Asset Protection | Titanium Trust℠
Titanium Trust℠ Attorney
Questions? Comments?
Let Us Know How We Can Help You.
The Titanium Trust℠
The Titanium Trust℠ is Blake Harris Law’s proprietary Asset Protection Trust that combines the protection of an offshore trust with the convenience of a domestic asset protection trust.
Like titanium metal—strong and lightweight—the Titanium Trust℠ has strength in that it protects your assets in the United States but with the added advantage of allowing you to quickly move assets offshore, if needed. This is achieved through a network of International Trust Companies, Trust Protectors, and Bankers who work together to help safeguard your assets.
At Blake Harris Law we are proud to provide our clients with a variety of asset protection solutions to fit their individual needs. For years, we have offered offshore trust solutions that provide the highest levels of legal protection. Our team at Blake Harris Law has created an asset protection trust that combines the strongest level of legal protection while avoiding the ongoing costs and compliance requirements of offshore trusts reporting requirements. The Titanium Trust℠ uses a combination of domestic and international elements to provide exceptional flexibility and protection.
Why Set Up a Titanium Trust℠?
With the Titanium Trust℠, the trust assets can remain in the United States unless and until a legal threat arises. If there is ever a risk of lawsuit, the trust assets can be moved offshore and a licensed, professional offshore trustee can take over the management of the trust. under this arrangement, once the trust is moved offshore, the assets cannot be reached by U.S. creditors, even if they ultimately succeed in their lawsuit.
There are only a handful of jurisdictions around the world with laws drafted to support the highest levels of protection. The Titanium Trust℠ can rely on the best of these jurisdictions, the island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis as well as The Cook Islands to serve as the offshore sites of administration for the trust. The Cook Islands is widely recognized by legal experts as the nation with the most favorable asset protection laws and the most established case law history. That being said, assets do not need to be located in these countries; they can be held at internationally recognized banking centers such as Switzerland and Liechtenstein, or assets can be held in cryptocurrency.
This diversity of jurisdictions means reaching the trust to collect its assets is an extremely difficult task even for a highly motivated plaintiff or creditor. Offshore jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands do not recognize or give effect to certain judgments of foreign courts. This means, anyone attempting to reach the trust would need to travel around the world to take their legal battle offshore to an unfavorable and unfamiliar jurisdiction. Since these offshore jurisdictions are not under the jurisdiction of any U.S. courts, and do not allow for contingency-based litigation, a plaintiff would need to spend considerable sums of money in attorney fees and court costs to pursue their lawsuit abroad.
As a client of Blake Harris Law, our firm can guide you every step of the way to ensure you understand your options regarding offshore successor trustees, trust protectors, and international banking institutions. While the Titanium Trust℠ is not for everyone, those with a net worth of over half a million dollars may want to consider how they could benefit from setting up a Titanium Trust℠.
What Can a Titanium Trust℠ Protect?
A Titanium Trust℠ can protect a variety of different assets including:
- Cash
- Securities
- Intellectual Property
- Real Estate
- Cryptocurrency
- Digital Assets
The Titanium Trust℠ is designed to accomplish all of the following:
LAWSUIT PROTECTION
We have access to an established network of International Trust Companies, Trust Protectors, and Bankers who work together to safeguard our clients’ assets. We combine the most powerful and time-tested tools for asset protection planning to shield our clients’ assets from lawsuits. The Titanium Trust℠ relies on the most favorable asset protection jurisdictions in the world to provide the highest level of legal protection available anywhere. A trust can safeguard assets such as cash, real estate, cryptocurrency, securities, and business interests.
AFFORDABLE PRICING
The standard price for an offshore asset protection trust can range between $25,000 to $50,000 to set up plus annual fees which range from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. The Titanium Trust℠ offers a very high level of legal protection but at a much more competitive price than traditional offshore trusts. Additionally, as long as the Titanium Trust℠ is domiciled in the United States and managed domestically, the yearly fees to maintain the trust are lower. Dollar for dollar, the Titanium Trust℠ represents one of the most valuable alternatives for asset protection.
PROBATE AVOIDANCE
Assets held inside of the Titanium Trust℠ will not only receive protection from lawsuits they will also avoid the time and costs associated with probating an estate in the event of your death. Your Titanium Trust℠ can work in place of your Revocable Living Trust or it can work in conjunction with your Revocable Living Trust to avoid probate and ensure your assets are safeguarded for the next generation.
MEDICAID PROTECTION
The Titanium Trust℠ has the flexibility to act as a gifting vehicle to your beneficiaries so as you get older, you can apply for government benefits and avoid the state from seizing your assets to pay for your long-term care. As an irrevocable trust, the Titanium Trust℠ can be setup so that any assets placed in trust are considered a completed gift to the beneficiaries and no longer part your net worth for Medicaid purposes.
ESTATE PLANNING
The Titanium Trust℠ also works as a succession planning vehicle as allowances can be made for beneficiaries after your death. The Titanium Trust℠ can continue to offer the same level of legal protection to your beneficiaries during their lifetimes, if they so desire. That way, any inheritance received through a Titanium Trust℠ can remain protected from creditors, lawsuits, divorces, and other legal threat for generations.
DIGITAL ASSET PROTECTION
The Titanium Trust℠ can also be used as a holding vehicle for various cryptocurrencies, tokens, NFTs, and coins. Cryptocurrencies held in trust receive the same level of legal protection as any other assets, and can be stored with onshore or offshore platforms, exchanges, or in offline cold storage. Just as with other liquid assets, your cryptocurrencies can be held in the U.S. and only moved offshore if a legal threat arises.
Structure of the Titanium Trust℠
The structure of a Titanium Trust℠ consists of the following parties:
Grantor/Settlor: He/she is the one who creates a trust and places assets under it—that’s you.
Trustees: There can be more than one trustee. The trustee(s) is the one who holds the assets’ legal title and administers the trust. Also, all trustees are legally bound to protect a settlor’s assets on behalf of the trust’s beneficiaries.
Trust Protector: He/she is responsible for supervising trustees and overseeing their activities. The settlor appoints the trust protector to supervise the trust and to ensure that the trustee is acting in the settlor’s best interest. The protector may be an attorney, professional fiduciary, or some other trustworthy person.
Beneficiary: He/she is the one who benefits from the trust. For most Titanium Trusts, the beneficiary and the settlor are the same person. But the settlor may add other persons (such as family members or other loved ones) as additional or alternative beneficiaries of the trust.
How Much Does It Cost?
For a standard offshore asset protection trust you will pay $25,000 to $50,000 to set up the trust plus annual fees, which range from $5,000 to $20,000 per year. The Titanium Trust℠ is priced much more competitively than traditional offshore trusts and has low annual fees. Contact Blake Harris Law for a consultation and pricing to protect your assets.
How Do I Get Started?
An attorney who specializes in asset protection can work with you and advise on what best fits your goals, needs, and level of risk. By contacting Blake Harris Law, you can learn more about the Titanium Trust℠, other asset protections tools, and whether these legal solutions are right for your situation.
Additional Information On The Titanium Trust℠
When faced with the potential of a legal claim or other possible source of liability, people want to know how to best protect their assets. While a seemingly obvious (but often wrong) answer is to gift everything you own to your loved ones in case you are ever sued. However, federal and state laws exist that provide remedies for certain transactions by a debtor that are unfair to the debtor's creditors. That means a court could see through these gifts and choose to disregard them. In addition, giving assets away means permanently losing control over whatever assets were gifted.
One way to protect assets from creditors is to establish a Titanium Trust℠. The Titanium Trust℠ is established in the U.S. and operates initially as a domestic trust. A domestic trust is controlled from within the U.S. and subject to the jurisdiction of a U.S. court. Domestic trusts holding U.S. based assets are not subject to the IRS requirements regarding foreign bank accounts.
The trust document includes provisions defining what possible events could constitute a crisis. This could include a lawsuit or other event that could give rise to liability. If such an event occurs, control of the trust is transferred to a trustee in the Cook Islands. The trust ceases to be a domestic trust and converts to a foreign trust. The assets of the trust will become highly protected. The increased protection results from the fact that control over the assets has moved to a country that is not subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. In other words, if the grantor loses a lawsuit in the U.S., the assets remain out of reach by whoever is attempting to enforce the judgment.
Even when the assets are held in the offshore trust, the grantor can remain the beneficial owner for the life of the trust. Not only does the grantor remain the beneficial owner, but they can also request that the foreign successor trustee make distributions from trust assets by expressing their wishes. In other words, just because the funds are in the Cook Islands Trust does not mean that they are permanently unavailable to beneficiaries.
The Cook Islands is known as one of the most favorable asset protection jurisdictions in the world. Once control of the trust is established there, it becomes very difficult for anyone to touch the assets. The country’s current law states that foreign court orders, such as those arising from U.S., are disregarded by their courts.
The Cook Islands has a well-developed and professional offshore trust industry, including a variety of qualified trustees. By 2013, there were over 2,500 foreign trusts established in the country.
Over the years, there have been several attempts by U.S. based plaintiffs or government agencies to reach funds held Cook Islands Trusts. None of these attempts have been successful. For example, the Federal Trade Commission failed to enforce a $37.5 million judgment against a U.S. citizen when the assets were held in a Cook Islands Trust.
It is important to note that even after control of the trust is transferred offshore, the grantor does not lose access to the trust assets. The offshore trustee can still administer the trust for the benefit of the grantor. For example, while they should probably refrain from using the money to buy property for the grantor, they can use the funds to rent property on their behalf or pay the credit card bill of the grantor.
One of the advantages of a Titanium Trust℠ is that they can be temporary in nature. A legal threat can trigger the transfer of the funds to an offshore bank. Once the lawsuit is over, the trust assets can be transferred back to the U.S. This means that, depending on the threat to the assets, the location of the trust can change.
The concept of a Titanium Trust℠ is tailored to individuals who are interested in protecting their wealth from a potential legal claim. For example, a physician could be threatened by a possible malpractice suit. If the physician establishes a Titanium Trust℠, they can protect their assets if they are ever threatened in a lawsuit.
An asset protection attorney can answer any questions about The Titanium Trust℠ and will let you know whether establishing one is right for you. They can also tell you some more of the pros and cons of establishing this trust and what you would need to do to proceed.
CONTACT BLAKE HARRIS LAW FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you're considering establishing a Titanium Trust or other forms of asset protection, it's essential to speak to a law firm that understands what your legal needs are and how to best achieve them. At Blake Harris Law, we have considerable experience helping our clients set up Titanium Trusts and other forms of asset protection structures. In doing so, we help our clients shield their economic interests.
If you would like to discuss what kind of asset protection is right for your situation, please contact Blake Harris Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.