Asset Protection Blog

Florida Supreme Courts Limits Charging Order Protection

» Posted on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
In a recent decision (Olmstead v. FTC, Supreme Court of Florida, June 24, 2010), the Florida Supreme Court held that the charging order protection, an "exclusive remedy" for creditors pursuing LLC interests, is actually not the exclusive remedy, despite the plain meaning of the statute. In a fairly difficult to read and follo…
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UBS Story Finally Draws to a Close

» Posted on Thursday, June 17, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
After many months of suspense, the Swiss parliament has finally approved the deal struck by UBS and the US Justice Department to disclose the names of about 4,500 US-based clients of UBS who are suspected of tax dodging. UBS has until mid-August to provide the names to the Justice Department to avoid criminal prosecution. Th…
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Swiss Parliament Votes to Block Disclosure, For Now

» Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
A week after the upper house of the Swiss parliament voted to allow disclosure of UBS clients to the US government, the lower house of Switzerland’s parliament voted to prevent the disclosure of the names and financial secrets of as many as 4,450 Americans who held undeclared accounts at UBS. A Swiss court had already …
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Update on FBARs and UBS: The Fun Begins

» Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The quagmire involving US taxpayers with unreported foreign bank accounts continues. The latest word: IRS has over 200 dedicated agents conducting audits of those taxpayers who voluntarily disclosed them prior to the October 15, 2009 deadline. These agents are conducting full audits of the taxpayers who came forward (where th…
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HIRE Act Incorporation Foreign Account Reporting Requirements

» Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (Pub. L. No. 111-14) was signed into law on March 18, 2010. The Act creates tax breaks for businesses hiring new workers and extending higher expensing limits for small businesses that make capital investments. The Act also incorporates provisions of the Foreign Account Tax …
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Swiss Court Reaches Out to Protect Our Clients

» Posted on Monday, March 01, 2010 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
On January 22, 2010 the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published its first judgment with respect to the IRS’s request for information. The case relates to a UBS client who failed to provide the bank with a Form W-9. The Swiss Court ruled against the IRS and stated that no information will be provided by UBS to the …
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Amnesty Passes; UBS Sends Letters to Clients

» Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
As the October 15 deadline has come and gone, more and more of our clients have reported receiving letters from UBS. These letters advise clients that after an initial investigation, UBS has determined that the client’s account will likely be disclosed to the IRS. This has, understandbly, sent a wave of panic through…
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IRS Extends Amnesty Deadline

» Posted on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The Internal Revenue Service has extended the deadline to participate in the FBAR amnesty program to October 15, 2009, and has indicated that there will be no more extensions. Most of the clients that we have consulted declined to participate in the amnesty, but it may be a good idea in some cases. The amnesty would work w…
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Details of UBS Deal Revealed

» Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The IRS has announced today that UBS will reveal names of 4,450 American account holders. The actual names have not yet been released, and over the next few months these account holders will receive notices from UBS that their names will be disclosed to the IRS. The account holders will then have the option of appealing the pr…
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New Guidance on Private Retirement Plans in California

» Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Earlier this summer, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals released an opinion that sheds some light on the level of protection granted by the California exemption for private retirement plans. In Cunning v. Rucker, the debtor, to avoid having the creditor reach his assets, established several retirement plans and proceeded to o…
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Shutting Down Valuation Discounts

» Posted on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
As Congress frantically looks for ways to pay for the various stimulus and other wasteful spending proposals, increasing estate and gift taxes seems like a natural solution. Although these two transfer taxes account for a small percentage of the government’s revenues, these taxes are not on the radar screen of the middle …
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Restricted LLCs

» Posted on Friday, June 05, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
On May 29 the Governor of Nevada approved Nevada Senate Bill 350 which creates a new type of limited liability companies and limited partnerships. For simplicity, we will focus on the LLCs only. These new LLCs are called "restricted" and the enabling legislation can be found in the newly enacted NRS 86.161. The legislation go…
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Swiss Banks Close Their Doors

» Posted on Wednesday, May 06, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Every day more and more Swiss banks say "no" to US business. This year alone 7 Swiss banks that we regularly did business with told us that they will be kicking out all US clients and not accepting any new business. This alarming trend continues. Even banks that are SEC compliant are not accepting any new business waiting to …
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IRS Extends Its Hand to Taxpayers and Once Again Reaches Deep into Our Pockets

» Posted on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Several years ago the Justice Department subpoenaed names of Americans who had Visa and MasterCard accounts with offshore banks. The IRS then offered these taxpayers a choice, come forward voluntarily and we will waive criminal prosecution and some monetary penalties, or wait until we get to you and then take the risk of crimina…
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Update on Swiss Banks

» Posted on Saturday, March 21, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Last week I travelled to Zurich to meet with several Swiss private banks. We do a lot of business with Swiss banks, and the past few months have brought about many changes. All of the recent changes in the Swiss banking regime are due to the scandal at UBS and the economic downturn. UBS has forced the United States Treasur…
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Too Late!

» Posted on Wednesday, February 04, 2009 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Is it ever too late to protect assets? The answer is of course! How about when a lien is placed by a creditor on the debtor?s assets. We occasionally get inquiries from prospective clients of the following nature: "They just got a judgment against me, but they still haven?t gotten my assets. Can I still protect them?" Whil…
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Protecting Madoff Investors

» Posted on Friday, December 19, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
It is bad enough that most of the people who invested with Madoff will lose a significant amount of their wealth. It is also possible, in fact, likely, that many of the investors who received distributions from Madoff or pulled their money out in time may have to return the money. When the inevitable bankruptcy engulfs Bernar…
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Anticipating a Change in Capital Gain Rates

» Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
There is a lot of excitement in Washington coming on the heels of the election. Change is in the air, and with this change comes the promise of higher income taxes. None of us can predict how the new administration and the new Congress will change the tax Code. We can be fairly certain that they will increase the marginal tax…
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Economic Downturn a Boon for Asset Protection

» Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The economic woes that have already impacted so many businesses are a boon for those of us who practice in the area of asset protection. About one year ago the flood gates opened and mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers and real estate developers poured in. There is still a steady flow of real estate developers and investors w…
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Continued Fallout from UBS

» Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The UBS scandal may have had a more profound impact on asset protection planning than previously suspected. While no one was surprised that UBS caved to the IRS summons, few expected that other Swiss banks will significantly change their business operations. They have. We are getting information from many of our Swiss bank…
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The Ten Largest Banks in the World

» Posted on Monday, August 11, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
It always surprises Americans that the U.S. banks that they have all heard about so much are not necessarily the largest banks in the world. Given the recent IndyMac collapse, it is becoming easier for investors to realize that U.S. banks are not necessarily the largest or the safest. In February 2008, Bloomberg released a l…
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IRS Goes After UBS AG

» Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Following the indictment of several UBS AG (Switzerland) employees, the Justice Department requested permission from federal court to have the Internal Revenue Service issue John Doe summons to UBS AG (the Swiss parent of UBS). The John Doe summons will instruct the Swiss bank to provide to the IRS information on all U.S. taxpay…
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Forecasting Capital Gain Rates

» Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
A recent Wall Street Journal has an article entitled Property Investors Fear Gains-Tax Rise, Shift 1031 Strategy. [URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120528549398629221.html] Anticipating a change in the administration and an increasingly Democratic Congress, real estate investors are concerned about a possible hike in c…
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New York Targets Internet Retailers

» Posted on Sunday, May 18, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The State of New York has passed a new law scheduled to go into effect June 1, 2008, requiring internet retailers to collect sales taxes. The new law is expected to generate an additional $78 million of revenue per year for the state. Several other states, including California, are considering similar laws. For any state to i…
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Tax Fraud Pays Off?

» Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
The big tax news this month was the Justice Department?s loss in the Wesley Snipes case. Snipes has been cleared of federal tax-fraud and conspiracy charges, but was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return. He now faces up-to three years in a prison for the misdemeanor convictions. Snipes fell vi…
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Tax Pandering or Tax Incentive?

» Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
In response to Sen. McCain?s proposed tax plan an article in today?s Washington Post (McCain?s Plan for Working Class Offers Plenty for Corporate World) blasted the tax plan as pandering to corporations and businesses. The cry was picked up by several other publications as well. What is the proposed plan and does it amount to pa…
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Downturn in the Real Estate Market Leads to More Asset Protection Planning

» Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 by Jacob Stein, Esq.
Following the credit crunch of August 2007, the real estate market has experienced a significant decline. Many of our clients are heavily invested in real estate or are involved in various development projects. For them, the reality of the declining market means a lot more than an interesting headline. It means that their entire…
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