What is the Role of the Trust Protector in the International Asset Protection Trust?
Posted on Mar 27, 2017 9:00am PDT
The International Asset Protection Trust is a great Asset Protection and
Estate Planning strategy that high net-worth individuals can utilize in
their planning. A Trust is an agreement between a settlor (or grantor)
and trustees for the benefit of certain beneficiaries. Trust property
or Trust “Res” must be transferred to the Trust in order to
allow the Trust to be effective. The Trust must also have a valid purpose,
which is usually easily satisfied due to estate planning or other similar
reasoning. A Trust can be domiciled or based in the United States or it
can be domiciled in a jurisdiction outside of the United States. Such
a Trust is referred to as the International Trust. The domicile of the
Trust is important because those are the laws that the Trust will use
to operate.
An International Asset Protection Trust is a Trust that is domiciled outside
of the United States (or uses certain jurisdiction’s laws) and is
created for both Estate Planning and Asset Protection purposes. The International
Asset Protection Trust also allows for added privacy and an additional
layer of protection on top of the domestic Asset Protection Plan. The
International Asset Protection Trust also has a settlor (person who creates
the Trust), trustee(s), beneficiaries and Trust Res. The Trust also has
what is called a Trust protector. The Trust protector serves as a checks
and balances system for the trust because they are required to authorize
certain actions by the trustees. This could be transfers or distributions
of property over a certain dollar figure or other complex administrative matters.
The Trust protector still must act as a fiduciary (in general), just as
the trustees must. In other words, the protector must act in the best
interests of the beneficiaries, however, the particular laws of the Trust
domicile must be reviewed to definitively determine the extent of the
fiduciary duty held by the Trust protector. This is why a knowledgeable
Asset Protection Attorney should be utilized to prepare the International
Asset Protection Trust and to choose the most beneficial jurisdiction
for the Trust.
Contact the attorneys of The Presser Law Firm, P.A. regarding your Asset
Protection and/or Estate Planning needs.