Foreign Asset Protection Trusts · Attorney & CPA
Protect What You've Built Before It's at Risk
One lawsuit can undo decades of work. Ironvale designs foreign asset protection trusts and layered LLC structures designed to put your wealth beyond the practical reach of future creditors, legally, transparently, and fully reported to the IRS.
- Designed by an attorney who is also a Certified Public Accountant
- For physicians, business owners, real estate investors, and executives
- A licensed Cook Islands trustee holds and manages your protected assets
Attorney + CPA
Legal design and tax compliance under one roof
Asset protection only
Not a side service at a general practice
Fully IRS-reported
Tax-neutral structures, nothing hidden
Free consultation
Confidential, no obligation, and a clear quote before any work begins
The Risk
Success Makes You a Target
The more you've built, the more attractive you are to a plaintiff's lawyer. Most people don't think about asset protection until a demand letter arrives, and by then the law sharply limits what can be done.
Malpractice and professional claims
Verdicts can exceed your policy limits, and some claims fall outside coverage entirely.
Business and personal guarantees
A failed venture, a lease, or a loan you personally guaranteed can reach your personal assets.
Tenants, employees, and accidents
A slip on a rental property, an employment dispute, or a teenage driver's car accident can land on you.
Being a visible target
Contingency-fee lawyers look for defendants who can pay. A visible net worth makes you one.
Why Offshore
Insurance and LLCs Aren't Enough on Their Own
Most states don't allow self-settled domestic asset protection trusts, and any asset held in the United States ultimately answers to a U.S. court. A foreign trust changes the playing field.
Umbrella / malpractice insurance
Necessary, but capped by policy limits and riddled with exclusions.
Revocable living trust
Great for avoiding probate. Provides no creditor protection.
LLCs
Protects against some business risks, but a judgment can still reach your ownership interest.
Domestic asset protection trust
Allowed in only some states, open to choice-of-law challenges if you live elsewhere, and always subject to U.S. courts.
Foreign asset protection trust
Assets held by an independent trustee under foreign law, where U.S. judgments are not enforced. Widely regarded as the strongest tool available.
How It Works
A Trust Built to Stand Up When It Matters
Most of our foreign trusts use a simple three-part structure. An independent trustee holds and manages the assets from day one, so the protection is already in place when a threat appears.
1 · You
Settlor & Beneficiary
You create the trust, transfer assets you can afford to set aside, and remain a beneficiary, along with your family if you choose.
2 · The Trust
Foreign Trust
Governed by the law of a jurisdiction such as the Cook Islands, with a licensed, independent trustee there and a U.S. trust protector watching over it.
3 · The LLC
Holding Company
The trust owns an LLC that holds the investment accounts. The trustee manages it and can take recommendations from an investment advisor you name.
When a lawsuit or threat appears
Because the foreign trustee already holds and manages the assets, there is nothing for you to hand over and no last-minute transfer for a court to stop. Under the trust's duress terms, the trustee will refuse instructions given under court compulsion. A creditor would have to start a new case in the trust's home country, under that country's law and deadlines. That is a slow, expensive, uncertain fight, and it often brings the creditor to a reasonable settlement.
Who We Protect
For People Who Have More to Lose Than Most
Physicians & Dentists
Protect personal savings from claims that exceed malpractice coverage.
Business Owners
Separate what you've built personally from what your company risks every day.
Real Estate Investors
Contain each property's liability and shield your liquid wealth.
Executives & Professionals
Protect wealth from director liability, partnership disputes, and guarantees.
Why Ironvale
The Legal Structure and the Tax Return, Designed Together
Offshore trusts fail in two ways: a structure that collapses under legal attack, or one that creates IRS penalties because the reporting was wrong. Alexander S. Colwell is both an attorney and a CPA, so neither side is an afterthought.
Meet Alex →- Attorney & CPA
- Trust design, Form 3520, 3520-A, FBAR, and 8938 compliance considered from the first meeting.
- 9+ years in practice
- Licensed attorney since 2017, with a background in trusts, estates, and tax.
- Honest about timing
- We document solvency and decline transfers that would create fraudulent-transfer risk, because that's what makes a plan defensible.
- Direct attorney access
- You work with Alex personally, not a call center or a rotating team.
The Process
From First Call to Fully Protected
- 01
Confidential consultation
We review your assets, liabilities, and risk profile, and tell you honestly whether a foreign trust makes sense or a simpler plan will do.
- 02
Design & solvency review
We select the jurisdiction and trustee, design the trust and LLC layers, and document that every transfer leaves you solvent.
- 03
Formation & funding
We draft and sign the documents, onboard the foreign trustee, form the LLC, and re-title the assets you choose to protect.
- 04
Ongoing compliance
Annual reviews, trustee coordination, and the IRS and FinCEN filings that keep the structure fully reported.
Investment
Three Levels of Protection
Every structure is tailored, so pricing is provided at your free consultation, as a clear quote before any work begins.
Domestic Asset Protection & Entity Layering
Pricing available at your free consultation
For business owners, physicians, investors, and real estate portfolios that need sophisticated domestic structuring.
Foreign Asset Protection Trust
Pricing available at your free consultation
Our strongest protection: an offshore trust, typically paired with an LLC, for clients with significant exposure or significant wealth.
Annual Maintenance & Review
Pricing available at your free consultation
Keeps the structure current, compliant, and defensible as your life and the law change.
Questions
What People Ask First
Is a foreign asset protection trust legal?
Yes. Foreign asset protection trusts have been used by U.S. families for over 40 years. They are recognized by the IRS, fully reported on your tax filings, and lawful when funded with assets you own outright before any claim exists. They are not a tool for hiding money or avoiding taxes.
Will I lose control of my money?
You give up legal control of the assets you place in the trust, and that independence is what makes the protection work. A licensed Cook Islands trustee holds and manages them under the trust deed. You remain a beneficiary, can request distributions, and in many structures can name an investment advisor whose recommendations the trustee considers. Everything you keep outside the trust stays fully in your hands.
Does this lower my taxes?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says it does. A properly designed foreign asset protection trust is tax-neutral: income is reported on your personal return just as it is today. As a CPA, Alex makes sure the required IRS and FinCEN filings are handled correctly from day one.
I've already been sued or threatened. Is it too late?
It may be too late to transfer assets to a trust for that particular claim, because moving assets after a claim arises can be undone as a fraudulent (voidable) transfer, and can expose you to contempt of court. We'll tell you honestly what is and isn't still possible, and often there are legitimate steps that still help with future risks.
How much do I need for this to make sense?
Foreign trusts generally make sense for people with roughly $1 million or more in assets they can set aside, or for those in high-liability professions with meaningful savings. If a foreign trust isn't the right fit, we'll say so and recommend a simpler approach.
How long does it take?
Most structures can be designed, signed, and funded within about four to eight weeks, depending on trustee due diligence and how quickly assets are re-titled.
Asset Protection Only Works If It's in Place First
The strongest plans are built in calm times, not after the demand letter arrives. A confidential consultation is the first step.