Offshore Protection with Domestic Simplicity
The Bridge Trust ® is a breakthrough Asset Protection concept which “bridges” the best features of the Foreign Asset Protection Trust (FAPT) yet is even easier to use and maintain than the Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT).
The Bridge Trust ® is a fully registered Asset Protection Trust with a certificate of registration from an offshore trust jurisdiction right from day one. The foreign Trustee is also in place from Day 1, and the due diligence is done on the client right up front, when it matters and when waters are calm. The Trust is then stepped back into the US for tax purposes and from the perspective of the IRS is considered a simple domestic grantor Trust.
What this means is that the client may be the Trustee, the Trust does not need a separate EIN number, it can use the client’s social security number, and the Trust need not file a separate tax return or any foreign trust compliance forms. The net effect is that the Bridge Trust ® is as easy to use and maintain as a typical Revocable Living Trust – Except if there is ever an “Event of Duress”, the foreign Trustee may be activated by declaration of the Protector and the Trust jurisdiction can be fully moved offshore with all of the protections of a full FAPT, with an inception date of when the Trust was established, not when it becomes foreign!
Clients want the strongest possible protection for their assets if they are ever threatened. They also want simple maintenance, and minimal annual costs. They also absolutely want to stay in control of their assets.
The Bridge Trust ® offers clients exactly these benefits:
- The Trust “Crosses the Bridge” to the World’s oldest and most tested Asset Protection Jurisdiction – The Cook Islands
- The client can stay in direct control of the Trust as the Trustee until and unless the Trust assets are threatened.
- There is no need for onerous IRS filing and reporting which accompany a typical FAPT such as the 3520, FinCen114 and numerous FATCA requirements.
- The Trust is NOT limited to using one of the DAPT jurisdictions which continue to have damaging cases and are creating a very poor track record of actually protecting assets.
- For 97% of the client, they will remain the Trustee of their Trust and may pass their assets and even the planning to their children. During their lifetime they have received the major benefit of living and working without the fear of losing their assets in a lawsuit. This is perhaps the single greatest benefit of the Bridge Trust ®.
- The annual maintenance fees are very reasonable and provide significant ongoing benefits to the clients, as well as “keeping” your clients connected to you for annual reviews and ongoing issues and planning that they will eventually need.
It has been our experience with thousands of clients, that The Bridge Trust ® is the best tool for the vast majority of the clients who seek our counsel.
90% of our clients choose the simplicity and protection of The Bridge Trust ®.
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