Asset Protection: Protect Your Assets Offshore Within the Law

Protecting your assets offshore using a combination of offshore companies and foundations is primarily used to fend off unwanted litigation and provide a layer of protection so that your assets cannot be easily frozen or seized by unscrupulous patrons seeking to damage you personally.

The process of asset protection, including the use of offshore asset protection works by changing the definition of the asset that is owned by the debtor from an asset that can be easily taken and sold, to a different asset that the creditor does not legally have the right to take and sell. This works because when you transfer assets into certain types of trusts or limited liability entities like corporations or limited partnerships, the debtor then only owns an interest in that entity.

They are simply taking advantage of the limited liability protections because one is only liable for up to the amount that they have invested in that entity. When someone with debt is challenged in court, they must have a solid case, based on evidence that supports any inquiries as to whether or not assets were transferred fraudulently.

Offshore asset protection is often viewed as the debtor challenging the jurisdiction of U.S. law and it is often looked upon negatively by the U.S. court system.

The attorneys, bankers and foreign countries convince frightened individuals to spend untold amounts of money creating these trusts and companies in their jurisdictions because they have better debtor laws than the U.S.

However, even with these debt friendly laws people are not always safe from their creditors, because foreign laws are set up to protect the debtors because they overrule trust law. These laws can't hold up to public policy and when challenged in court no offshore asset protection trusts has ever prevented a U.S. court from ruling against the assets or the person who is in debt. Often the person is given a court order to return the assets to this jurisdiction or face charges of contempt of court.

Many people also believe that a foreign country used for asset protection will not enforce a U.S. judgment against them. However, this is not an entirely accurate argument. Often it comes down to the fact of whether a U.S. court has jurisdiction over the individual debtor, because they are a resident of the country. This voids the assets transferred to the offshore asset protection entity, because under state and federal law it is generally illegal to transfer assets to the offshore asset protection entity barring few exceptions anyway. The ins and outs of these rules are very complicated.

Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/

For more information regarding asset protection or protecting your assets in Panama please visit the author's website.

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