Since last September, I have traveled on perhaps no less than two dozen different flights, some domestic and others international. As a guest speaker on asset protection planning techniques and a participant at international seminars, I've traveled almost as much as I have been at home. I have been searched and researched. I've had innocent personal travel items removed from my carry on luggage because they might become a threat to someone (I travel extremely light since most are short business trips) while arguably more dangerous items are routinely overlooked. I've been beamed with more X-rays that have probably shorted my life expectancy by at least ten years. And I have had the metal detecting wan scanned around my body every conceivable way. I am exhausted from taking my shoes on and off again repeatedly. I dress light, inconspicuous, and probably present no more of an appearance of threat than the 85 year old lady next to me undergoing the same pathetic treatment.

MOST PEOPLE WANT TO FEEL IN CONTROL OF THEIR LIFE

Like most people I talk to, whether I am looking to protect and preserve my family's hard earned retirement savings or the immediate concern for safety, I would prefer to rely upon myself rather than bureaucratic procedures and regulations. There is plenty we can do to protect ourselves, if only the government would stop trying to strip what is left of our freedoms and legal rights. There... as a long time Republican I have stepped out of the closet and said the "r" word.

You don't have to be a cynic to see that the so called national security program in our country is only a false pretense. Whether the FBI had sufficient knowledge about the pre-WTC attacks or not, and whether President Bush was properly informed or he wasn't, the government can't and shouldn't be relied upon to answer all of our needs.

The government's answer to flight school training, where several terrorists have snuck through the system, is to overregulate U.S. flight schools out of business. According to Joseph Burnside, Vice President for Government and Industry Affairs of the National Air Transport Association, the problem of overregulating flight schools is becoming so severe that "there will be an impact on aviation safety worldwide if the government doesn't get its act together." (New York Times, May 27, 2002).

I attended an International Offshore Conference on offshore planning and tax structures this past week, and many of the experts in attendance are well known and experienced offshore planners in their fields. It was unanimously recognized that the Patriot's Act, enacted immediately following September 11th, is one of the worst, draconian laws ever in U.S. history and will forever change how you go about routine business transactions, in the name of terrorism.

The political knee-jerk reaction by Congress to do something has resulted in a law that attempts to create a financial fortress within our country by overregulating businesses in the name of money laundering. Every small corner life insurance office, the local travel agent, small town banks, title companies, real estate brokers, investment advisors, (and the list goes on and on), must implement internal policies and staff procedures geared to recognizing and reporting customers if there is even a remote suspicion of any doubtful source of money, requiring proof of the original source of your funds. Sounds simple, but it isn't. The punishment for these businesses for failure to comply with the Patriotics Acts is horrendous.

At the same time, this insane legislation, in the name of national security, has placed an enormous amount of policing power and regulatory authority in the hands of the Attorney Generals Office and the Treasury Department unlike no other time in history. The falsely titled Patriotics Act, and the accompanying regulations that follow, are now being put into place even though it has become widely accepted and acknowledged that there is not even an indicia of evidence of any Al Qaeda money that has been laundered through so called tax havens, let alone small town businesses. The unfortunate part of it all, is that most Americans don't see what is coming at them like a steam roller, or they simply don't care.

TOO FEW TAKE STEPS TO STAY IN CONTROL

Too often, the public are like sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Instead of speaking out against insane legislation presented under the folds of patriotism, government ineptness, and overly restrictive regulatory burdens, most Americans are willing to sit idly by and give up their freedoms for a small false sense of security. What happened to taking care of ourselves?

Do you feel more comfort and secure in allowing some self-appointed, government bureaucrat (who probably couldn't succeed in private industry in the first place) making financial decisions that affect your life? Or do you prefer to make the decisions that affect your family and your personal affairs? If you are like me, you prefer being in charge of your own life.

START TODAY WITH THE FIRST STEP

The same is particularly true with protecting and preserving assets. Do you care to make the choices that affect your personal financial freedom?

If so, there are steps you can take to protect and preserve your hard-earned money. The steps include, but are not limited to, International Trusts and thinking worldwide, not just locally. The most important step of all is taking action now, today, and plan for the worst and live for the best.

Start taking steps today that will allow you to respond to change. Put into place now, structures and planning that allow you the free movement of money and property when and if you need it. Protect what you have worked long and hard for and keep it from the hands of frivolous claimants.

Best Regards,

David Tanzer
Attorney at Law
Vail, CO

PS To learn more about stateside and offshore asset protection and wealth preservation planning techniques, read The Complete Guide: “How to Legally Protect Your Assets”.