BritishColonial.com, Ltd.

In which Nation?

Several offshore financial centers now exist in nations with laws hospitable to foreign-owned asset protection trusts. What the company-friendly State of Delaware is to U.S. corporations, these nations are to asset protection trusts. Although these countries are not ranked among the major industrial nations, they are well-developed, internationally recognized financial centers. Their capital cities have efficient banking, legal and other professional service providers that understand and thrive servicing APTs and offshore finance in general.

Among established APT havens are: off the coast of south Florida, the Bahamas; in the Caribbean area, the Cayman Islands, Nevis (one half of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis), St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands; and, in central America, Belize. Also the Crown Colony of Bermuda in the mid-Atlantic; in Europe, the Principality of Liechtenstein; Gibraltar and Cyprus, at opposite ends of the Mediterranean; Mauritius, off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean; and lastly, in the south Pacific, the Cook Islands, a former protectorate of New Zealand.

If you are considering a personal foreign asset protection trust, you can do some "due diligence" on your own. Check out these prospective foreign jurisdictions. Many now have official government and local professional Internet web sites filled with information and related links. Become familiar with local laws to assure yourself the legal and financial situation is favorable and offers the shelter you seek. Examine the recent record of economic and political stability, the reputation of lawyers and the judicial system, local taxes, the general business climate, possible language barriers and the state of available financial facilities and, of course, the record of political stability.

In this modern age, with instantaneous international bank transfers, telephones, faxes, e-mail and the Internet, all foreign asset-haven nations provide the kind of communication services an APT, and you as grantor, need. Doing business with an offshore APT likely is no more difficult than dealing with a local bank in your home area, although the hours may differ on the other side of the world.