Example of Offshore LLC

A popular strategy is to form a Family Limited Partnership to hold your savings and brokerage accounts. The limited partnership interests in the FLP will be held by the Offshore LLC. We will protect the ownership of the Offshore LLC by holding membership interests in the Family Savings Trust.

Under this arrangement, savings and brokerage accounts are well insulated in the FLP. But we opened up new tactics and levels of protection with the Offshore LLC.

To combat a perceived threat, or to take advantage of investment opportunities, at any point in the future, assets of the FLP can be moved into an overseas account in the name of the Offshore LLC. If there is a subsequent judgment against you, even a charging order is unlikely since you do not own interests in the FLP or Offshore LLC. Any collection order would be without enforcement capabilities in the U.S.

If litigated in the jurisdiction where the Offshore LLC is formed, it is likely that the plaintiff would have to prove that any transfers were a violation of the applicable fraudulent transfer laws and such a claim would have to be initiated within the Statute of Limitations period (generally one or two years). The obstacles presented by this arrangement, and other features which can be added, provide an excellent legal shield against even the most aggressive and determined plaintiffs.

The Offshore LLC is an effective and flexible asset protection tool. It reinforces the available domestic protection for those with significant liability exposure. Tax filings and returns are minimized, and administration and offshore money management issues only arise at the time, if ever, that the Offshore LLC is funded with bank or brokerage accounts.