Family Foundations Help Protect Your Assets & Preserve Wealth

Family foundations are legal structures found in civil law that can be used for the purpose of generational wealth preservation and asset protection. They are not part of the common law system although they share some similarity with dynasty trusts in the United States. These asset-holding, legal entities differ from common law trusts in the sense that they offer greater flexibility in terms of structure and function.

Like dynasty trusts, family foundations are commonly established to protect assets from excessive estate taxation on a long-term basis. In a family foundation, asset management can be conducted by a group of individuals operating in a fashion similar to a corporate board. This means that asset protection and management decisions can be contingent upon resolutions, and wealth can be stewarded from generation to generation.

The dynasty trust in the United States attempts to minimize taxation on estate assets in the long-term, but it is not available in every state and has already come under fire. In California and New York, two states known for their wealth concentration, dynasty trusts are not allowed. In states that allow estate planning through dynasty trusts, some legal analysts think these legal instruments dodged a bullet with the passing of the American Taxpayer Relief Act Of 2012. With a mounting U.S. deficit, legislators may look to estate taxation as a source of revenue collection.

Family foundations are just one of the 15 asset protection strategies that the international law firm of Nagel & Associates offers to clients who are interested in exploring global opportunities of wealth preservation, international investments, foreign residency, and second citizenship.