Law Offices - Kenneth D. Sisco, Attorney - Personal Information
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Last Updated: July 6, 2008 E-Mail -- protect@action-assetprotection-services.com
OFFSHORE PLANNING SEMINAR -- Intensive examination of offshore planning and Asset Protection Techniques. DETAILS
CLICK HERE for The Ultimate Asset Protection Tool The ultimate strategy for utilizing foreign trusts, foreign corporations, private annuities, limited partnerships and more.Reduced Fees for Foreign Planning -- If you are interested in Foreign Trusts, Foreign Corporations, or foreign planning and strategies in general, and you are in a position to take action before August 15, 2008, you will be pleased to note that I am prepared to offer substantial fee reductions for foreign planning prior to that date. Please see Announcement |
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How Much In Assets Offshore Does One Need Before It Is Cost Effective?One of the more commonly asked questions is "How much in assets offshore, does one need, before it is cost effective?" Unfortunately, there will be as many answers to this question, as there are persons asking the question. The answer depends entirely upon how the questioner views the world. There are many persons concerned with government oppression that would put
funds overseas regardless of the costs. There is no shortage of stories of
the Jews who escaped Hitler's The minority that has the most to fear by way of government oppression, is the minority that most of us strive to become a part of; the wealthy. Not since 1916, when the United States Constitution was amended to provide for a Federal Income Tax, has the wealthy come under such concentrated attack. You will recall that the Income Tax was approved as a "soak the rich" scheme that eventually evolved into a plan to soak everyone. Little has changed; the "rich" has simply been redefined to include almost everyone. On a purely monetary basis, we can easily compute a breakeven point. Essentially it is a function of how much risk one is willing to take with his/her investments, assuming that higher risk translates into higher return. The higher the risk and the greater the return, the less is needed to break even. For example, if you could keep your money invested at 35% (very high risk), one would need only $10,000 to generate the annual maintenance fees of the structure described in my article "The Ultimate Estate Planning and Asset Protection Tool". On the other hand, if one could be comfortable with a 14% return, $25,000 would suffice. $50,000 would be required to break even at 7%; and at $100,000, one would need only an investment that returns 3.5% in order to break even. Obviously, if the dollar is depreciating, the invested amount may be significantly less, and one would still break even. The thing that makes it so difficult to place a value on foreign strategies, is that economic costs are such a small part of most people's motivation. I have already mentioned that many people, if they had to, would pay relatively large amounts, just to have relatively small amounts available to them offshore. It hasn't been too long since many Americans put funds in Swiss Bank accounts, even though there was a negative interest! Moreover, there are rumors dating back several years that the government
has already printed new "dollars" which are ready to be put into
the system on very short notice. It is said that the new money is of many
colors except green. Outside the country greenbacks will continue to be used
and will even be convertible to gold by foreigners, but the new money will be
good only in the United States, and will not be convertible. Thus, if we
could no longer obtain greenbacks and our colored money is not good outside
the If proper strategies are used, funds invested overseas will no longer be in your estate. That in itself could result in tax savings that would pay setup and maintenance costs many times over. If your estate is $700,000, and you properly place $100,000 offshore, at today's rates, you will save $37,000 in estate taxes. Finally, what would it be worth to you to know that at least a part of your assets are not available to creditors; or perhaps even more important to the prying eyes of a community more and more interested in your private affairs. All of these questions must be answered introspectively. If privacy means little to you; and you have little to fear of your government, then the question of when it makes sense to move funds offshore, can be narrowed down to a strict consideration of whether the foreign environment offers a greater opportunity for achieving investment goals. On the other hand, if privacy is a concern to you, then these other factors must also be considered. Copyright; 1997 |
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