This arrangement puts you in a position of
strength. What will often happen is that the
judgment creditor settles the case for pennies
on the dollar. If the creditor does not settle,
your Swiss bank account will simply remain unreachable
by your creditor(s). The trustee can pay bills
for you or can pay money to alternate beneficiaries,
such as family members, who can take care of
your needed expenditures.
There was one case (the “Anderson Case”)
where the attorney who prepared the trust made
the grave mistake of naming the trust “protectors”
the same people as the beneficiaries of the
trust. The trust protectors can give limited
instructions to the trustee. The court ruled
that since the judgment debtors (who were both
the beneficiaries of the trust and the trust
protectors) had the right to instruct the trustee,
and then removed themselves as protector too
late in the game, they were held in contempt.
They were only held a short while, however.
Even though the trust was established in an
erroneous manner, the assets remained safe and
sound inside of the trust. The judgment creditor,
in this case the US government, was not able
to touch the assets.
How do I know my Swiss bank account will be
safe inside the trust?
Adding one more legal tool to the mix gives
clients a great degree of added comfort. A limited
liability company (LLC) established in the Caribbean
island of Nevis can be established to own the
Swiss bank account. Your Cook Islands trust
will own 100% of your Nevis LLC. You are the
manager of the Nevis LLC. As manager you can
have 100% control and 0% ownership. That is,
your trust owns the entire company but you have
the management string of control in your hands.
This arrangement gives you the benefit of being
in 100% control of your Swiss bank account and
oversight of the day-to-day activities of your
account. When the “bad thing” happens,
the trustee is duty-bound to temporarily remove
you as manager until the legal duress subsides.
When the “bad thing” goes away,
you are restored as manager.
The benefit here is that by merely changing
the manager from you to the trustee there is
no “fraudulent transfer” or “fraudulent
conveyance” argument that would reasonably
hold water in a court of law. You are not transferring
assets. You are simply changing the management
temporarily.
Fraudulent transfer is where a current or potential
judgment debtor transfers his or her assets
beyond the reach of creditors. “The Statute
of Elizabeth” created the first fraudulent
conveyance law in 1571. This principle was adopted
by most countries which inherited English law,
including the United States.
A sample fraudulent transfer scenario is where
a man crashes his car into the back of another
vehicle. Knowing he is liable, he gives all
of his money to his mother thinking that this
will protect his funds from seizure. When he
is sued and receives a judgment for more than
his insurance will cover, the courts will reverse
the transfer to mother and allow the courts
to have access to the fraudulently transferred
funds.
Coming back to the Nevis LLC, this fascinating
legal tool gives you 100% control, as the manger
of the LLC; and your Cook Island trust has 100%
of the ownership. Again, your Swiss bank account
will be held inside of your Nevis LLC.
Cook Island Trust --> Owns 100% of Nevis
LLC --> Owns Swiss bank account.
The reputable, experienced, licensed, bonded
trust company in the Cook Islands is your trustee.
You are the manager of the Nevis LLC and the
signer on your Swiss bank account.
Can I trust the trustee?
This is answered best with a question. Would
you rather have a 100% chance of your money
being taken by your legal enemy? Or would you
rather have a licensed, bonded trustee protecting
your money from your legal enemy? Keep in mind
that the trustee only steps in as manager of
your Nevis LLC when your money would have a
near 100% chance of being taken by the courts.
Moreover, the bonding company protects your
funds up to $5 million US.
When should I establish my Cook Islands trust
and Nevis LLC for my Swiss bank account?
There is a one to two year statute of limitations
on fraudulent transfer in the Cook Islands.
What this means is that by the time you fight
the case in a court of law, file an appeal or
file bankruptcy, enough time will have passed
that even if it is proven that you placed funds
your Swiss bank account into the trust with
the sole intent to defraud your creditors, your
money will still remain safe.
So, the clock is ticking. If maximum asset
protection for your hard-earned money is important
to you, the sooner you place your Swiss bank
account inside of your Cook Island trust the
better.
To establish a Swiss bank account owned
by a Nevis LLC and Cook Island trust or for
more free information, call Companies Incorporated
at 1-800-830-1055 or +1-661-253-3303.
To apply online, please click
here. To order an offshore company plus
account, please click
here.
Cook Islands
Asset Protection Trust
