Commentary and articles on international and domestic asset protection.
by Stephen Speiser, Esq.The Speiser Law Firm P.A. Florida’s homestead exemption is one of the most powerful asset protection laws available anywhere in the United States. Moreover, it is not just statutory law: It is written into the Constitution of the State of Florida. That makes Florida’s homestead law a constitutional right. Article 10, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution provides that an unsecured creditor …
Are Mireva Rulings Coming to the United States? Readers of our website know that we have written extensively about the Mareva ruling, a form of ex parte preliminary injunction increasingly granted by courts outside the USA to freeze debtor assets. A 2021 Florida state court decision has created a great deal of unease among debtors’ representatives concerning the reach of …
From time to time, we are asked about using foundations as a substitute for asset protection trusts. In our judgment, there is no substitute for a competent, well crafted trust. This does not mean, however, that foundations should not be used in asset protection planning. For clients with charitable goals and objectives, foundations provide an excellent vehicle to satisfy those …
The location of particular assets affects the law governing those assets and your ability to protect those assets from unanticipated creditors
A state’s enactment of a DAPT law should be regarded as the state legislature’s expression per se “actual intent” under the UVTA not be imputed in any form of asset protection planning. While this is an incredibly broad inference, it reflects the reality that DAPTs do not exist in a vacuum.
Several years ago, I assisted a client who was going through a contentious divorce. Of particular concern to my client was that he had entrusted his then wife with passwords for many of his online accounts, and she was not ready to hand them over. Her phone number had also been used for two-factor authentication on several of these same …
There are three basic elements of a true “offshore” asset protection plan: (i) the legal structure (trust or business entity) must be formed outside the U.S. in a safe jurisdiction; (ii) the assets have been successfully migrated to the offshore legal structure; and (iii) legal control of the structure must be vested in persons or trustees who are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
The Swiss Hybrid Trust constitutes an asset protection vehicle unattainable in any one jurisdiction alone.
The Speiser Law Firm, P.A. is pleased to announce that its new website is available for public viewing at https://speiserlaw.com.
The Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has recently issued a ruling expanding the power of the courts in the British Virgin Islands to issue injunctions in support of foreign proceedings, including injunctions directed at third parties who are not subject to any substantive claims (known as “Chabra” orders). Notably, this relief may be granted even if …
