Asset Preservation
At Sage Capital Advisors, Inc., we take an integrated approach to asset preservation, one that includes the utilization of both domestic and international structures. The fact is, truly effective asset preservation demands a thorough understanding of all the options available. Many planners feel that the failure to advise clients about all available asset preservation options, including those available internationally, may be grounds for a claim of malpractice. However, utilizing every available asset preservation tool is not, as some suggest, the practice of assisting clients in illegal or fraudulent activities. What most critics fail to realize is that such advice has been rendered to individuals and families for centuries.
Major Areas Of Concern
Expanding Theories Of Liability. A system whose legal decisions are, by definition, based upon legal precedent is subject to expansion of its theories of liability. Every decision in the chain sets the stage for the next step of expansion. This, combined with the increasing willingness of judges and juries to expand a theory of liability, leaves a tremendous amount of uncertainty and exposure for people who have relied on traditional forms of planning.
Result-oriented Judges And Juries. The personal opinions of judges and juries often enter into the decisions they render, with, the possible exclusion of what the law provides and the result should be. This can contribute to outrageous jury awards which, as we’ve all seen, are too numerous to mention in detail.
Litigation Explosion. One of the reasons asset preservation is such an important area in planning is the explosion in the number of lawsuits filed. Efforts at tort reform have done little. There are over 100 million new cases added to the dockets every year and there is a sharp increase in civil cases. Consider, for a moment, the following:
- We are one of only two countries in the world that allows attorneys to work on a contingency basis
- The contingency system has a direct impact on asset preservation because anyone with wealth is a target
- Lawyers have become equity partners with litigants. They get 1/3 to 1/2 of the money and therein lay the culture of attorneys and our legal system
- International planning is a moral, ethical and prudent part of an integrated and well-thought-out plan
Meeting The Objectives Of Our Clients
The vast majority of our clients are focused on asset preservation through the use of select vehicles, both domestic and overseas. Our proprietary five step process, The Integrated Wealth Preservation and Growth Solution™, offers a proven method of helping you achieve this goal and more. Your financial circumstances may call for comprehensive and far reaching strategies, which evolve over time. These could include the use of legal structures in domestic financial centers plus an array of structures and services not readily available domestically. Every individual and family is unique and evolves over time. Situations change, business needs evolve, regulations change. We realize individual and ongoing care is critical in helping preserve your assets and realize your goals. Thus, we work closely with you and your loved ones over time to ensure your needs are met.
Goals Of Asset Preservation
Deter Litigation. Reducing the size of the target may itself accomplish much with regard to asset preservation.
Level the Playing field. A defendant without asset preservation planning will have fewer strategies and defensive maneuvers available at critical times during litigation. A properly designed asset preservation plan will by its very nature create numerous issues with which some future adversary would have to contend.
Greater Financial Privacy. Asset preservation usually results in the transfer of assets into legal forms that are not as highly visible to those who might want to pry.
Win The Game. Proper asset preservation planning can create a series of hurdles that the opponent must clear. Realizing that an angry plaintiff with deep pockets may have the stamina to clear hurdles, a proper plan must ultimately work because it is legally sound. Therefore, a proper plan will build a brick wall on the other side of the last hurdle.
The Power Of An Asset Protection Trust
A Foreign Trust is one of the most protective vehicles that a planner can design and implement for a client. In examining possible defensive maneuvers, domestic alternatives rely on the same legal system for protection that created the problems and concerns the clients are trying to address. However, with a Foreign Trust, you have the ability to move the legal battleground abroad to a different legal system. And when the battle moves overseas, a judgment foreign to that system will not be respected by a properly selected offshore jurisdiction. Even if the plaintiff retries the case in the foreign jurisdiction and is successful, the plaintiff must next attempt to enforce the judgment against the foreign plan. Under the law of a properly selected foreign jurisdiction, the plaintiff will find there is specific legislation that protects the foreign plan and the interest of the beneficiaries.
Key Benefits Of Foreign Jurisdiction:
- Statutory certainty regarding non-recognition of foreign judgment
- Definitive statute of limitations
The Importance Of Planning In Advance
Even if you have not been named in a lawsuit, chances are you have had friends or family involved in them. The stress of possible loss and the psychological effects on business and relationships can be devastating. Proper planning is done in advance of any foreseeable problems. The Integrated Wealth Preservation and Growth Solution™ is essentially the process of organizing your assets and affairs in advance to preserve your assets from unnecessary risks. It goes without saying that asset preservation planning conducted after a lawsuit is filed limits your options.
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Sage Capital Advisors, Inc (“Sage”) is registered as an
investment advisor with the Office of Financial Regulation of the Florida Financial
Services Commission. The information and opinions contained in this document
are for background purposes only and do not purport to be full or complete,
and is subject to change. No representation, warranty, or undertaking, express
or implied, is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or
opinions contained in this document, and no liability is accepted as to the
accuracy or completeness of any such information or opinions. Sage does not
provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. In considering this material, you
should discuss your individual circumstances with a tax, legal and/or accounting
professional before making any decisions.
This document is not an offer, nor the solicitation of an offer, to enter into an investment advisory contract with Sage.