Bridge Trust / Foreign Asset Protection Trust
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The Bridge Trust ® is the modern Gold Standard Asset Protection Trust which “bridges” the best features of the Foreign Cook Islands Offshore Asset Protection Trust (FAPT) yet is easier to use and maintain than the Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPTs).
We believe the legal system is broken. Civil litigation has become a Multi-Billion dollar business. Your wealth is a target. We give you peace of mind and less stress by making it difficult for predatory lawyers and lawsuits to target you. We use established legal tools and methods that have actually been tested in court for over 20 + years.
The Bridge Trust ® is a fully registered Offshore Cook Islands Asset Protection Trust with a certificate of registration from an offshore trust jurisdiction in the Cook Islands right from day one. The foreign Offshore Trustee is in place from Day 1, and the due diligence from the offshore trustee is done on the client right up front, when it matters. The Trust is then stepped back into the US for tax purposes and from the perspective of the IRS your Trust 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 does not need to 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 Domestic Revocable Living Trust (dapts) – 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 Offshore Asset Protection Trust, with an inception date of when the Trust was established, not when it becomes foreign!
How Much Does the Bridge Trust Cost? How Much Net Worth Do I Need?
These are the two most common questions asked, and the answer may surprise you. Our typical clients have a net worth between $1 MM and $5 MM.
Saving between $1 MM – $5 MM is hard to do. It takes many people a lifetime. You are more susceptible to risk, and lawsuits.
The pricing is fixed. The Bridge Trust ® costs $23,000 and the AMLP costs 7,500, together they are $30,500.
You can choose to pay a 50% retainer and the balance when the documents arrive. It will all happen within 30 days.
Or if you choose to pay up front, there is a 10% discount.
Annual fees are $3,200.
You are protecting $1 MM in assets or more for a small one time fee that gives you the ease of a domestic plan, with the power of Offshore planning.
The Fees we charge are fixed, and represent a very competitive price from a setup fee standpoint. From a maintenance fee perspective, we are miles ahead because of the unique use of The Bridge Trust ®, which reduces much of the costs of a traditional APT.
Is Asset Protection Legal?
Yes! Watch my educational video on in the media section. Asset Protection is simply a proactive legal action that protects assets from future creditors, lawsuits, and judgments. Just like a safe for your gold, guns and valuables. You want to place your assets and real estate investments behind the legal barrier and out of your personal name.
17 + US Domestic States have ruled in favor of Asset Protection (AK, NV, UT, CO, WY, SD, OK, MO, OH, TN, VA, NH, TX, etc) as well as 24 Off Shore Jurisdictions (the Cook Islands, Belize etc). But please NOTE, tax planning disguised as Asset Protection is not Asset Protection. Your Asset Protection plan must be tax neutral. Also, you cannot create an Asset Protection plan for fraudulent transfers.
We create Asset Protection Plans by using legal tools and methods that combined can deter lawsuits and substantially stronger settlement negotiation power. Most importantly it can help prevent the seizure of your assets in the event of a judgment. Most of you have engaged in some form of Asset Protection without even knowing it. Having Insurance, LLC & LP, Living Trusts. The only issue is, that most of these were not drafted and created by an Asset Protection Attorney who specializes in this field, so are not properly working together and set up for the specific purpose to keep your assets safe. And all of these are purely domestic so are still subject to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution. We take the best of all our domestic U.S. tools and combine it with a foreign offshore Cook Island Asset Protection Trust for true protection.
ALL Asset Protection Plans begin with a Self Settled Spendthrift Trust (SSST). This trust allows you to settle the trust for yourself and the beneficiary and allows you to put in Spendthrift Provisions to protect your assets from your Creditors while still enjoying their use and benefits. This is really the critical piece.
