dozens of jurisdictions. He has contributed to Law of Offshore Jurisdictions, the International Trusts Guide, and the Trident Guide to International Trusts, and published commentary in the Rothschild Trust Review and New Zealand Law Journal.
Geoffrey's expertise reaches into U.S. trust and foundation law through his work in Wyoming. In 2019, he co-authored "Foundations in the Wild West: The Wyoming Statutory Foundation Act" for Trusts & Trustees. The article examines Wyoming's Statutory Foundation Act, and how it combines Wyoming trust and corporate law with features drawn from civil law foundations in jurisdictions like Liechtenstein, Panama, and the Bahamas. It covers the roles of founders, directors, protectors, and beneficiaries under the new law, along with the asset protection, forced heirship defenses, and privacy features available to statutory foundations formed in Wyoming.
Geoffrey is a foremost international trust and tax planning figure, which is why some of the world's wealthiest families, most prominent banks, and respected lawyers and advisors have entrusted him with their clients and their assets.
Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Chambers High Net Worth
Private Wealth Law - New Zealand
Band 3
Individual Editorial
Ranked Individuals at Cone Marshall (1)
New Zealand
Geoffrey Cone
Private Wealth Law
View profile
What success is built on
Chambers is the leading data and intelligence partner for the legal sector.