Offshore Trust - Effective Estate Planning, You Decide

By: Ronald Hudkins
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:15:24
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

The creation of offshore trusts and other financial plans is a way of shielding your assets from the laws of the nation in which you reside. It can sometimes be used to remove one of the two certainties of life; taxes. Americans are far less likely than the citizens of other countries to put assets abroad because, although when you receive the benefits of being free of your country’s laws regarding assets (namely taxation) you also lose the aspect of those laws that are designed to protect your assets. Americans are far more likely to just accept taxes, because our country has an enviable financial system that people around the world wish to participate in already. However, many people would like to know more about offshore banking options for a portion of their wealth because they view taxes as an all too unnecessary evil. Whenever we read stories about the government buying a hammer for $500 from a certain large corporation (Name omitted to avoid liability) as part of a no bid contract, we may begin to entertain the idea of placing personal assets offshore.

Another reason many Americans decide not to use offshore asset protection options is that they are advised by their attorneys not to do so. This is because offshore asset protection (while desirable) is a topic that your attorney may be very unfamiliar with and therefore uneasy guiding you through it. Attorneys are as afraid of being sued for malpractice as any other professional person is and while most estate planning attorneys in the United States understand the laws that govern asset protection domestically, they are not as well versed in protecting their clients’ interests abroad. For that reason, many well-intentioned, responsible and highly-able attorneys fear putting their client’s interests into a system where they cannot as easily protect them, and thus, they advise against taking assets abroad. If your own attorney has discouraged you from taking assets abroad in the past, it is a good sign that he/she genuinely cares about serving your needs as a client and is doing his/her level best to look out for you and your family. On the other hand, it is often true that asset protection in another country requires an attorney from that country, so it may be that it is simply a matter of greed and a desire not to lose your business to someone else that motivates some members of the profession to discourage offshore asset protection.

But, in an increasingly global marketplace it will become more and more common for estate planners to be well versed in the finer points of offshore asset management and the rewards that it can bring. Offshore asset management can be a powerful tool in the world of estate planning and it will become the norm for professionals in the field of estate planning to understand this complex field of law or begin to lose business to those who do understand how to take care of their clients needs using every available strategy in a global market.

About Ronald E. Hudkins;
Ronald Hudkins is a retired U.S. Army Military Police member that was assigned as a staff researcher. He has coordinated with military and criminal investigators, set on court marshals and worked closely with the Staff Judge Advocate Generals Office (JAG). He has a keen sense of legal matters - their interpretation, initiatives and guidelines. For imperative financial planning needs he suggests his book “Asset Protection and Estate Planning for All Ages.” Additionally, he offers a Free Newsletter at his web site: http://www.AssetProtectNow.com

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Estate Plan Trusts category

  • Choosing Guardians for Children - By: Jamie Kahn
    The most important decision you'll make in your estate plan is appointing guardians for your minor children. Who you pick will impact not only your children but also the lives of your guardians. While you and your children may feel an affinity for a particular adult(s), that relationship could be strained in a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week environment.
  • How To Protect Your Retirement Savings For Your Golden Years - By: Gregg Hall
    Retirement is a glorious time every working individual looks forward to. It is a time of freedom, rest, and relaxation. It is also a time to do what you did not have time or resources to do when you were working.
  • Some Simple Strategies For Protecting Your Assets - By: Gregg Hall
    As elementary as it may sound, no matter how much money you make, you still need to find ways to hold onto it. There are many small steps to take that will add up to big savings in the end. If you value the assets you have accumulated, or if you feel you should be accumulating more, take this advice and make some minor changes.
  • Reverse Mortgage Supplemental Retirement Financing Strategy - By: Jon Hansen
    A reverse mortgage is a loan for senior citizens. It is often used to cover medical expenses, and is becoming a common way for retired persons to supplement their existing monthly retirement income.This is a loan that senior home owners may take against their current home.
  • Understanding The Benefits Of Forming Trusts - By: Alexander Gordon
    What is a Trust And Who Are The Settlor, Trustee And Beneficiaries?A trust is an institute of a special type of structure capable of holding title of the property-providing benefits to one or more people. It is a lawful relationship between the two people, the settlor and the trustee.
  • Trust Deeds – Breath A Debt Free Life at Easy Terms - By: Linda R Davis
    Trust deeds are considered as a convenient settlement of debts a debtor is no more able to pay off. The trust deeds are a method used in Scotland for easy clearance of debts. Usually elsewhere for lessening and time bound pay off of debts, debt management program is sought by the debt ridden person.
  • Ira Trusts: What's All The Hype About - By: Perry Fields
    A recent new development in estate planning is helping thousands of affluent people across the country with IRAs over 100,000 transcend estate tax and income tax. It keeps your beneficiaries from blowing all of the money you’ve worked so hard for.Its gives YOU the control over the conditions which must exist before your beneficiary can access the funds (other than the mandatory IRA distributions).
  • Enduring Power of Attorney Being Phased Out - By: Adrian Tatum
    In the UK the new mental capacity act is due to come into force on the first Monday in April 2007.The Act governs decision-making on behalf of adults who lack mental capacity, both where they lose capacity at some point in their lives, and where the incapacitating condition has been present since birth.This act covers all decisions, including personal welfare and financial matters, and covers decision-making on their behalf by attorneys, or court-appointed "deputies".
  • Probate and Estate Sales - By: Mika Hamilton
    “It's all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.”-Philip GreenProbate and estate sales usually occur when someone wealthy dies. Estate sales have to be conducted because the decedent did not leave a will and everything is in his name.
  • Anguilla as a Offshore Jurisdiction - By: Gissela Martinez
    Anguilla is another jurisdiction with misleading bank secrecy. Commercial confidentiality is contained in the statues, BUT the government of Anguilla will co-operate fully with law enforcement agencies and regulators in other jurisdictions, think wholesale fishing expeditions and inquiries related to “possible” income tax violations. In other words records may be requested just to see if in fact there were any taxation violations that citizens of a certain country may have committed using Anguilla as a jurisdiction.