To protect your assets you might want to transfer them to an irrevocable trust. Up to $1 million worth of assets can be moved into a trust, free of gift tax, while a married couple may give away up to $2 million. Once assets are owned by a trust, rather than owned personally, they may be beyond the reach of creditors.
Alaska has ratified trust rules that protect assets from creditors while still providing trust creators with some access to the trust funds. To enjoy these benefits, some of the trust assets must be held in an Alaska institution, with at least one Alaska trustee.
Taking your trust to Alaska may not be going far enough.
An extremely aggressive creditor requires aggressive planning and, generally, offshore jurisdictions provide greater creditor protection than U.S.-domiciled trusts. Offshore trusts can be more costly to establish and maintain, though. Some offshore jurisdictions (Cook Islands, Isle of Man) have trust laws that discourage creditors’ claims.
