Practice Area · Asset Protection

Asset Protection

Asset protection works when it is built in advance. The strongest structures are established before a challenge appears, not after.

Domestic and offshore trusts · FLP and LLC structuring · built to withstand scrutiny

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The Problem

A structure is only as strong as the record behind it.

The best time to plan is before a problem appears.

When a structure is challenged, the label on it counts for very little. What matters is who funded it, who controls it, when it was created, and whether it was built before the trouble or in response to it.

What Courts Look For

Timing is the first question

A trust formed years before a dispute, properly administered and statutorily compliant, is difficult to unwind. A trust formed once the claim is visible invites a fraudulent-transfer challenge.

Protection is built in advance. It cannot be built in reaction.

What We Do

Protection. Structuring. Preservation.

Each area has its own dedicated practice. Explore where your matter fits.

Asset Protection Trusts

Domestic and offshore trusts across Cook Islands, Nevis, Wyoming, and other leading jurisdictions.

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Pre-Litigation Planning

Structuring put in place before a claim arises, when the law still permits it and courts will respect it.

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Structure Stress-Testing

Existing structures examined against the challenges that bring them down: creditor pursuit, fraudulent transfers, and IRS scrutiny.

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LLC & Family Limited Partnership Structuring

Entity layers that limit liability, support valuation discounts, and keep control where it belongs.

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The Practice

Courts look past the label.

The same structure can hold or fail. What separates them is discipline.

Structures that hold

Built early. Run properly.

Formed years before any claim arose
Genuine independence from the settlor
Administered by a real trustee
Statutory requirements actually met
Entity layers respected in practice

Structures that fail

Built late. Run loosely.

Formed once the claim was visible
Settlor kept effective control
Trustee existed on paper only
Formalities treated as optional
Assets still enjoyed as before

Every structure is stress-tested against creditor pursuit, fraudulent transfers, IRS scrutiny, and contempt orders.

THE NETWORK

Specialists We Work With.

Complex asset protection planning often requires expertise beyond legal counsel. When appropriate, we coordinate with trustees, valuation professionals, tax advisors, and other specialists while maintaining a unified legal strategy.

Offshore Trustees

Independent trustees in Cook Islands, Nevis, and Cayman structures.

Former IRS Officials

Experience with IRS enforcement, examinations, and asset-protection scrutiny.

Trust & Estate Counsel

Domestic and offshore trust structures designed for long-term wealth preservation.

Valuation Professionals

Valuation support for FLP and LLC structures intended to withstand challenge.

From Our Insights

What the cases actually show.

How courts have treated the structures most clients assume are safe.

Overview

Asset Protection for U.S. and International Clients in 2026.

What actually works, what does not, and how the landscape has shifted for high-exposure clients holding assets on both sides of the border.

Read the guide

Domestic Trusts

How U.S. Courts Treat Domestic Asset Protection Trusts.

DAPTs are not automatic shields. Courts ask who funded the trust, who controls it, and when it was created. The answers decide the case.

Read the guide

FLPs

Why FLPs Are Not Creditor-Proof.

Family limited partnerships are often sold as a shield. Courts have shown where that assumption breaks down, and what a properly run FLP actually protects against.

Read the guide

Questions

Frequently asked.

Before a problem arises. This is not a formality. It is the single factor courts weigh most heavily.

A structure formed years before a dispute, and administered properly, is difficult to unwind. One formed after the claim is visible invites a fraudulent-transfer challenge.

Sometimes, but the options are narrower and the risk is higher. Courts may view late planning as an attempt to hinder or defraud a creditor.

What is possible depends on the facts, the timing, and the jurisdiction. Speak with counsel before moving any assets, because the wrong step can make the position worse.

Not automatically. Offshore jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands offer strong statutory protection, but U.S. courts have repeatedly found ways to reach assets when the settlor remains within their jurisdiction.

Offshore structures also carry higher costs, extensive IRS disclosure obligations, and their own tax traps. Which structure fits depends on the assets, the exposure, and the client.

Many structures look sound on paper and fail in practice. The common defects are the same ones courts cite: too much settlor control, a trustee in name only, formalities ignored, and entity layers disregarded.

A structure that has never been examined against a real challenge is untested, not proven.