Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: Protect Assets and Gain Tax Benefits

Domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs) are often an estate planner’s best vehicle for keeping a trust’s assets out of the reach of creditors. The domestic asset protection trust is often referred to as a "self-settled trust" because the settlor is one of the beneficiaries. Self-settled trusts give the trustee discretion over whether to make distributions to the settlor, while simultaneously protecting the assets from the settlor's creditors. But in addition to providing asset protection, DAPTs also offer a number of other less appreciated benefits that can help advance other important estate planning practices and goals. This 60-minute program will dive into the essentials of DAPTs and the strategies to use them, as well as more advanced protection techniques you can apply to benefit your clients. Topics include: What are domestic asset protection trusts? When are they best used and what are the risks? What states allow these trusts and subject to what limits? How do domestic trusts and offshore trusts compare? What are the tax benefits and risks of the trusts?