At social events, people always ask me, "How do I hide my wealth?" Who are you trying to keep your money and property from? Is there a legal way to hide your money or property?
If a very interested person does a search of your assets and doesn't find out who you are, you have done a good job of hiding them. In a post 9/11, it's not possible. With the passing of government banking acts, everything has become more clear.
People who want to know who the real owner is can do so for the right price. The Internet is really speeding up. Everything you do is known to everyone.
But the original owner and the person who owns it now can be changed legally without going offshore. It is perfectly legal for you to move your assets into an irrevocable trust. If your assets are owned by a subchapter S. Corporation or a Limited Liability Company and the shares of the Sub S or membership units of the LLC are owned by an irrevocable trust, it's the fortress of US Asset Protection.
USE IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS TO HIDE YOUR ASSETS.
To hide your assets, all you have to do is move them through an irrevocable trust with a trustee who is truly independent. The key to a successful transfer is exchanging something of equal value for the asset or getting a fair market value for the asset.
If you move your assets to a different place, you will no longer own them. If you don't have anything of value, no one will want to sue you, follow you, or even know your name. There's no need to go offshore. Your asset protection system will be supported and defended by US laws and courts.
LET AN INDEPENDENT TRUSTEE BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR ASSETS.
Many court cases, all the way up to the Supreme Court, have been used to figure out what these laws mean. You must, however, let a truly independent trustee take charge of your assets. When a Limited Liability Company changes the way your asset protection system works, it makes it better.
HOW THE LLC CAN HELP PROTECT YOUR ASSETS
LLCs have been around for a long time, but until recently, states didn't recognise them. The LLC is a type of business that is similar to the German GmbH, the French SARL, and the South American Limitada. The LLC lets small groups of people work together with limited liability while following rules similar to those of a partnership (rather than the complex rules that apply to corporate-type structures).
The IRS sees the LLC as a "pass-through type" of tax entity that doesn't need to be taxed. That is, the profits or losses of the LLC flow through the business and are reported and taxed on the individual tax returns of the owners, rather than being reported and taxed at a separate business level.
There are also general and limited partnerships, sole proprietorships, and "S" corporations, which are all pass-through entities. The IRS now lets an LLC choose to be taxed as a corporation if it wants to. To do this, the LLC must file IRS Form 8832. Talk to your tax expert or call Estate Street Partners at 888-938-5872 (toll-free).
