How Foreign Asset Protection Trusts (FAPTs) Compare to Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs)

Stephen Speiser, Esq. September 2024 In the realm of wealth management and asset protection, trusts play a pivotal role in safeguarding assets against potential creditors, legal judgments, and other financial risks. Two prominent types of trusts utilized for these purposes are Foreign Asset Protection Trusts (FAPTs) and Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs).  Each type offers unique features, legal protections, and …

The Folly of Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs)

By Stephen Speiser, Esq. We need to have a serious conversation about domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs). By our last count, 20 states now have DAPT laws: Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Yet, the rush to implement DAPT legislation – motivated by state bar …

The Alec Baldwin Saga: A Case Study

Can Asset Protection Save His Fortune from Manslaughter Charges? By: Stephen Speiser, Esq. February 1, 2024 The once bright future of Alec Baldwin is now in serious peril.  On Friday, January 19, 2024, a New Mexico grand jury indicted the Emmy-award winning actor and director on involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from the October 2021 fatal shooting on the film set …

Florida’s Homestead Law

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 …

When In Rome… How the Location of Assets Affects Asset Protection Planning

The location of particular assets affects the law governing those assets and your ability to protect those assets from unanticipated creditors

Is All Asset Protection Planning Bad Under the UVTA?

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.