For many, this conjures images of the stereotypical Colombian drug lord laundering money in some offshore bank account in the Caymans. For others, it may bring forth images of former Enron executives with their money stashed away in Bermuda. And while this may be true for some, there are many legitimate entrepreneurs and investors at all levels who take advantage of legally protecting their assets from the very real threats that exist today.
Asset protection, simply put, involves legally protecting your assets from the threats that prevail in today’s society. There are two main threats to your wealth; litigation and government interference.
In 2008, there were nearly 1.2 million lawsuits filed in the US. If you consider there are approximately 300 million people, half of them in the workforce, this leaves about 1.2 million lawsuits for every 150 million people. But from 150 million people, less than 20% of them are really at risk to lose something in a lawsuit. That leaves 30 million people at risk. In this simplified example, 1 in every 25 at risk people were sued in 2008. 1 in 25. Not very good odds…
Are you a real estate investor? You can count on that number going much, much higher. You just never know when your next tenant opens a meth lab in the basement and blows the house up and kills someone. Are your remaining assets at risk in this case? Are you willing to risk your entire future on an event of which you have no control?
Asset protection involves anything from simple domestic LLC, up to a complex strategy involving offshore trusts and IBC’s. The strategy varies widely and is very specific to each situation. This is where proper counsel is crucial. You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of the law with the government. But a properly developed asset protection strategy will protect your wealth for future generations and give you that much needed ‘sleep at night’ insurance.
I will discuss government interference at another date as that is too deep of a topic for one reading. Until next time, live well.
