Protect your assets from creditors, tax-collectors, litigious plaintiffs, contingent fee lawyers, ex-spouses and disgruntled business associates - and save on taxes and invest your money as you please with an Offshore Asset Protection Offshore Trust in Panama.

Basically, a Trust is a very special type of contract recognized by law. It is a contract between an individual (the settlor) who transfers certain assets owned by him (the trust fund) to one or more persons (the trustees) with instructions, which are legally binding on the trustees, that the trustees should hold the trust fund upon prescribed terms (the beneficiaries). The document in which the settlor´s instructions are contained is called the "trust instrument", which governs all future dealings by the trustees of the trust fund. Trusts are either revocable, or are irrevocable.

The trust instrument is usually signed and sealed by both the settlor and the trustees.The trust instrument is usually signed and sealed by both the settlor and the trustees. If the settlor does not wish to be named personally in the trust instrument, the trust can be formed by a "Declaration of Trust" which is signed and executed under seal by the Creator and the Trustees alone.

The choice of trustees is very important as the trustees are under a strict legal obligation to carry out the precise terms of the trust. Trustees can either be individuals or companies, or a combination of the two. The Trust fund can consist of a variety of assets including cash, company stocks and bonds, businesses, investments, property, homes, insurance policies or interests in other trusts.

The most common form of trust established in an offshore jurisdiction is the "DISCRETIONARY TRUST". This is a very flexible trust and gives a high level of confidentiality as usually there is no requirement to file the trust instrument with any government agency, so that privacy of the settlor, the trust´s activities and the identity of the beneficiaries is fully protected.

Typically, the trust is created in a country which imposes no tax of any kind on the settlor, the beneficiaries or in the income or capital tax gains earned by the trust. Further, most jurisdictions selected for forming offshore trusts do not have any requirement for the trustees to file trust accounts with the local tax authority, thus further preserving the confidentiality of the trust´s activities.

Depending upon the residence for tax purposes of the settlor and the beneficiaries, it is often possible to make distributions of capital or income from the trust completely free of tax. Depending upon the residence for tax purposes of the settlor and the beneficiaries, it is often possible to make distributions of capital or income from the trust completely free of tax.

Frequently, international businessmen employ offshore discretionary trusts to hold their various investments. In this matter, many reporting requirements are either eliminated or are vested in the trustees.

Specially designed trusts can effectively protect the settlor´s assets from attack by erstwhile creditors. Thereby preserving the settlor´s assets for the enjoyment of the settlor and his or her selected beneficiaries.

Discretionary trusts are often used by wealthy individuals to divest themselves of certain assets, by expatriates working abroad who wish to accumulate funds offshore prior to returning to a high tax country or by businessmen engaged in international trade and investments who require anonymity as to the ownership of offshore companies with certainty and security as to the passing of the trust fund to their chosen beneficiaries at the time selected by them.