Perhaps you've heard of or seen Hollywood's portrayal of Swiss bank accounts, offshore trusts and corporations, and tax havens of the rich and famous as jet setting moguls live mysterious yet exciting lives. In the real world, although these same financial structures (most administrated by reputable and legal banks) have been around for hundreds of years, there are still many people who consider the above strategic asset protection entities as illegal.

Asset or lawsuit protection laws were designed for the very purpose of protecting your assets from being frozen and the possibility of unjust forfeiture. Still others consider asset protection a moral dilemma…something unethical or dishonest. This is the furthest thing from the truth.

At the same time, I'm not trying to start a moral debate nor am I recommending that you avoid paying a judgment or fine that you rightfully owe. Any ethical, professional counselor or advisor would not recommend such a thing as well. That being said, I feel you should be in the position to make the final verdict on what is fair and right.

When lifetime, incumbent judges and bleeding-heart juries stop handing out ludicrous decisions, then I'll be the first person to tell you that you'll no longer need to protect your hard earned assets. I guess the irony of it is, collection lawyers, government agencies (such as the IRS and the FTC), and everyone outside the asset protection circle, make every effort to characterize legal asset protection as dishonest, fraudulent, or worse.

Of course, their motives are transparent. They viciously denounce anyone who successfully stops their efforts to collect or seize “their” assets, which then disrupts the stream of income flowing in their direction. So, total asset protection is NOT illegal or a privilege; it is a freedom protected by the U.S. Constitution. Imagine that. Most people would be totally surprised at how many of our politicians and well known corporate giants have gone offshore to safe guard their millions in assets.

Looking into asset protection and then taking action to protect your business and personal assets may be one of the most important and intelligent financial decisions you may ever make.

The cost of setting these protection devices in place will be ridiculously small compared to the cost of losing your home, cars, retirement, and investment accounts. Not to mention the unimaginable stress you could avoid.