you may still be liable for damages in a lawsuit.21 And under the theory of “joint and several liability,” someone suing you can hold you “fully financially responsible” regardless of your individual share of the liability. If you’re 1% responsible for a $10 million loss, you might be required to compensate the successful litigant the full $10 million!22 That’s what made possible the lawsuits against parties with tenuous connections to the Rhode Island Station nightclub fire. Almost every state has some form of joint and several liability statute in force.
• Soaring property seizures. In 1984, Congress enacted a tough anti-drug law with greatly enhanced civil forfeiture provisions.23 Until then, revenues from civil forfeitures came to only a few million dollars annually. Nearly all these revenues resulted from seizures of vehicles and boats used to smuggle illegal drugs or other contraband across U.S. borders. State and local civil forfeiture laws were virtually non-existent. However, the law permitted police authorities to keep most or even all of the property they confiscate, or sell it to generate revenue. This encouraged states to enact their own civil forfeiture statutes. The results were predictable. In 2008, the Department of Justice’s “Asset Forfeiture Fund” generated more than $1.2 billion in “net forfeiture revenues.” And that figure doesn’t include billions more in civil forfeitures by state and local police authorities.24
You may be saying, “Why didn’t I hear about this? Why weren’t the newspapers shouting about these changes? Forget it, it’s the media—always pushing their own agenda.”
But don’t be too hard on the media. Sensationalism sells. Analyzing and reporting on legal trends isn’t nearly as lucrative. And while it’s easy to write about a specific lawsuit, regulation, or court decision, understanding the trend these legal developments represent is a lot more difficult.
…But There Are Solutions Available
Fortunately, for every one of the issues I’ve highlighted, there are solutions. For 25 years, I’ve been researching and writing about them, and more recently, I’ve helped hundreds of clients and their families protect their privacy and wealth from these very threats. Within the pages of The Lifeboat Strategy, you’ll learn how to:
• Shut the door on frivolous lawsuits. One of the simplest ways to prevent frivolous lawsuits is to make certain that any assets you own are pledged to another person or entity. No attorney is likely to sue you if there aren’t any assets available for recovery. A mortgage on your home is a great example, but there are many others. A more sophisticated strategy involves licensing key aspects of your business to another company, with your business making regular (and tax-deductible) licensing fee payments. Perhaps that second company is owned by an asset protection trust. The result: your business is no longer a “honey pot” for litigation. You’ll learn more about these concepts in Chapters 4 and 5.
• Restrict access to your electronic data. It’s easy to protect your electronic privacy by taking a few basic precautions. The most fundamental precaution is encryption. With an encryption program, no one but you and your intended recipient can read your e-mail messages, text messages, instant messages, etc. You can even encrypt your entire data stream to protect all records of your online life from prying eyes. You’ll learn how to do that in Chapter 3.
• Protect your assets from divorce. The safest way to prevent a nasty divorce is to never get married. But most people do anyway. One of the best ways to protect your finances in a marriage is a trust. Just make certain you set it up before you get married, ideally in an offshore jurisdiction that doesn’t enforce foreign divorce judgments. In the right circumstances, pre-nuptial agreements can be effective as well—although not all states recognize them. You’ll learn more about these arrangements in Chapters 4 and 5.
I’ve designed this newest edition of The Lifeboat Strategy to provide practical strategies against today’s threats to privacy and wealth. When you’ve finished reading it, you’ll know simple techniques to stop identity thieves in their tracks, make your wealth legally disappear from the surveillance “radar screen,” and understand how to protect wealth you simply can’t afford to lose. Along the way, you’ll learn dozens of hands-on methods you can use everyday to avoid unnecessary scrutiny by sue-happy lawyers, the IRS, or someone holding a grudge against you. And you’ll develop that most important defense against invasions of your wealth and privacy: a private attitude.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn in Volumes 1 and 2 of The Lifeboat Strategy and in the bonus report accompanying it:
• 19 types of public records—available to anyone—that can be used to steal your identity.
• Your "right to silence" is narrower than you think!
• How businesses use "data mining" to deliver personalized, interactive messages of persuasion—and how government agencies can gain access to the results.
• The 10 worst electronic eavesdropping threats.
• The giant hole in "caller ID blocking."
• Do you fit the definition of a "terrorist?" If you are a member of any of these organizations, you may.
• Tax avoidance vs. tax evasion—what's the difference?
• If you fit any of more than 60 "profiles," your assets can be seized, without being convicted of a crime.
• Are you a "racketeer?" If you've ever made this simple mistake, you probably are.
• How withdrawing lawfully earned money from your own bank account can land you in prison.
• The secret global network that monitors all international telecommunications.
• Six legitimate ways individuals use offshore centers.
• 27 strategies to prevent identity theft—and five
"must-do" steps to take if you're a victim.
• What to do if police want to search you, your vehicle, or your home.
• How to avoid looking like a "money launderer."
• 14 ways to preserve postal privacy.
• Six tactics for private phone service.
• How to obtain insurance privately.
• Eleven ways to achieve "residential anonymity."
• 23 tactics to audit-proof your tax return.
• Nine tips for private banking.
• Six gold and silver investments you can buy and sell privately.
• Nine hiding places for your valuables.
• An ideal business for privacy seekers.
• 19 ways trusts protect privacy and wealth.
• Using corporations, limited liability companies, and other business entities.
• Three types of international bank accounts - which one is right for you?
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