California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Asset Protection - Offshore Asset Protection, Trustees and Offshore Trust Protectors
If you’ve been searching for California asset protection lawyers or offshore asset protection attorneys in California and haven’t found the asset protection attorney in which you can be confident when retaining a lawyer for your asset protection, voluntary disclosure, offshore trust protection and family limited partnership matters in California, Sebastian Gibson is the asset protection attorney you’ve been looking for.
California Asset Protection Lawyer
With over thirty years of experience handling international matters, with law degrees in both California and in Great Britain, and years of international experience in London as well as decades of experience in California, California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson brings a wealth of experience to the table and was chosen one of the 2011 Top Lawyers by Palm Springs Life Magazine.
In offshore asset protection, one of the risks in setting up an offshore trust is in the selection of the trustee, which is usually a foreign bank or trust and an offshore trust protector.
Offshore trusts are expensive to set up and recently they’ve been successfully attacked as reported by court decisions in some states. If the settlor of the trust retains any control over the appointment of the trustee, or if the trust protector or advisors are in the U.S. and have the power to remove the trustee and replace him or her, a court may order the dissolution of the trust.
If the trustees of offshore trusts or their protectors refuse the order of the court, a judge can hold the settlor, a trust advisor or trust protector in contempt of court and put them in jail until they comply. It is for this reason that a settlor must, for a trust to be most effective, relinquish all control over the offshore trust and for all parties other than the settlor to be outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. For most individuals, that is a difficult pill to swallow.
A foreign trustee should have no contacts with the U.S., with the settlor of the offshore trust, directly or through agents so as not to have even minimum contacts with the U.S. and be subject to a U.S. court’s jurisdiction. However, when setting up a trust, it can be done so with a letter of wishes of the settlor, which though non-binding, contains the desires of the settlor for distribution of the trust assets.
Offshore trusts require their establishment in favorable foreign jurisdictions under the control of a non-U.S. citizen trustee without any presence in the U.S. In providing offshore asset protection advice, many clients find this difficult to do.
For those who feel uneasy about placing complete authority over distributions in a trustee, some jurisdictions allow the use of an individual or a committee of individuals who have the power over the directions of distributions of trust funds or who can change the trustee.
A protector is in essence, the grantor’s alter ego. The protector is in place to follow the wishes of the grantor and to watch over the trustee. Generally, attorneys will choose only the largest and longest established trustee firms with trustees who are generally lawyers or accountants.
The settlor of a trust who appoint a trust protector, should ensure that the protector has no presence in the U.S. The Protector can then safely watch over the actions of the trustee and even remove the trustee if the protector feels it is necessary to do so. A trust protector thus has powers over the protection of the trust, the trustee and the assets but with no beneficial interest in the trust property.
Some individuals find it impossible to delegate complete control of their assets to trustees and protectors they previously never met, and choose to designate themselves as the Protector and remove themselves only in the event of duress or litigation. This strategy can be dangerous and can defeat the protection offered by a foreign trust if a court deems the individual-protector as having the ability to remove the trustee and veto any trustee actions. Some courts have held that it is a U.S. citizen’s former position (as protector or trustee) that determines if a U.S. person has the ability to control a trust.
A grantor who cannot part with control to trustees and/or offshore trust protectors and chooses to retain too much can lose the protection a offshore trust is designed to offer. An attorney can advise a client as to how much control can likely be retained without affecting the trust’s protection.
In compliance with IRS requirements, we must advise you that any U.S. federal tax advice or offshore asset protection tips contained in this informational article are not intended to be used nor is it published in order for it to be used and you may not use it for the purpose of avoiding penalties or fines under the Internal Revenue Code. It is not intended to be used nor is it being published in order to promote, market or recommend any specific transaction, offshore asset protection strategies, tax-related matter or estate planning tax scheme to any party.
California Asset Protection Attorney, Sebastian Gibson
Sought out to be a writer for California’s two largest and most prestigious legal newspapers, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson’s articles have been published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. Today thousands and thousands of people visit this website and his blogs monthly for useful advice and thousands more follow him on Twitter for his humor.
One of the best asset protection attorneys for people in California to follow for his humor and wit, one of the funniest California asset protection lawyers as well as one of the top humorous California asset protection attorneys people follow on Twitter, California asset protection attorney Sebastian Gibson has been called "brilliant," "hilariously funny" and a "legend."
It matters more than you think who you call for your asset protection and other legal matters. When it matters most, call California asset protection lawyer Sebastian Gibson. When it’s time to hire a California asset protection attorney, hire a legend.
