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Offshore vs. Domestic Asset Protection: What You Need to Know
Presented by Blake Harris
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Course Description
Length: 1h 2min Published: 8/25/2025 
This course explores the complex world of offshore trusts and international banking, focusing on asset protection and wealth preservation strategies used by high-net-worth individuals. Attendees will gain a detailed understanding of how offshore vehicles are utilized for financial planning, including the legal frameworks and practical considerations that arise. The course reviews leading offshore jurisdictions and examines how favorable trust laws and banking regulations support legitimate asset protection structures.
Learning Objectives
* Understand the definition and scope of offshore asset protection
* Learn about offshore asset protection legislation
* Cover key offshore trust jurisdictions: The Cook Islands, Nevis, Belize
* Review offshore banking jurisdictions
* Putting it All Together: Understand offshore trusts and bank accounts
Speaker Q&A
Question
If you have a home in the US that is titled as an equal joint tenancy in two trusts (second marriage), and the home has a few million dollars in equity, can this equity be protected in an offshore trust?
- EricF
Answer
Yes, the home can still be placed into an offshore trust. However,
liquid assets such as stocks, bonds, cash, and crypto which can be
held offshore receive the best protection.
- Blake Harris
Question
The problem with setting up a trust is how would one know whom to trust? Around 2003, a friend paid Jerome Schneider around $75,000 for an alleged "offshore bank" in Nauru, and he also had to deposit $100,000 in this bank (which oddly was held in a NY bank). The trustees all had Chinese names. Schneider and his attorney were soon after arrested and imprisoned. The U.S. government probably hoped that his clients were drug dealers, but they were mainly uninformed individuals . My friend never saw his money again; I presume that Schneider kept the money after his release from prison, or else the U.S. government confiscated it.
- CharlesS
Answer
Whether you are doing domestic or offshore planning finding a trustworthy trustee is essential. Start by locating an attorney that has extensive experience working with a foreign trustee and they can guide you to the proper service providers. You can read more here:
https://blakeharrislaw.com/blog/is-it-safe-to-work-with-a-foreign-trustee
- Blake Harris
Presented By:
Blake Harris
Denver, CO
1800-ask-blake
blake@blakeharrislaw.com