Offshore Asset Protection
Offshore asset protection: “…has been practiced by attorneys, financial planners and accountants for several decades. Business persons have always had concerns over the exposure of their personal assets to claims against their business.” – J. R. Matsen, Offshore Asset Protection Attorney California.
Offshore Asset Protection
The two major reasons people should consider going offshore to protect their assets are:
- Liquidity: You have sizable liquid assets or a large nest egg that can be placed offshore.
- International connections: You have international connections such as family members living offshore, that own property or have an offshore business. This helps to sustain the offshore structure, since you have family acquaintances living in a foreign country.
The Asset Protection Pro Offshore Planning attorneys are qualified experts with over 35 years of real-world experience and understanding of the complex laws pertaining to offshore asset protection in California.
The Asset Protection Pro team is extremely skilled in creating and structuring Offshore Asset Protection Plans for business owners, physicians, attorneys, securities brokers, real estate owners, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals. Our offshore asset protection lawyers can help you integrate domestic and offshore trusts to preserve wealth, minimize taxes, and protect valued investments.
Foreign Offshore Trust Lawyers
A Foreign Asset Protection Trust is a trust that is set up in an offshore jurisdiction that has enabling trust legislation providing for substantial protection against creditors of the trustors. The biggest advantage of the Foreign Asset Protection Trust is the fact that, by its very nature, any legal attack against the assets in the trust is transferred abroad to a different legal system. The Foreign Asset Protection Trust is generally much more expensive to set up and create than a Domestic Trust and requires a certain willingness on the part of the trustor to deal with offshore jurisdictions and trust entities.
Creating offshore trusts is complicated and requires careful legal planning for the transfer of assets. In California, the law considers the transfer of assets to be fraudulent if the assignment is done because of a “pending, threatened, or claimed” liability–such as the filing of a lawsuit.
An offshore trust is different from a regular U.S. based trust in that the trust is set up offshore in a foreign jurisdiction. This means that the trust isn’t under the authority of U.S. tax law.
Where do we locate offshore trusts?
While Switzerland and Liechtenstein are incredibly popular offshore trust holders, we at Asset Protection Pro prefer to work within the jurisdictions of the Cook Islands off the coast of New Zealand.
Our long standing and trusted relationship with the legislative body of the Cook Islands allows us to set up and maintain offshore asset trusts that will greatly benefit our California business clients in their efforts to create a secure and risk-free financial future for their business.
The benefits and features involved in adopting the Cook Islands as the domiciliary of our trusts include our outstanding relationships and connections with well-respected and professionally operated offshore trust companies.
Another benefit to adopting the Cook Islands as the domiciliary of our trusts is the excellent local legislation in respect to its protection of creditors. The geographical location of the Cook Islands allows for easy face to face communication when necessary.
Do you have questions regarding the benefits of offshore trusts; what they are, how they work, and how to get started?
How do we integrate offshore trust planning with tax planning?
Most of our clients ask us to move assets from revocable living trusts to irrevocable trusts in order to reduce tax exposure. We can locate the irrevocable trust in the United States or elsewhere. The jurisdiction question involves the complex interaction of competing legal guidelines.
For example, the rule against perpetuities limits the length of time in which the trust funds must be distributed. This creates risks that could allow the trust to be dissolved due to hypothetical, unrealistic circumstances that might infringe upon the ‘rule’. Offshore trust jurisdictions are not subject to the US rule against perpetuities and therefore can offer lengthier, often fixed, perpetuity periods to Settlors (an individual who settles property on trust law for the benefit of another).
The firm enjoys an ‘AV’ rating of 10/10 – which is the highest rating for ethics and competency issued by the Martindale-Hubbell Law directory for attorneys nationwide.
The Offshore Asset Protection Specialists in California at Asset Protection Pro will take the time to understand your specific asset goals and craft a wealth protection strategy that helps you move forward in life without the fear of asset risk. We can illustrate these structures using our trademarked Family Wealth Blueprint® process.
For more information regarding our Offshore Asset Protection Strategies, to schedule a complimentary review of your assets. We will provide you with the information you need to make the best possible decision for preservation of your assets.
Please contact the experienced California Foreign Offshore Trusts Attorneys at Bohm Wildish & Matsen, LLP by phone at 714-384-6500 for a review of your current plan. We can suggest which combination of trusts may work best for you.