How to form trusts and in what ways can they protect against asset confiscation?
- Thread starter DavidS
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Asset protection is not the same as hiding assets. Hiding assets is often a crime (such as unlawful failure to disclose), whereas protecting isn't.
Asset protection normally refers to protecting assets from creditors, frivolous seizure, and such by the original owner no longer having effective control over the assets. For example, you might place your assets in a trust or foundation which is controlled by a fiduciary. You then no longer control the assets. They aren't yours.
While asset protection structures often have a high degree of secrecy, they shouldn't be reliant on secrecy to work. Secrecy won't hold up in court.
These structures require︀ a high degree of customisation to fit the type of assets, types and levels of︁ threat, size of wealth, jurisdictions involved, client's interests, and so on and so forth. This︂ makes them expensive and time consuming, which is why they are usually limited to the︃ very wealthy for whom the admin costs are insignificant.
There are a lot of service︄ providers out there selling trusts in a manner similar to how they sell companies. I'd︅ be very cautious about working with such a service provider. The trust you end up︆ with might not be the right fit.
Asset protection normally refers to protecting assets from creditors, frivolous seizure, and such by the original owner no longer having effective control over the assets. For example, you might place your assets in a trust or foundation which is controlled by a fiduciary. You then no longer control the assets. They aren't yours.
While asset protection structures often have a high degree of secrecy, they shouldn't be reliant on secrecy to work. Secrecy won't hold up in court.
These structures require︀ a high degree of customisation to fit the type of assets, types and levels of︁ threat, size of wealth, jurisdictions involved, client's interests, and so on and so forth. This︂ makes them expensive and time consuming, which is why they are usually limited to the︃ very wealthy for whom the admin costs are insignificant.
There are a lot of service︄ providers out there selling trusts in a manner similar to how they sell companies. I'd︅ be very cautious about working with such a service provider. The trust you end up︆ with might not be the right fit.
Speak with the likes of Sovereign Trust, Appleby, Dixcart, Vistra, Ogier, Walkers, Conyers, Carey Olsen, Asiaciti Trust, or SDTC (South Dakota Trust Company). There are dozens more, but that should get you started. They span different jurisdictions from US and Caribbean to Europe to South Pacific.
Untouchable in what sense?
Fees are hard to assess because of the customization I mentioned and how sophisticated you want/need it to be. They might also charge a custodian fee, which is based on the value of the assets. You're looking at fees in the 25–100,000 EUR range. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
Fees are hard to assess because of the customization I mentioned and how sophisticated you want/need it to be. They might also charge a custodian fee, which is based on the value of the assets. You're looking at fees in the 25–100,000 EUR range. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
There's a lot of nuance that goes into answering something like that but the short answer is that no, they cannot , if you have done everything correctly. "Correctly" is the keyword because things like trusts and foundations can be broken, pierced, or bypassed in cases of criminal activity by you.
Let's take for example tax debt. If you no longer own cash (or the assets), the government can still hold you personally liable for the tax debt. While you might not have the cash in your pocket, they can garnish your wages, force sale of other assets that you still own directly (cars, houses,︀ boats), and generally make your life miserable.
They also have the option of trying to︁ pursue your assets by tracing where they went and question the legitimacy of the structure.︂ This is where having done things correctly comes in. If you have, any local court︃ where your (former) assets are held will throw out any request for them. Or your︄ fiduciary/trustee will invoke a special clause of the deed under duress and transfer the ownership︅ yet another step away.
And so on and so forth. There are many ways to︆ do this.
Let's take for example tax debt. If you no longer own cash (or the assets), the government can still hold you personally liable for the tax debt. While you might not have the cash in your pocket, they can garnish your wages, force sale of other assets that you still own directly (cars, houses,︀ boats), and generally make your life miserable.
They also have the option of trying to︁ pursue your assets by tracing where they went and question the legitimacy of the structure.︂ This is where having done things correctly comes in. If you have, any local court︃ where your (former) assets are held will throw out any request for them. Or your︄ fiduciary/trustee will invoke a special clause of the deed under duress and transfer the ownership︅ yet another step away.
And so on and so forth. There are many ways to︆ do this.
There no detailed guides. Contact service providers (lawyers, fiduciaries, trustees) and combine that with your own research.
You can find broad strokes in brochures on some of these service providers' websites and gleam some insight from investigative reporting by the likes of ICIJ and their partners into how this world works. The journalists usually get the finer details wrong.
You can find broad strokes in brochures on some of these service providers' websites and gleam some insight from investigative reporting by the likes of ICIJ and their partners into how this world works. The journalists usually get the finer details wrong.
Can you give example for "from another planet"? I tried to look for setups of top 10 richest but dont get much. I think they all have family offices (handpick team, not with a company providing services) but I dont know much beyond this. Of course I dont expect to simply find this as this should be a guarded secret to some extend.
I'm not working for RAKICC but you have all info there: Services - Private Client Solutions - RAK ICC Foundations
Sorry for bringing back an old thread, but I have a question I really want to ask Sols.
Can you name some of these asset protection trust resellers? I'd love to check them out and see what their business looks like.
Do you think these resellers make good business? One problem I see is that OAPTs are much more︀ expensive than corps and other business entities. Is there much of a market for these︁ products online?
Can you name some of these asset protection trust resellers? I'd love to check them out and see what their business looks like.
Do you think these resellers make good business? One problem I see is that OAPTs are much more︀ expensive than corps and other business entities. Is there much of a market for these︁ products online?
I'd be lying if I said I kept track of them and could name them. You can probably find them just by searching online for some relevant keywords and compare which results are not from licensed/regulated, reputable service providers.
Many just come and go. Don't know if that's because they go out︀ of business or some other reason.
Many just come and go. Don't know if that's because they go out︀ of business or some other reason.
A lot of the service providers I found (who appeared to be resellers) were lawyers selling asset protection trusts and other structures online (Asset Protection Planners - General Corporate Services, Inc) (AssetProtection.com). I'd like to know how much business these guys do.
Sols, do you think there is a market for qualified professionals (i.e., lawyers, accountants, etc) to sell APTs and other structures online as a reseller?
I think there is value in having a qualified professional (with the︀ necessary contacts and knowledge) reselling trusts and other structures from other service providers. But that's︁ just my opinion. What do you think?
Sols, do you think there is a market for qualified professionals (i.e., lawyers, accountants, etc) to sell APTs and other structures online as a reseller?
I think there is value in having a qualified professional (with the︀ necessary contacts and knowledge) reselling trusts and other structures from other service providers. But that's︁ just my opinion. What do you think?
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