Bridgeford Trust Company is looking forward to sponsoring the sold-out 2023 STEP Miami Summit! The summit, taking place at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne from October 18-20, 2023, is an excellent opportunity to learn about the newest changes, updates, and trends in the market for international private client planning as well as network at their various events, including two cocktail receptions leading up to the summit conference day on Friday, October 20. Read on to learn more about where we’ll be, including a reception invitation for after the summit concludes extended to both summit attendees and those not attending but, in the area, to join us!

Bridgeford & UMA Wealth Reception – October 20 from 5:00-8:00pm

After the STEP Miami Summit concludes on Friday, October 20, we’d like to invite those attending the sessions as well as those not attending, but in the area, to join us for a reception at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne’s beach bar, Dune. Bridgeford Trust Company and UMA Wealth (Switzerland) AG will be hosting this event together and if you are available, please join us! To secure a spot and add the details to your calendar, you can register by clicking here.

STEP Miami Summit – October 18-20

David Warren (Co-Founder and Chairman of Bridgeford Trust Company) and Danielle Keeton (Senior Vice President and Senior Trust Officer) will be attending the summit and if you are going to be there as well, we encourage you to visit Bridgeford’s table to learn about the power and sophistication of South Dakota’s trust laws. These progressive and modern trust laws allow families to avail themselves of very strong privacy trust laws and asset protection provisions, and to take advantage of South Dakota’s status as a no state income tax state. Come talk with us about how we may be able to collaborate to best serve your domestic and international clients!

If you have any questions about our time at the summit, our reception, or any of the topics discussed above, be sure to reach out to us at (605) 224-9189 or via our contact form. We hope to see you there!

Episode 33 is now available on Bridgeford Trust Company’s Delivering Direction and Control podcast series! In this episode, David Warren – Co-Founder & Chairman of Bridgeford Trust Company – sits down with guest, Reuben Tylor – Founder & Director of Trustees & Fiduciaries (Cook Islands) Ltd – who has been providing legal services to the offshore industry since 1987 and is a true thought leader in asset protection.

The conversation begins with a discussion on Reuben’s work and the development of various financial and legislative products – the most important of which was his development of asset protection legislation targeting the U.S. market in the late 1980’s. As the conversation continues, they discuss the Trust Protector concept in the context of Cook Islands law and how Trustees & Fiduciaries (Cook Islands) Ltd can serve in that role when it is beneficial to the client.

David and Reuben conclude the interview with a detailed discussion on the formation and importance of the Relationship Property Trust (RPT): a solution to a problem Reuben had been experiencing firsthand. When a family with substantial wealth over several generations would go through a divorce, family courts were determining that assets could not be set aside from relationship property matters and were instead brought back into the matrimonial property dispute. In an effort to ensure years of wealth planning for families was not dismantled, Reuben developed the Relationship Property Act (RPA) which identified that the solution was to provide a statutory rebuttal of the need to divide and distribute the assets and Cook Islands passed the new legislation creating the RPT to keep the assets of high net-worth families intact in the event of a separation.

You can listen to our latest episode on Bridgeford’s podcast page, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, and SoundCloud.

Bridgeford Trust Company’s Delivering Direction and Control podcast was developed to educate, challenge, and inspire listeners. As we interview experts in the trust planning arena, we keep listeners updated on developments regarding modern trust law and provide practical discussion on the powerful trust planning opportunities available to advisors around the country and the world – all in an effort to deliver far more direction and control to clients and their advisors than ever before. Check out all of our episodes here: bridgefordtrust.com/podcasts.

If you have questions on any of the topics discussed in this latest episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via our contact form or call us at (605) 224-9189.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a new law coming into effect January 1, 2024, that was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, and tasked the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with implementation through regulations. The CTA aims to enhance corporate transparency in an effort to prevent and combat illicit financial activities, such as money laundering and tax evasion, discouraging the use of shell corporations as a tool to disguise and move illicit funds.

The CTA implements reporting requirements for limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, and other business entities that have never had to report such information previously. While the CTA primarily targets businesses’ legal and financial obligations, it is important for our readers to understand the reporting changes and requirements to ensure compliance as well as to recognize how the CTA could affect trust and estate planning.

Reporting Requirements:

Under the CTA, certain covered entities are required to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN. The CTA applies only to certain domestic companies and foreign entities that are registered to do business in the U.S, termed as Reporting Companies. A Reporting Company is defined as a corporation, limited liability company, or other similar entity that is:

• Created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office under the law of a U.S. state or Indian Tribe, or
• Formed under the law of a foreign country and registered to do business in the U.S. by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or a similar office under the laws of a U.S. state or Indian Tribe.

Beneficial Owners:

A Beneficial Owner is an individual who directly or indirectly – through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise:

• Exercises substantial control* over the entity, or
• Owns or controls 25% or more of the ownership interests of a covered entity.

* Substantial control is defined as: serving as a senior officer of the reporting company; having authority over the appointment or removal of any senior officer or a majority of the board of directors (or similar body); or directing, determining, or having substantial influence over important decisions made by the reporting company.

What is Reported?

In general, the CTA requires a reporting company to disclose specific information regarding (1) the company itself, (2) its beneficial owners, and (3) the company applicants to FinCEN, including:

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Current address
• Unique identifying number and the issuing jurisdiction
• If an individual has obtained a FinCEN identifier and provided that FinCEN identifier to a reporting company, the reporting company may include the FinCEN identifier in its report in lieu of the information required for that individual.

Exemptions:

Some entities are exempt from reporting including publicly traded companies, certain financial institutions, and entities with a physical presence and substantial operations in the United States.

• Financial institutions or certain issuers of securities in heavily regulated industries (e.g., banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, money services businesses registered with FinCEN, and issuers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission).
• “Large operating companies” (defined in the final rule as an entity that employs more than 20 full-time employees in the U.S., has an operating presence at a physical office within the U.S., and filed a federal income tax or information return in the U.S. for the previous year demonstrating more than $5,000,000 in gross receipts or sales).
• Legal entities, including certain trusts, will be excluded to the extent that they are not created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office.

Penalties for Non-Compliance:

The CTA establishes penalties for non-compliance, including civil and criminal penalties. Failure to report accurate and timely information can result in fines and even imprisonment.

• Any person who provides false information, or fails to report complete or updated information, is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each day that the violation continues, and may face fines not more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.
• Separate from the CTA, persons could face criminal liability under the federal criminal code, which prohibits knowingly and willfully providing false information or concealing a material fact to any of the three branches of the federal government.

Privacy Protections:

The CTA includes provisions to protect the privacy of beneficial owners’ personal information. Access to this information is limited to authorized government agencies for law enforcement and national security purposes.

• The CTA mandates that such information will be available only to authorized government authorities, subject to effective safeguards and controls.
• The U.S. Department of the Treasury will maintain the information in a secure, nonpublic database. Importantly, however, the collected information may also be available to financial institutions so that they can confirm beneficial ownership information provided by their customers.

While trust companies themselves are not directly impacted by the CTA, clients who use trusts as part of their holding company structure may be affected. This increased transparency may influence how individuals and entities structure their trusts and holding companies for privacy and asset protection purposes. For more information on the CTA and its implications for trust and estate planning, please contact us via our contact page or by calling (605) 224-9189.

Bridgeford Trust Company is excited to again be sponsoring STEP LatAm’s annual conference taking place on September 7 & 8, 2023 in Bogota, Colombia. This year’s conference features cutting edge presentations and discussion related to the planning, structuring, and management of wealth in Latin America and brings together renowned lawyers, accounting professionals, bankers, and trust, estate, and investment advisors from around the world.

David Warren – Co-Founder and Chairman of Bridgeford Trust Company – will be attending this year’s conference so if you are going to be there, be sure to contact us so we can be sure to connect at one of the events or grab a drink or dinner together!

The Power of U.S. Trusts for International Families

The United States continues to be the jurisdiction of choice for international families because of powerful modern trust law planning tools available in top-tier jurisdictions such as South Dakota, including Foreign Grantor Trusts and Domestic Asset Protection Trusts as well as progressive privacy trust laws and tax planning opportunities. These are just a few of the unique planning solutions available under South Dakota law that are important for families across the globe to consider when selecting the best U.S. trust situs.

We encourage you to watch this webinar – The U.S. as the International Trust Jurisdiction of Choice for Privacy, Asset Protection, and Tax Planning. In it, our team examines worldwide factors for the historic movement of money into the U.S. and objectively compares the leading top-tier U.S. trust jurisdictions along with planning tools available to international families.

We wish those of you attending safe travels, and we look forward to seeing you in Colombia! If have any questions about our time at the conference or any of the topics discussed above, be sure to reach out to us at (605) 224-9189 or via our contact form.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is holding their annual Real Property, Probate & Trust Law retreat on August 2-4, 2023, at the Eden Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Bridgeford Trust Company is excited to be speaking at this upcoming event!

Attendees will receive up to 8 hours of CLE credits on a variety of timely topics, including key provisions of the PAR Residential Agreement of Sale; the basics of estate administration; trust modifications and fiduciary removal; advanced leasing concepts and trends; racial covenants; modern trust law; purchasing in a community association; and the perennial real estate and probate and trust law updates.

Bridgeford Trust Company’s Co-Founder and Chairman, David Warren will be presenting on a panel with Paul Fabiano, Attorney-At-Law with PTF Legal on Wednesday, August 2 at 2:00pm. David and Paul’s presentation will consider powerful modern trust law tools around asset protection, privacy, and prudent tax planning – available only in top-tier no income tax dynasty trust jurisdictions such as South Dakota. The presentation will also explore how modern trust law brings far more direction and control to settlors of trusts, beneficiaries, and their advisors through the use of directed trusts, trust protectors, family advisors, and decanting statutes, and will conclude with an objective comparison of top-tier trust jurisdictions.

For more information on the event including a full agenda and registration fees, click here. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Melissa Roberson at mroberson@bridgefordtrust.com for assistance with the registration process. We hope to see you there!