As a high-net-worth individual, you already know that working to keep your money takes up just as much time and energy as making it. Unless, of course, you contract the services of qualified, experienced asset protection services.
If you're not sure what an asset protection service is or why it's necessary, keep reading. Every high-net-worth individual should employ asset protection services if they want to keep their estate and wealth secure for years to come.
What is “Asset Protection”?
Asset protection is a philosophy and a strategy.
- As a philosophy
It means recognizing that your assets – including liquid capital, real estate, and other property – are not invulnerable or untouchable. In fact, the more assets you accumulate through the success of your business ventures or professional efforts, the more people will want to take those assets from you through lawsuits, credit claims, and much more.
Once you recognize your assets are vulnerable, you also know that you need to take steps to defend those assets
- As a strategy
Asset protection involves leveraging several legally protective layers and vehicles, such as asset protection trusts, to simultaneously safeguard your valuable assets and set them up so they work according to your long-term goals.
For many high net worth individuals, this involves setting up one or more highly effective trusts, which safeguard your assets and allow your money to be invested wisely so that your estate’s value keeps pace with inflation
Think of asset protection as forward-thinking steps you take right now to make sure you don't lose all of your money shortly after earning it. If you follow the right asset protection strategy, you and your family members will be able to benefit from the nest egg of wealth you've built up over the last several years.
You’ve already worked hard to earn your money. At Dominion, we believe you should keep it, and we’re committed to making that happen as an asset protection service.
Why is Asset Protection Necessary?
Essentially, asset protection becomes more and more necessary the more wealth you have under your name.
Why? Think of it from a cost-benefit analysis perspective.
If you’re a disgruntled customer, angry patient, ex-business partner, or ex-spouse, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go after you for your money or your property if you barely have any cash in the bank.
After all, even if a legal opponent has a legitimate grievance against you, they might end up spending more money to take you to court or pursue other legal actions when all is said and done if you don’t have enough money or assets to make the effort worthwhile.
The reverse is true if you're a high-net-worth individual, especially a successful business owner. Misery loves company, and plenty of opponents have crab-in-the-bucket mentalities that make high-net-worth entrepreneurs and professionals, such as successful doctors, prime targets for their avarice.
As you accumulate wealth, you become a greater target for:
- Creditors, even if they don’t have a legitimate claim to your money
- Ex-spouses or business partners
- Disgruntled customers or patients who may wish to sue you
- And more
It’s because you have enough money that’s worth taking, even when accounting for legal fees and the several years it might take to get access to your assets. The higher you rise in fame and fortune, the brighter your beacon shines for those who want to take your assets by any means necessary.
What’s an Asset Protection Service?
That’s where asset protection services come in.
An asset protection service, in a nutshell, is a specialized agency, firm, or other organization that provides asset protection services and advice for high-net-worth individuals just like you. They aren't law firms necessarily, though they often employ legal officers or are partners with law firms that help them set up the trust vehicles and other instruments they use to provide services to their clients.
Asset protection services:
- Are highly knowledgeable about asset protection law and case precedent, particularly in your local jurisdiction (i.e., your country of residence or the country in which you do most of your business)
- Are experts in asset protection strategies and tactics. With their help, you’ll devise and execute a comprehensive and highly defensible asset protection strategy that acts like a fortress against any possible legal threats in the future
- Can connect you to a variety of other officials, experts, and advisors depending on your unique needs
Think of asset protection services as the specialists you use to make sure your assets are kept safe and secure over the decades to come. You're already a high-net-worth individual, and through your business ventures or your professional journey, you know the value of employing experts who know how to do what's necessary for your goals.
If you’re a business owner, for example, you don’t take care of your own plumbing problems. You hire a specialist to do it.
Rather than letting your money sit in a bank account, ripe for harvesting by your legal opponents, you should use it to erect a shield that can’t ever be breached.
Key Benefits of an Asset Protection Service
An experienced, reputable asset protection service can provide key benefits to your estate and your peace of mind for years to come.
Legal Counsel and Advice
For starters, an asset protection service like Dominion can offer comprehensive, highly experienced legal counsel and advice. You’re an expert in your domain, whatever that might be: we’re the experts in ours.
Say that you have a question about:
- What kind of trust is best for your needs? Should you go with a simple revocable trust that gives you more flexibility, or a more robust irrevocable one that offers stronger asset protection? Perhaps a hybrid trust is the perfect blend for you?
- What the ideal jurisdiction for your trust is? Are you thinking about the sunny shores of the Cook Islands, or does the financial stability of the Isle of Man sound more appealing? Maybe a domestic trust in a state like Nevada or Delaware is the way to go?
- What kinds of assets you should place in your trust given their likelihood of being targeted by creditors or lawsuit plaintiffs? Is it your sprawling real estate empire, your valuable intellectual property portfolio, or perhaps even that vintage car collection you’ve been lovingly curating?
- What your distribution schedule should be like? Would you prefer regular payouts like clockwork, or a more customized approach based on your lifestyle and spending habits? Remember, your trust should work for you, not the other way around.
- Anything else? Don’t hold back. We’re here to answer all your burning questions, no matter how big or small. After all, it’s your financial future we’re talking about.
Your asset protection service should be able to answer these questions and provide you with advice regarding your next steps. A good asset protection service will have seen many different cases similar to yours and can use its extensive experience to improve your own strategy.
Trust and Legal Vehicle Management
On top of that, setting up your trust is just the start of your defensive efforts. You’ll then need to make sure that your trust is managed properly.
With something as important as your overall estate on the line, you need a third-party trustee that you can put all of your faith in. Asset protection services live or die based on the reputation of their trustees and administrative services.
So if you find a reputable asset protection service, you can bet that they have either trustees or connections to trustees that can get the job done now and for a long time in the future. Having the right trustee managing your trust is highly beneficial because:
- You can rest assured that they won’t bow to demands from US courts or creditors
- You know that they will adhere to the wishes of you, as outlined in your trust documents
- You can bet they'll do a stellar job of managing your trust and its assets – after all, their success is tied to your own!
In addition, working with an asset protection service to get your trustee is valuable since you can truly tell the court that you don’t have any personal or professional connection to the trustee. It’s yet another layer of defense you can fall back to in the midst of a legal battle.
Access to Trust Setup Resources
Setting up your trust can be time-consuming and complex, but not if you work with the experts. Asset protection services can give you access to extensive trust setup resources, like lawyers, advisers, and the above-mentioned trustees.
In addition, asset protection services know the right banks to contact to create your trust. The best banks are those that don't have subsidiary branches in your home jurisdiction, which could potentially act as vectors for legal attacks.
Indeed, the superior banks for asset protection purposes are those that aren't advertised openly or online. You have to know people to get invitations into appropriate financial institutions, and connected asset protection services can provide those windows of opportunity.
At your level of wealth, influence is just as important as money. That’s why you should work with an influential asset protection service – it’s worth its weight in gold (and defense).
Contact Dominion Today
When it comes to comprehensive asset protection services, you can't beat what we offer at Dominion. We are the best in the world at what we do, and over the years, we've helped successful entrepreneurs, business execs, and other high-net-worth individuals just like you secure and safeguard their assets over decades.
Not only can we provide you with the sound legal counsel you need to make the best decision for your family and finances, but we’ll also set you up with a highly protective, effectively ironclad offshore asset protection trust. To learn more about our services and why we’re the ideal experts for your needs, get in touch with one of our representatives today.
.jpg)
