Recent Developments in Asset Protection, Business, and Estate Planning Law
Since the limited liability company first came into being in the State of Wyoming in the late 1970s, the LLC has become ubiquitous throughout the United States and major offshore business centers. The flexibility that LLCs offer, similar to partnerships, makes them convenient for conducting business with minimal formalities. Also, the formidable barriers to liability make them just as effective as more …
We are pleased to announce that, earlier this year, FinMA approved Lighthouse Swiss Trust AG as a fully-licensed trust company in Switzerland. Lighthouse Trust is now one of only a handful of licensed trust companies in Switzerland. Our Swiss office was first establish in 2008 at a time when trust companies were subject to indirect regulation through so-called self-regulating organizations …
Readers of our articles know that we have long held a dim view about the business climate in Delaware. While the state has promoted itself as a supposedly “safe” domestic asset protection jurisdiction, we saw over a decade ago in Kloiber that the Delaware Chancery Court was unwilling to shield a Delaware asset protection trust from a Kentucky divorce proceeding. …
A 2019 Bankruptcy Court decision confirms the resilience of foreign trusts, particularly those established in Belize, when the trust grantor is made the subject of legal proceedings in the United States. The 2019 case of In re Rensin, 600 B.R. 870 (S.D. Fla. 2019), highlights the importance of appointing an independent trustee in a jurisdiction with strong asset protection trust …
We are pleased to announce the opening of a new office for Lighthouse Trust operations in Hong Kong. For many years, Lighthouse has arranged company management, insurance management, and bespoke fiduciary services in Hong Kong. The formal opening of our Hong Kong office enables us to provide an even broader array of services, including account establishment and maintenance with leading …
We are pleased to announce the relocation of our Zug office to Bahnhofstrasse 20. With the relocation, Lighthouse Trust will occupy a prominent place in one of Zug’s best known buildings. Situated on the city’s main thoroughfare, the new office will be a short walk from the main train station, connecting visitors with the European-wide rail network. Clients of Lighthouse Trust know …
For decades, Delaware has served as a panacea for business planning. Business filings are relatively cheap, there is no income tax applicable to a business not operating in Delaware, and Delaware has proactively implemented innovative business legislation, such as the series LLC. Yet, overlooked by many lawyers is the fact that Delaware’s demographics have changed over the past several decades. …
At long last, the U.S. Treasury Department published the highly anticipated proposed regulations under IRC Sections 2703 and 2704. These regulations target the predominant estate tax planning technique of using family limited partnerships ( FLPs) and family limited liability companies (FLLCs), among other types of family-owned enterprises, to achieve transfer tax cost reductions. For example, a senior family member may transfer valuable assets …
On December 18, 2015, the Cayman Islands advanced legislation providing for the formation and registration of limited liability companies. While the legislation has not yet been enacted into law, the text of the bill has been published, and our expert staff has now had a chance to review the proposal. About Our Staff Lawyers on our service team have contributed to …
We frequently encounter the same two questions posed to us by both lawyers and their clients: Which entity is best for asset protection? Which jurisdiction is best for an asset protection entity? Answering these two questions properly requires that we first define several key terms both to identify planning objectives and to define success. Asset Protection: “Asset protection” is a …
