Offshore Trusts

Offshore Trusts:  A Trust is a contract. A private legal agreement. An expression of an understanding. An offshore trust is the same.

The major difference is that it's constituted abroad, beyond the laws of the country where you live...OFFSHORE.
 

The Common Law Trust has served for centuries as a favorite vehicle in financial planning and asset protection. The Trust is finding even greater life in today's increasingly complex society as we see our privacy diminished by the very cyberworld you're traveling right now!
 

MAKING A TRUST WORK FOR YOU

The use of a Trust for asset protection and estate planning dates back several centuries. Trusts were common in England early in the 11th century. In some form the trust was an instrument for holding property in Roman times.

 

Developed over time, Trusts have become a seriously effective means of minimizing taxes, protecting assets and passing wealth along to heirs in privacy and without devastating tax consequences.

 

The very wealthy have used the trust approach for many years. Recent development in the offshore world where more and more jurisdictions adopt effective laws, the trust has become an instrument available to people of lesser means. For nominal costs, minimal formalities and on short notice, a trust can come into being. We invite you to consider the trust a part of your personal and corporate financial planning, either alone or in conjunction with a IBC (International Business Company).

 

Some Information About A Trust

In general, a trust involves: A Settlor or Grantor: The person, company or other entity placing property into a trust.

 

A Trustee: The individual, company, another trust or other entity who receives the property to be managed for the benefit of those individuals, companies, trusts, or other entities named as Beneficiaries.

The Beneficiary or Beneficiaries: The individual, individuals, company or companies, trust or trusts or other entities named to benefit from the trust property.

The Trust Document, The Deed or Declaration of Trust is the written instrument which details the duties of the Trustee, Names the Beneficiaries and Lists the Property in the Trust Corpus or body of assets.

Types of Trusts While we will assist in the establishment of a trust wherein the settlor or grantor retain absolute direct control of the trust assets by becoming the Trustee or by some other means, we are reluctant to do so. If the property is not within the absolute and discretionary control of the Trustee who is not the grantor or settlor, or  the grantor or settlor, retains overt control, little is accomplished as relates to asset protection especially, and to tax avoidance or minimization, typically. Laws in high tax countries specify that if the tax payer controls the property, then he must pay the taxes on the assets or earnings on the trust property.

 

The Discretionary Trust provides for a party to serve as the Settlor, being himself beyond the jurisdiction of the beneficiaries. The actual property can come from any place and be any thing.

 

With a Discretionary Trust, the Trustee can add to the list of beneficiaries or remove beneficiaries. Certainly, in a Discretionary Trust, the Trustee*  has control over the property. This type of Trust is almost exclusively used for asset protection and tax and estate planning.

As already referred to, under current tax laws and regulations in the high tax or "sophisticated" countries where the Common Law trust is known, if the beneficiaries are known, there might be a decision to claim taxes due, even though there has been no distribution. The confidentiality laws of most offshore jurisdictions take this into account. With the confidentiality feature, there is no chance that anyone can get information as to who beneficiaries are. To fill in the gaps where beneficiaries are not named in the Trust Deed or Trust Instrument, a Letter of Wishes filed with the Trustee to specify the Beneficiaries and their interest trust property will suffice.
 

Note: As we understand it, In the United States citizens or residents must disclose any income from any source anywhere in the world and must disclose if they are a beneficiary of a foreign trust (or any trust). They must disclose also if they are the signer on a foreign bank account. It is proper to disclose fully what is requested o you in any circumstance. You must be honest when filing tax returns and applying for bank loans.  Honesty in your personal affairs and business affairs is the best policy.

Also, where the Trust Deed does not specify details relative to distributions, a letter of wishes may be filed at any time by the beneficiary.

Laws in most jurisdictions allow for this while not revoking the irrevocability feature of the trust. A Letter of Wishes may be filed at the time of initiating the Trust or at any time thereafter.

For Asset Protection In litigious countries such as the United States, it has become common practice for individuals to seek offshore trusts for protection against:

•  Malpractice claims in the case of Medical Doctors and other professionals
• Products liability
• Creditors
• Business or Personal Judgments
• Problematic divorces

The Trust Must be Irrevocable to qualify in many cases as a true asset protection device. If the Beneficiary or Settlor have ready access to trust property, tax authorities can "demand" compliance with local laws and tax regulations of the beneficiaries or settlor.

 

A trust cannot be all things to all people in all situations. Multiple trusts might be called for: One for tax reduction, another for minimizing liability by holding physical assets. Your tax expert or qualified attorney should be consulted.

Speed Where Speed Is Important:  A trust can be established in minutes, literally. While it might take longer to have property transferred into a trust, time can be a factor as to the dating of the Deed. Generally, a Trust Deed is not registered with any tax jurisdiction.

A trust is a private arrangement. Normally, there is no requirement for accounting reports to any agency. On the contrary, there is no access provided to the activities of the trustee except as arranged by the parties or through the courts, and that is not easy.

 

*In the case of Trusts, If clients are uncomfortable with having a trust company in the picture, an IBC can be formed for the purpose of acting as trustee.

The Advantages of an Offshore Trust

- Tax savings, avoidance and deferral: How you use your trust relative to paying, defering or avoiding taxes must be your decision and we feel it is absolutely necessary to seek qualified counsel.

- Safety: Keeping assets offshore provides you a financial reserve should disaster strike at home, or in your domestic life or financial affairs.

- Protection Against Judgment: In a lawsuit-happy world it's nice to have reserves that can't be "seized", "liened" or "attached" with the stroke of the Court's pen or the phone call of a tax authority. Though not impossible for them to get at, it's much much harder for them to attach your assets, when they're held in Trust, offshore, by a Trustee who isn't beholden to anyone but the wishes and welfare of the beneficiaries.

- Confidentiality: A private contract, a legal agreement, and the business of no one but you, the trustee's, and whoever else you think needs to know. The offshore Trustee is required to say nothing to external inquisitors.

- Ease of Transfer of Interest to Heirs or Others: Wills, living trusts, and domestic trusts invariably pay taxes - especially when assets are transferred. An offshore trust does not.

Tax laws, especially in the United States, are voluminous, complex, obtuse and easily interpreted by employees of the Internal Revenue Service to benefit their case, their work and their boss. Lines are blurred.  Explore carefully and fully laws with regard to gifts to minors, gifts generally, gifts to children; earnings offshore and earnings of portfolios, trading accounts, etc.  Tax Law is the tool of those who write the law and collect the taxes and you can expect no mercy.

Earnings and a Faster Accumulation of Wealth: Trusts can own companies, have bank accounts, own portfolios, hold trading accounts. and not pay taxes.  Once the benefidiary receives assets from a trust, there might be a tax event involved. Be sure you report such distributions if the law requires you to do so.

The Trust is one of the most flexible financial instruments and entities to ever come about. We offer the establishment and administrative management of these offshore trusts primarily under the jurisdictions of Belize and the Jersey Islands in the English Channel. We can provide them in many other jurisdictions as well.