Asset Protection Trusts in Switzerland

Protect your wealth from creditors. Trust in Switzerland.

Investors, individuals, and families with substantial amounts of wealth collected throughout their lives should consider an asset protection plan. Whether the wealth is earned from the white collar and blue collar worlds or through self-employment, nobody wants to work hard for their money and watch it slip through their fingers. You never know when you may find yourself in a legal bind that will require you have secured a large percentage of your wealth.

With an asset protection plan, these wealthy individuals ensure that you don’t lose your most valuable property and assets. You will find that asset protection planning takes early planning and proper guidance to meet the objective of taking the chips off of the table, so that if bad times hit, you can walk away less scathed. With the help of an asset protection trust, paired with the trusted banking system of Switzerland, you can be assured your wealth is protected.

Statistically, lawsuits are on the rise for attorneys, medical doctors, dentists, parents, business owners and beyond, which means the need for asset protection is on the rise as well. People are realizing insurance policies are not enough.

There are many techniques that one can use in order to protect their assets, including offshore companies, insurance plans, and the topic of this article, asset protection trusts. Placing your assets offshore while you remain at home can place them legally out of reach of debtors, if done with diligence.

Also known as an offshore asset protection trust, an international trust can be one of the strongest asset protection plans for you, if you do it right. With an international trust, you can legally transfer out of reach of future creditors and put them in an impenetrable place.

The way this works is taking the assets out of your name and putting them in the international trust. As the owner of the assets, you choose the trustee, settlers, and beneficiaries and still have control of the assets while in the offshore asset protection trust.

One country that has made great strides in asset protection is Switzerland. With a rich history in strong international banking, many wealthy individuals are taking advantage of Swiss asset protections legislation as well.

Before we get into the asset protection legislation, let’s dive into what makes banking in Switzerland so coveted.

Banking in Switzerland

Banks play an important role in the Swiss economy. Because of this, Swiss banking is also highly regarded around the world. They are well known for sophisticated and discreet banking services. Swiss banking is highly regarded around the world, well known for being sophisticated and discreet. Choosing Switzerland as a banking destination is choosing years and years of financial stability and growth.

Privacy is a leading factor for those looking to bank offshore. With the same expectations as doctor/patient confidentiality, Swiss laws forbid bankers to disclose that someone even holds a bank account or any information about it without the consent of the account holder. If any of the information is divulged, laws require that immediate prosecution begins.

Holding a bank account in Switzerland is ideal for many because their home country is not as economically nor politically stable as the Swiss government. They are worried about the security of their domestically stored funds.

Opening a bank account in Switzerland is not hard, it just may take some time. You may also be asked to have a valid passport, various documents about your financial history and income, and documents proving you are who you say you are.

Asset Protection in Switzerland

Asset protection is the main reason an international trust is set up. There are many reasons you should make a plan, mainly involving keeping your property safe in the event that someone wins a lawsuit against you. To avoid this, asset protection planning is key. This means taking assets and putting them out of reach of creditors, turning nonexempt assets into exempt assets.

When kept in an international trust, an investment is held outside of a civil creditors reach because U.S. judges do not have jurisdiction over an offshore asset trust. They cannot ask a foreign trustee or asset protection trust to release the funds to someone who claims they are owed money.

If they are persistent, a creditor will have to sue the person in the country where the trust is held. Many countries have regulations against doing so and some creditors choose not to go through the work of a second lawsuit.

Many international banks offer wealth management services including asset protection, one of the most popular services an international bank can offer. Prior to 2007, the country did not have legislation that provided a framework for asset protection trusts.

Switzerland joined the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on Their Recognition in 2007. According to this law, foreign investors are able to set up a trust and appoint a Swiss trustee. The Hague Trust Convention is a treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law on the Law Applicable to Trusts. As of September of 2017, the Convention has been ratified by 14 countries.

Where We Come In

At Alpen Partners , we only entrust your money in the hands of the most prestigious and trustworthy banks. When you choose us to guide you through the tricky world of investment, financial planning, and asset managing, know that you are also choosing the world’s best banks, both private and public.

Learn more about our Asset Protection Services.