Monday, August 30, 2010

Doctors Asset Protection 101 - Featured on Wills, Trsust & Estates Blog

The Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof blog of Professor Gerry W. Beyer recently featured my article "Asset Protection 101 For Physicians".

Professor Beyer, a Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech Univ. School of Law, has a great, informative blog that draws upon a variety of sources in related fields and it is an honor to have been included.

The link to the post, summary and downloadable PDF are below.



http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2010/08/asset-protection-for-doctors.html

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

NEVADA TRUST FOR ASSET PROTECTION? BETTER MAKE SURE YOUR TRUST COMPANY STILL EXISTS

Even within the specialized Asset Protection legal community professional opinions vary on the use and effectiveness of Nevada and other states' Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPT's). One thing all agree on however, is that for such a strategy to hold up to even the weakest attacks the formalities of the state's trust laws must be met to the letter.

Since many Nevada DAPT's have been created by attorneys in other practice areas who dabble in Asset Protection or by promoters with no on-going guidance or client contact available (often not even attorneys) I think it is inevitable that a large number of people who have purchased Nevada trusts are going to wake up one day, need to "use" their trust and find that the trust company appointed and required by the state laws of Nevada no longer exists or that they have moved. In this case the trust, lacking proper legal formalities under Nevada Law, would offer little or no protection at all.

The full article on the Nevada trust business and those leaving, including the oldest trust company in the state, is here:
Nevada’s Oldest Trust Company Calls it Quits After 107 Years in Business

I suspect that we will see many planners and clients caught unaware by theses changes. Even worse, we will also hear tales of trust companies collecting fees and continuing to manage trusts even with their legal status revoked.

As always, we are watching the development and defensibility of the DAPT in various jurisdictions and hope to use it when and if it ever becomes a viable alternative to to the proven results of International Asset Protection Trusts. We don't feel the case law and the courts are there yet, especially given the current social and political climate that is so hostile to wealth and business owners.

Ike Devji

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tougher Tax Law For Overseas Assets

August 10, 2010

Tougher Tax Law For Overseas Assets
(Dow Jones) A new U.S. law that is part of a crackdown on tax havens means that wealthy clients will be hit with stricter filing requirements next tax season.

New rules will result in duplicate reporting for some taxpayers and steep penalties for those who fail to comply. The law makes it more difficult to hide assets overseas, partly by taxing foreign banks that don't share information about U.S. account holders.

READ MORE:

Tougher Tax Law For Overseas Assets

The link above illustrates the need for proper tax counsel and full reporting when dealing with any offshore assets.

Monday, August 9, 2010

FRAUD - 10 WARNING SIGNS ABOUT YOUR 401K

The U.S. Labor Department publishes
10 signs that your 401(k) retirement account may be subject to fraud:

1) Your quarterly 401(k) statement is consistently late or comes at irregular intervals.

2) Your account balance appears to be inaccurate.

3) Your employer failed to transmit your contribution to the plan on a timely basis.

4) A significant drop in account balance appears that cannot be explained by normal market ups and downs.

5) Your 401(k) statement shows that your contribution from your paycheck was not made.

6) Investments listed on your statement are not what you authorized.

7) Former employees are having trouble getting their benefits paid on time or in the correct amounts.

8) Unusual transactions show up.

9) Frequent and unexplained changes take place in investment managers or consultants.

10) Your employer has recently experienced severe financial difficulty.
This was excerpted from a a larger article by Jim Gallagher in St. Louis today - recommended reading if you or your clients have a closely managed retirement account of any kind.