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[H1513]How To Protect Your Assets
by Steve Holddeer, Ste
At one time, were viewed as exclusive to the rich and famous, or as being used to hide illicit activity. In fact, nearly half of all illegally laundered money in the world is in the United States, not an offshore account. Rather, offshore bank accounts are used primarily by those who seek anonymity, asset protection, and tax benefits.

Aside from businesses and corporations, those who should consider opening an include: those with a high net worth, high profile individuals, anyone facing or contemplating divorce, small business owners, or anyone who wishes to protect their assets and their privacy. High risk professionals such as doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, airline pilots, accountants, consultants, and ship captains should consider taking advantage of the security offered by

Asset Protection

Runaway litigation is one of the primary reasons huge amounts of assets are being transferred into Juries in the United States are awarding enormous sympathy awards, seemingly regardless of the defendant's culpability.

If you become the defendant in a lawsuit in the United States, it is possible for the lawyers or the courts to freeze your assets during the legal proceedings. This is not only an enormous inconvenience, but can also pose a serious threat to your future financial well-being. Once assets have been frozen, you do not have the ability to use or move those funds until the case has been decided. If you are found liable, you could face significant financial losses.

An offers you personal confidentiality along with financial liquidity. In order for an attorney to seize an , it would first need to be discovered. Once uncovered, the attorney would need to engage in lengthy and highly costly proceedings, as well as a significant amount of foreign travel, to even hope to be granted access to the offshore account. Most attorneys either will never discover the offshore account or will not endure the length and duration of the process necessary to seize foreign-invested funds.

Privacy

Most have strict confidentiality policies and will not divulge personal account information. Some countries even statutorily enforce banking privacy, making it illegal for the bank or its employees to divulge personal account information to a third party, including foreign governments. Failure to protect the client's privacy is punishable by law in these countries.

Since a large amount of foreign money is invested in these countries through the financial institutions, they are very protective of client anonymity. If you are seeking a safe bank account inaccessible to prying eyes, an will give you the privacy you are looking for.

In addition to personal offshore bank accounts, you can also create an International Business Company (IBO) or which offers an even higher degree of privacy and security.

Tax Benefits

In the United States, half of the total combined individual income tax is paid by only the top ten percent of income earners. The more money you make, the higher tax liability you bear.

usually offer a substantial tax break on income generated by the funds in the account. are normally established in countries with a low personal income tax rate, meaning you can aggressively invest your money and be exposed to minimal tax liability.

Many offshore banks are more financially sound than banks located in the United States. They tend to operate much more conservatively and are far less leveraged than American banks, giving them greater stability.

If you believe an offers the privacy and security you are looking for, seek the advice of an expert to assist you in setting up your own account. It is easy and inexpensive to establish an and many require only low or minimal opening balances.

In Colorado alone, more than $100 million has been returned to residents ? and former residents ? since the state instituted its Great Colorado Payback in 1987. In 2007, approximately $9 million in unclaimed property was returned to rightful owners and heirs in that state. And that's just Colorado!

You may have seen ads in your local newspaper listing the names of people with unclaimed property and thought, ?Who doesn't know where all their assets are?? Look at how many names are on that list. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in that situation, many times simply because they've moved, changed marital status or died.

What is this unclaimed property? It can be uncashed paychecks, stock dividends, utility deposits, escrow or insurance policies and trust funds. After a specified time of inactivity -- usually one to five years -- the property is given to the state, which then has the responsibility of finding the owners or heirs.

Sadly, a lot of abandoned and unclaimed property consists of items left behind in safe deposit boxes. Countless people think they're safeguarding their valuables by placing them into these bank boxes, but family heirlooms and other important items are sometimes lost forever when the owners die, move or simply forget about them. While money can be held indefinitely, states simply can't hold onto the contents of safe deposit boxes forever.

Just as each state has its own laws about how long property can remain idle before it reverts to the state, once the state gets the abandoned items they set a time limit of how long they'll hold it before it is auctioned off to the highest bidder or sold. And while the proceeds are held in perpetuity for the owners or heirs, the items themselves can't be retrieved.

So what kind of things are auctioned off? Well, anything that can be put in a safe deposit box. From heirloom jewelry to false teeth and even the ashes of dearly departed loved ones and pets. There are coin collections and silver ? things people thought they were protecting, that are now up for grabs and many times sold for less than market value.

If the thought of your valuables and heirlooms winding up on Ebay or in the hands of strangers, there are things you can do to make sure that doesn't happen. Unfortunately, many people aren't properly prepared and don't have the necessary paperwork in order.

Through asset awareness and tracking, you can protect your assets and reduce the financial stress that you and your loved ones will have to go through in the event that something happens to you unexpectedly.

Taking the time now to incorporate this process into your life and planning is critical, because protecting your assets is far easier than reclaiming them.
Article Source : Pg. 88

About Author
Both Steve Holddeer & Marcia Keppy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Steve Holddeer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, tax and Banking. Steve Holder is a writer for . For more information related to offshore investing, please visit. Steve Holddeer's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.

Marcia Keppy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Education Grants and Finances. Marcia Keppy is an expert in the field of unclaimed property. She has helped numerous individuals, accountants, lawyers and financial advisors track and discover personal assets. For more details on how to protect your assets and search for unclaimed prop. Marcia Keppy's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
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