Cook Islands Trust and Asset Protection Attorneys

A Cook Islands trust is an offshore trust that protects assets from creditors. Its creator is almost always the main beneficiary. A licensed Cook Islands trustee company holds the assets, and U.S. courts have no power to make it turn them over. A creditor must instead start a new case in a Cook Islands court within two years of the transfer, then prove fraudulent intent beyond a reasonable doubt.

Yes, as long as they are set up correctly under the right situation. A Cook Islands trust is legal. The Financial Supervisory Commission licenses and supervises Cook Islands trustee companies. Since the late 1990s, no creditor is known to have recovered assets from a properly structured trust.

Yes. A Cook Islands trust can be formed even after a lawsuit is filed, and its deed then includes a Jones clause. That clause allows the trustee to pay the creditor who sued, on conditions the deed defines. The trust works best for liquid assets. Once a claim exists, real estate in the United States is harder to protect, because U.S. courts control it directly.

A Cook Islands trust has three main disadvantages: less direct control over the assets, yearly IRS reporting with no tax savings, and exposure to contempt of court. If a U.S. judge orders the assets brought back, the trustee refuses under the trust’s duress clause, yet you can still be held in contempt. Real estate in the United States stays within reach of U.S. courts.

A Cook Islands trust takes about $21,000 to set up, plus about $5,000 a year in trustee fees from year two. Adding an offshore LLC raises those figures to about $26,000 and $6,000. The setup total combines our flat legal fee, $15,000 for the trust or $20,000 with the LLC, with the trustee’s first-year charges. A CPA charges another $2,000 to $3,000 a year to prepare the foreign trust returns.

An offshore trust attorney writes the trust deed, recommends a licensed trustee company, and plans the funding. We work with several in the Cook Islands and take no referral fees or commissions from any of them. The trustee checks your identity and where your money came from while we draft. Three to four weeks after you hire us, the trust is signed and registered.

Florida puts several kinds of property beyond most judgment creditors’ reach, with no dollar cap. They include a home you live in, retirement accounts, the cash value of life insurance on your own life, and annuities. Property held by spouses as tenants by the entirety is safe from a creditor of one spouse alone. A head of household’s wages are exempt from garnishment.

Usually not. Florida’s constitution protects a home you live in from forced sale by most creditors, whatever its value. The protected land is limited to half an acre inside a city or town, or 160 acres outside one. The exceptions include the mortgage lender, property taxes, unpaid bills for work on the home, and federal tax liens.

Yes. Florida exempts IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and pensions from judgment creditors with no dollar cap, and an inherited IRA keeps that protection. Money you take out of the account generally loses it, although required distributions kept in a separate account usually stay protected.

Yes, unless you are a head of household, which Florida defines as a person who pays over half the living costs of a child or other dependent. That person’s wages are exempt unless they waived the exemption in writing, and even a waiver reaches only pay above $750 a week. Other workers can lose up to 25 percent of disposable earnings. Support orders and tax debts follow separate rules.

The best way is to use Florida’s exemptions fully and then protect the rest with LLCs or trusts, including an offshore trust for cash and securities. The most important Florida exemptions from creditors include the homestead exemption, retirement accounts, annuities, and tenancy by the entireties. Many strategies remain available even after a lawsuit is filed or a judgment is entered.

A Florida asset protection consultation at Alper Law costs $400 for 30 minutes with Gideon Alper or $450 with Jon Alper. In the consultation, our attorneys conduct an extensive review of your financial situation and advise how to better protect any exposed assets under Florida law.