Offshore Banking and Trusts / Asset Protection Attorneys

Offshore banking and trusts/asset protection is an area of law that involves financial transactions under the laws of a country other than the United States. Some countries (particularly Switzerland, Panama and Liechtenstein) are popular nations in which to conduct offshore financial transactions because they have little corporate regulation or taxes and only moderate management fees. Professional trustees in the country perform administration of the offshore account, trust or other service.

There are a lot of offshore banking, trust and asset protection services provided to cater to individual needs. Here are three of the more common ones are:

• Offshore Companies: Offshore companies, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLC's), are set up to maintain and create wealth and to conduct international trading, property holding and asset protection activities. Other reasons offshore companies are set up include, but are not limited to, facilitating direct investment into certain jurisdictions, managing withholding taxes on foreign income and holding intellectual property. Offshore companies also boast of increased flexibilities and significant tax advantages for the affluent.
  
  
• Trusts: A person known as the Settlor transfers property to the trustee(s) to hold that property for the benefit of another person or persons (beneficiary or beneficiaries). The property can include anything that is capable of being transferred such as shares of corporate stock, money, or real estate.
  
  Trusts are typically set up for estate planning and/or tax planning reasons. But, they are also set up as protection from current and future creditors (Asset Protection Trusts), a way of managing funds for children or family members otherwise unable to manage the funds themselves, a way of passing your business to generations to come, and other reasons. A trust does not have to be recorded in any public register, and the terms of the trust remain confidential to third parties.
  
  
• Private Foundations: A private Foundation (common in Panama and Liechtenstein) is a legal entity that acts like a Trust and operates like a company. There are several similarities to Trusts in the respect that there is a Founder (Settlor) who normally wishes to reduce or otherwise eliminate assets for inheritance, protect assets and conduct confidential transactions and a Foundation Council (Trustees or Board of Directors) that oversees the administration of the foundation. A Protector can be appointed to the Foundation Council, if needed. The Foundation has no owner, so the assets held by the Foundation constitute a separate estate from that of the Founder for all legal purposes. A Foundation itself is not normally used for trading or commercial activities. But it is common for a foundation to have an underlying company carry out trading or investment activities.
  
  Private foundations are set up for a variety of reasons, including the management of individual sums of money or individual assets of children or incompentent adult family members for subsistence, education, clothing and other needs (Family Foundation); protection against excessive taxes for those who reside where the assets are located; and protection from the claims of current and future creditors.

Should I hire a lawyer?

Due to the complex legal and tax implications of offshore banking and trusts and asset protection, it is best to consult with an attorney specializing in that field. A lawyer can also advise you of your rights and help assure that you don't lose your money to any scams. Use the search form on this page to find one.