Trusts & Asset Protection

The Proven Wealth-Shielding Power of International Trust Structures

If you build anything of value, you also attract risk:

• Aggressive litigators and contingency-fee lawsuits
• Business partners, ex-partners and shareholder disputes
• Personal guarantees on loans or leases
• Divorce and family conflict
• Political / banking instability in your home country
• Future tax and regulatory changes you can’t predict today
  

A well-designed offshore trust doesn’t make you “invisible”. It does something much more powerful:

It separates what you own from what you control, so that a future creditor or court can’t easily grab the assets you’ve spent a lifetime building.

The goal isn’t secrecy or tax evasion. The goal is to ensure that if something goes wrong, your family still has a war chest, your long-term investments are protected, and you keep negotiating power.

Assistance with work permits or sponsorship-related paperwork

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What a trust can do for you

A trust is not just “a fancy will” or “an offshore account”. When it’s done properly, it becomes the legal backbone of your balance sheet.

With the right trust structure you can:

Ring-fence assets from future creditors and lawsuits

• Separate your operating risk from your personal wealth. If your business fails or you’re sued, the trust, not you, owns the key assets.

Protect family wealth from divorce and disputes

• Keep assets in a neutral, rule-based structure rather than in the hands of any one family member (including you).

Create a clear succession plan

• Decide now how assets should pass to children, spouses, charities and future generations, without leaving everything to local intestacy rules.

Reduce political and jurisdictional risk

• Move core assets into stable, well-regulated jurisdictions with strong courts and a long track record of protecting settlors and beneficiaries.

Add privacy without going “dark”

• Hold companies, real estate and portfolios through professional trustees and underlying entities so you’re not the direct owner on every public register, while still remaining compliant.

Make complex structures manageable

• Wrap multiple companies, bank accounts, portfolios and properties into one coherent platform with professional governance.

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A global toolkit - not a one size fits all trust

Different goals require different tools. We work across a range of jurisdictions and trust types, building the combination that fits your risk, residence, family and business plans.

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We regularly design structures using (among others):

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You are not buying “a Cook Islands trust” or “a Cayman trust in a box”. You are commissioning a custom structure that may combine multiple tools:

• Discretionary trust
• Purpose trust or STAR/VISTA-type trust
• Trust-owned holding companies
• Underlying trading and property companies
• Foundations or private trust companies where needed

Top-tier asset-protection centres

• Cook Islands, Nevis, Belize and similar jurisdictions with strong “firewall” legislation, short limitation periods and creditor-unfriendly rules.

Established common-law trust hubs

• Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, ideal for long-term family wealth and multi-asset holdings.

Onshore & mid-shore options

• UK, New Zealand, US domestic trusts (and hybrid US/offshore arrangements), Malta, Cyprus and selected EU jurisdictions where appropriate.

Civil-law alternatives

• Liechtenstein foundations, Panama or other civil-law vehicles where a classical “trust” is not recognised or where a foundation is more suitable

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Typical structures we design

1. Asset Protection Trust + Holding Platform

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For entrepreneurs, consultants, high-risk professionals and litigated sectors.

• Top-tier asset protection trust in a strong jurisdiction
• Underlying holding company in Cayman / BVI / Jersey / Guernsey / similar
• Operating companies in your “real” business locations (US, UK, EU, UAE, etc.)
• Clear separation between risk-taking entities and wealth-holding entities
  

2. Family Wealth & Succession Trust

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For families who want to protect and pass on assets without drama.

• Discretionary or dynasty-style trust in a stable, reputable jurisdiction
• Portfolio accounts, investment structures and real estate wrapped under the trust
• Letters of wishes to guide the trustee on distributions and education/age milestones
• Optional protector / family council to keep real-world control aligned with legal control
  

3. Real Estate & Property Holding Trust

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For multi-property landlords, cross-border property owners and hospitality investors.

• Trust-owned holding company for local property SPVs
• Segregation between properties, development projects and personal assets
• Flexibility to refinance, sell or gift property without re-registering everything personally
• Integration with local tax and lending rules (we co-ordinate with local advisers)
  

4. Business Exit & Liquidity Trust

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For founders preparing for a sale, listing or major liquidity event.

• Pre-sale trust planning to hold shares in the exit vehicle
• Protection of proceeds post-sale from future business ventures or personal claims
• Ability to reinvest in new ventures from within the structure
• Clear rules for distributions to founders, spouses and next generations

How our process works

We don’t start with “which island do you want?” we start with what you’re trying to protect and why.

Step 1 - Diagnostic & objectives

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Deep-dive on:

• Your assets (companies, properties, portfolios, crypto, IP)
• Your current and future residencies and citizenships
• Your family situation and succession wishes
• Your business risk profile and likely threats

Step 2 - Design the structure

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We then propose a clear, visual structure showing:

• Which trusts / foundations / companies are needed
• Which jurisdictions they sit in and why
• Who will be settlor, trustee, protector and beneficiaries
• How money and control will flow in practice (distributions, board seats, powers)

Everything is stress-tested against:

• Asset-protection rules (fraudulent transfer, limitation periods, firewall laws)
• Tax and reporting obligations (with your local advisers)
• Banking and compliance realities (can this actually be banked?)

Step 3 - Implementation

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We co-ordinate:

• Trustee selection and onboarding
• Incorporation of holding and operating companies
• Bank and investment account opening
• Drafting / review of trust deeds, letters of wishes, shareholder agreements and related documents via specialist legal partners.

You get a single project manager instead of juggling multiple law firms, trustees and banks alone.

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Step 4 - Ongoing governance & support

Once live, we can:

• Support trustee communications and annual reviews
• Help with distributions, loans and re-investment decisions
• Add or restructure entities as your life and business evolve
• Monitor international developments that may impact the structure

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Who this is for?

Our trust and asset-protection work is designed for:

• Entrepreneurs and founders with real operating businesses and real risk
• Investors and landlords with significant property or portfolio holdings
• High-income professionals in litigious environments (finance, medicine, consulting, online)
• International families with assets and heirs in multiple jurisdictions
• Crypto and digital asset holders who want an institutional-grade structure, not just a hardware wallet

If you are simply looking to hide money, evade tax or ignore legal obligations, we are not the right firm for you. Our structures are designed to be robust, compliant and defendable.

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Why work with us (rather than a random “offshore package” online)?

We’re structure-first, not product-first

• We don’t start with “we sell X trust in Y country”. We start with your risk, your goals and your timeline, then select the right tools.

We understand both asset protection and banking reality

• It’s not enough to have a clever deed if no serious bank will touch the structure. We design with compliance and banking in mind from day one.

Global network of trustees, lawyers and banks

• We are not tied to a single provider. That means we can negotiate, compare and build the team that fits your profile.

Clarity and visuals, not 80-page legalese

• You’ll get clear diagrams, plain-English explanations and a practical “how this works in real life” briefing, so you actually feel in control.

Long-term partner, not one-off incorporation shop

• Trusts are 10, 50, 100+ year structures. We treat them that way.

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Common questions

“Do I lose control if I put assets into a trust?”

You give up direct legal ownership, but there are many ways to retain influence: protector roles, investment committees, carefully drafted letters of wishes and underlying directorships. The art is to balance genuine asset protection with practical control so the structure will stand up in court.

“Can a trust help with tax?”

In many cases, yes, but always within the law and in co-ordination with your existing tax advisers. The primary goal of an asset-protection trust is protection; any tax benefits are a secondary, jurisdiction-specific outcome.

“Isn’t all this only for ultra-wealthy families?”

No. The real question is not “how much are you worth?” but “how much do you have to lose?” For many entrepreneurs, the value of their business, IP or future exit is far more important than their current net worth.

“How long does it take?”

Design and implementation timelines vary, but as a guide: a straightforward trust + holding structure typically takes a few weeks to design and 4-12 weeks to fully implement, depending on jurisdictions, banks and complexity.

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Ready to move from exposed to structured?

If you read this and thought, “If someone came after me or my business today, everything important is still in my own name,” then it’s time to fix that.

We’ll walk you through:

1. What you’re trying to protect
2. Which tools and jurisdictions actually fit your life
3. How to implement a structure that will still make sense in 10–20 years

Book a confidential strategy call to discuss whether a trust-based structure makes sense for you, and what it would look like in practice.