Trusts

Trusts are an extremely effective asset protection tool. They exist in many forms. Trusts can be either statutory (civil law) or non statutory (common law). 

Some benefits of a trust are:

Inheritance

A trust enables the settlor or grantor to transfer title to property either prior to or upon his/her death, to a trusted party, the trustee, for the benefit of yet another party, the beneficiary in accordance with the trust instrument. The property does not necessarily transfer in accordance with the terms of a will (if any) or the forced probate rules of the country of domicile (if any). This provides uninterrupted ownership and easy inheritance transfers.

Asset Protection

A trust insures that assets remain intact in case of litigation against the settlor or grantor, by removing ownership. The trust assets are not the assets of the settlor or grantor and may not be attached by attacks on the settlor or grantor.

Flexibility

Trusts can be established in different jurisdictions. Selecting trustees across multiple jurisdictional lines affords the flexibility for changing jurisdictions at the time of an attack. For example, a client may establish a domestic trust, (enabling them to forgo complicated offshore filing requirements) but appoint a foreign trustee. This will afford the distinct advantage of being able to effectively alter jurisdiction upon attack. This is accomplished by dismissing the domestic trustee, thus making duress by court action difficult upon a trustee not under the courts authority. Domicile considerations are important with regards to trust income and capital gains, being careful to allow for accumulation in a favorable and/or no-tax jurisdiction. 

Our knowledgeable staff of entity analysts are experienced in choosing from the extensive list of trust types and their practical applications. Our staff will assist you in deciding whether your estate plan warrants a Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, Charitable, or a common Living Trust. Perhaps your plan merits a non-statutory approach. In that case they may suggest the formation of a Pure Trust Organization, commonly referred to as a common law or Constitutional Trust.

The analysts will guide you through several important decisions, such as "revocable vs. irrevocable", "inter vivos vs. testamentary", and "statutory vs. non-statutory".