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So if you own a business, own investment properties or practice a profession you have a one in three chance of being named in a lawsuit THIS YEAR!

It used to be that people didn’t worry about frivolous lawsuits when they weren’t at fault. That’s not the case any more. Remember the woman who was awarded over $2 million in a suit against McDonalds’ because she spilled hot coffee on herself? It’s these kinds of awards that prompt people to file spurious or questionable lawsuits. The challenge is that most lawyers handle these cases are on a contingency fee basis which means clients don’t pay a dime unless they win or settle the lawsuit. When there are no upfront costs to file a lawsuit, there’s nothing preventing them from making a frivolous claim.
So with that being the mindset of the general public it’s obvious why you need to protect yourself.

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What Is Asset Protection and How It Works

Now if you have read anything on asset protection there are two basic questions you should be asking yourself:
Does it work? Is it legal?

So now let’s talk about what asset protection is. How it works? And answer these two questions.

Essentially asset protection is a legal way to put your assets beyond the reach of those who would like to take them from you by filing a lawsuit. Here is an example you are likely familiar with that demonstrates its effectiveness and legality.

Remember the O.J. Simpson case? O.J. went to trial in 1995 and was acquitted of murder charges. His story is a perfect example of how and why asset protection works. Now there’s a whole criminal side to O.J.’s case. So let’s put aside the moral issues surrounding O.J. We’re just talking about asset protection here. The point here is that the nation was able to see for the first time how an alleged murderer was able to have a judgment entered against him and no one was able to collect any money. So let’s outline what happened here. By the way, do you know how O.J.’s doing now? Do you have any doubts he’s living all right?

He moved to Florida because the golf was better, the private schools were nicer and frankly the people in Los Angeles didn’t want to talk to him anymore. But no one’s collecting any money from O.J. As we go through this, you’ll see how O.J.’s team of experts used many different asset protection strategies effectively.

What happened after he was acquitted from the criminal charges? The Goldmans sued him on a wrongful death case in civil court and obtained a judgment for $33.5 million. Yet have they collected anything? All they got was his Heisman trophy. The piano he said belonged to his mother. But what happened to his money? Well he was lucky. O.J. had pensions, or retirement plans through the NFL and the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG), and both pensions were exempt from judgments by law in California.

So what did he have in his pension accounts? He had about $4.2 million, which throws off about $25,000 a month. That’s how he pays his greens fees for golf and how he sent his kids to private schools.

What about his house? He had a nice home near Beverly Hills. What happened there? The house was worth $3.5 million. He had a first mortgage for $1.5 million. The question everyone asked was what happened to the rest of the equity? Why didn’t they take it?

Well, he had what are called friendly liens placed on it. By the time they got to the house all the equity was encumbered in favor of his attorneys. His home was leveraged to the hilt so by the time the Goldmans got to it there was nothing left for them to take. There was also the homestead exemption, which in California is up to $125,000. It varies from state to state.

Now that he’s living in Florida he has a boat, an office, a car. People wonder how he has all these things.

He leases these things. You see, by law no one can seize a leasehold interest.

So back to the two questions we started this example: does asset protection work and is it legal? Well, how’s O.J. doing so far? He’s doing just fine. What about its legality? Remember this was the most publicized trial in U.S. history. It was under total scrutiny from the media, the public and legal professionals everywhere. People were itching to put this guy behind bars or at least force him to pay in dollars for what he allegedly did. They couldn’t because his assets were protected within the lines of the law.

Another question critics of the O.J. case bring up is this, if most of the money he has is protected from judgments and bankruptcy, why doesn’t he just go bankrupt and release this $33.5 million judgment against him? One reason is you must submit a list of all your assets when you file bankruptcy. If you leave something of substance off that list, you can be indicted for bankruptcy fraud. There is only one logical explanation why O.J. doesn’t file bankruptcy; it is because he likely has money offshore. This is the part you probably won’t find in any books or news articles. O.J.’s mother lode is purported to be in the Isle of Guernsey, probably $5-10 million. Now he’s not going to go bankrupt and leave this off the list and then have some angry girlfriend tell on him and get him indicted and sent to prison.

The Nuts And Bolts for Effective Asset Protection

Now to be truly effective, all asset protection strategies must meet three criteria.
Liability Protection. You must be legally protected from any liability. Control of the assets must be totally anonymous and private. You see, if assets can’t be legally tied to you then they can’t be taken when someone comes after you. So to achieve this protection you have to set up your asset protection and privacy plan in a jurisdiction that supports these criteria. The third and most important criterion for effective asset protection is that it must be done at the right time. You must act ahead of time to protect what you own BEFORE it comes under attack. Once a lawsuit is expected or has been filed, the law will not allow you to move your assets.

So as we talk about different types of asset protection we will come back to these important criteria.

How to Achieve Asset Protection

What is the best way to achieve asset protection? It can be summed up in three words: Don’t Own Anything.

Now you might think that this flies in the face of the American Dream which says you need to own your own car, home and everything else that is a prerequisite for a happy and successful life. Now we are not talking about not eliminating debt on those assets. It’s great to be debt free. You just don’t want to own those things in your own name because if you technically don’t own the assets, but merely control them, then the assets are well protected, and you still have the use of them. You see, you don’t want ownership. Ownership is a liability. What you want is use of the assets. In fact it was John D. Rockefeller who summed up this philosophy when he said “Own nothing and control everything.” So to really start to understand the mindset around asset protection you need to think like a Rockefeller.

One way to achieve this protection is through the formation of corporations to hold the assets. Why corporations? Under the law, a corporation is an artificial “person” completely separate from the people who own it and control it. This is different from an individual or sole proprietorship. With an individual or sole proprietorship the owner bears full and complete responsibility for his actions. But a corporation is an independent entity. A corporation’s liabilities and taxes are separate from those of its owners, officers, and directors. Therefore a corporation gives you the greatest personal liability protection and this meets our first criteria we talked about.

Another reason corporations are advantageous is because they enable you to compartmentalize your businesses or assets. You can place different assets under separate corporations. Now you still have complete control over everything, but if one asset runs into trouble, it won’t jeopardize the other assets. Without incorporation, all your eggs are in one basket and if something happens to that one basket you could be totally wiped out. For that reason some people choose to have separate corporations for their larger assets such as a home, rental property, boat, or RV, to separate out any liability.

Because of the corporate formation laws in certain jurisdictions, you can form corporations that can provide total privacy. This is why almost all successful people choose to incorporate. It permits you to manage your assets anonymously. Your private corporate life is never made public. And there’s only a couple of states in the U.S. and a few places around the world where a corporation can be formed, while you own and control your corporation, your identity and ownership can remain a total secret. This meets our second criteria mentioned.

Let’s talk about the jurisdictions that allow you to form corporations anonymously. One of the jurisdictions is Nevada. Nevada was really just a desert with very few residents until the mobs came in and started the casinos. The mobs did not want anyone to know who owned the casinos and they made sure the law allowed ownership to be untraceable. The mobs had since gone and Wall Street had taken over. Nevertheless, the corporate formation law has not changed. If you know how to structure it, you can still incorporate in Nevada and no one will be able to trace the ownership of the corporation back to you.

Another jurisdiction is the Bahamas. An international business corporation formed in the Bahamas can remain anonymous if you structure it properly. You can use the Nevada Corporations to protect fixed assets such as homes, boats, planes, and some liquid assets. You can use a Bahamian corporation for large amount of liquid assets such as cash, stocks, and bonds. For most people, a Nevada corporation will be sufficient for their asset protection, however, for maximum asset protection, a higher net worth individual is going to want to utilize both types of entities.

You may be asking why Nevada and the Bahamas are so unique. Well the answer to that comes back to our criteria of privacy. You see both these jurisdictions allow their corporations to use two unique features when setting up their corporations: bearer shares and nominee officers. Bearer shares are shares of stock that are legally owned by whoever holds or “bears” the actual stock certificates. This also means that anyone who doesn’t hold the stock certificate in his or her possession is not the legal owner, and can so testify in court. So you may be driving a Lexus or BMW owned by a corporation, but if you don’t have the bearer shares or stock certificates for that corporation, it’s not really your car. You’re just using it. And this eliminates your liability.

The other feature is nominee officers, which ensures your complete privacy and anonymity, the second criteria we talked about for asset protection. A nominee is simply a trusted person you appoint to stand in and provide their name and signature in lieu of yours. Both Nevada and the Bahamas allow the use of nominee officers and directors in their corporations so your name will never appear on any of the corporate documents if you so choose. Your identity can be kept completely private.

Now the corporations you form there cannot and should never be used to evade federal income tax since all U.S. residents and citizens must pay federal income tax on their worldwide income. There is no state income tax in Nevada and there is no income tax for international business corporation in the Bahamas.

Other states allow lawsuits to pierce the corporate veil and enforce personal liability for the debts and actions of the corporation on its owners and officers but Nevada has one of the strongest corporate veils anywhere. Nevada law clearly makes the actions of a corporation’s representatives exempt from personal responsibility except in cases of outright fraud and even then they have to prove intent to defraud which is very difficult to do.

Here’s an Example on Implementing Asset Protection

So now you have some understanding as to how these corporations limit your liability and provide you with the privacy and anonymity you need for maximum asset protection. Let’s now talk about how asset protection can work for you.

Let’s look at an example here. Let’s assume you sell a product and someone wants to sue you. A customer was slightly injured by a product that he bought from you so he goes down to the local injury attorney and tells him the story. The lawyer says great! We’ll sue him. Let me do some research and we’ll talk tomorrow

The lawyer then orders a preliminary asset search on you. When this report comes back, on the top of the page is your name, underneath that is your date of birth, your home address, your phone numbers, listed and unlisted, any children you have and their names and ages. Below this is the Nationwide Asset Sweep listing all property you own, any vehicles, brokerage accounts, bank accounts and tax information.

When this disgruntled customer returns to the attorney the next day the attorney is going to say one of two things:
“Great, all the assets are right here. He has deep pocket. Let’s draft a complaint and sue this guy” or “I can sue this guy but there are no visible assets to go after…I can start proceedings if you want but I’ll need a $15,000 retainer to cover my initial attorney’s fees and expenses.”

Based on human nature, 99% of all litigation will stop right here. Contingency fee lawyers need a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. They’re not interested unless there is the potential for a big reward

So you want to be in the second category where you are not at risk.

So to start off, let’s assume you have a home worth $500,000 and you have $150,000 in stocks and bonds in your brokerage account. On your home you have a first mortgage for $300,000. You have $200,000 in equity in the home and $150,000 liquid assets exposed. So what do you do?

First you would form a Nevada corporation anonymously.

Do you transfer title of the home into the Nevada Corporation then? No, for a few reasons: One is you want the home to stay in your name. It becomes the decoy. You see, the first things a competent injury attorney will ask are:
Does he own a home? Does he have a job or own a business?

If you are living a six-figure lifestyle and you don’t own a home he’s going to assume your assets are hidden and may want to go looking for them. However, if you own your home and it’s mortgaged to the hilt, well, that’s not so unusual. That’s pretty common these days. The other reasons you want to retain title to your home is for tax deductions on mortgage interest, capital gain tax exemption when you sell your home and the protection you already get from homestead exemption in your home state.

So if you don’t transfer title, what do you do? You can place a friendly lien on the home for $220,000 and record it in favor of your Nevada Corporation. You may be asking, “What is a friendly lien?” A friendly lien is a legal lien placed on a real property and it doesn’t necessarily represent a cash loan from the Nevada corporation you form. The Nevada corporation may have rendered professional advice or services creating the debt owed to the corporation. At any rate, it serves your purpose of encumbering any remaining equity in your home.

Now, you can then transfer the $150,000 in your stock and bond portfolio to a Bahamian corporation under your management with a brokerage account in the Cayman Islands. You still retain control over all the assets yet any equity is now invisible to the predatory eyes of an attorney.

If you don’t have enough cash, stocks and bonds to want to go overseas, you can open a bank account and/or an online brokerage account under the Nevada corporation.

For your vehicles, if you owned them outright you would add the private Nevada Corporation as a lien holder on titles with the department of motor vehicles.

So between the Nevada corporation and the international business corporation you have effectively eliminated your exposure to liability and your assets would no longer show up on one of these asset searches, keeping you safe from lawyers.

As powerful as these strategies are in protecting your assets from lame lawsuits, they must be put in place long before any legal challenges surface. Any asset transfers you make after a legal challenge will be considered fraudulent conveyance and will be set aside by the courts. Therefore, if you feel you are a potential target for lawsuits because of your profession, the nature of your business or your investment property holdings, the time to act is now.

Carlos Lee, MBA, is a senior consultant for Asset Protection Consulting Group.

Visit Asset Protection Consulting Group to find additional information on how to bulletproof your assets.

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Strategies that are effective and legal for putting one’s assets safely out of reach

In today’s increasingly litigious world, the shielding of assets has become a prominent issue for financial planners, business owners, and high-net-worth individuals. Asset Protection details methods that are both legally and morally legitimate for protecting one’s assets from creditors, lawsuits, and scams.

Bringing economic common sense and legitimacy to an area that is drowning in gimmickry, two of today’s top lawyers examine the fundamental issues in this growing area, avoiding dense legalese to make the book accessible to anyone. Asset Protection covers everything readers want to know about:

• Establishing an effective asset protection program
• Today’s most popular, established strategies
• Newer strategies that are still being resolved by the courts

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Insurance can at times be somewhat of a minefield for many people; with so many different products available, choosing the right one and making sure that we are properly covered can be a challenge. Although this may be the case, it is also an essential part of our everyday living.

Buildings Insurance

Your home is likely to be your most valuable possession so it is important to ensure that adequate buildings insurance cover is set in place.

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the building plus anything you would normally leave behind when you move. This will include things like patios, drives, fences, walls and permanent fixtures like kitchens and bathrooms. Accidental damage caused by fire, storms, or burst pipes, for example will also be covered.

Having buildings insurance cover in place is not if fact a legal requirement although nearly every mortgage lender will insist that cover is taken out as they look to protect what is their asset too, albeit temporarily.

Many lenders will offer a block building insurance policy arrangement. The cover provided and premium rate are agreed between the lender and insurer, but instead of issuing each borrower with an individual policy number a master policy is set up, with both the lender and insurer having copies.

These premiums are not always the most competitive in price so it is advisable to shop around for quotes also.

The amount that each property will need to be insured for will of course vary. The valuer will provide a figure for the re-instatement value of the property, ie the cost of rebuilding in the event of total destruction. There is no specific link between this figure and that for the valuation for mortgage purposes, or the price that the purchaser has agreed to pay.

Contents Insurance

Contents insurance offers cover on the household goods and possessions inside your property and will often include the garden too if applicable. In other words, contents can be defined as everything that you would normally take with you when you move.

The lender will not insist that you take out a contents insurance policy however in many cases it is advisable. Not doing so could see you unable to replace your belongings in the event of disasters such as fire, flooding or burglary.

Many policies offer cover on a new for old basis which means should anything happen to your possessions such as the TV or washing machine; you should be able to replace the damaged goods for a new model.

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI)

Mortgage Payment Protection insurance (MPPI) is also known as accident, sickness and unemployment (ASU) insurance and, as the name suggests, it covers your mortgage repayments if you have an accident, fall ill or lose your job.

Most policies will provide cover for a period of 12 months. Your policy should cover the full amount of your mortgage and linked expenses such as other insurance policies and pension plans.

Many providers of payment protection insurance will offer modular coverage. For example, you can choose unemployment only option if job loss is your main concern or an accident & sickness only module depending on what you feel is more important to you.

You will not be able to claim money against your policy immediately after you make a claim. Typically, you have to wait three or four months – what is known as the deferral period before you begin to receive insurance payouts.

Often however, for an additional charge, some insurers will provide back-to-day-one cover that covers you from the first day you make a claim.

Payment is made 30 days after you made your claim and you need to have been off work for at least a month. In addition most policies have an excess period, usually 30, 60 or more days that is excluded from the payout should you make a claim.

Life Insurance

Life cover pays out a lump sum when you die, or earlier if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness. This lump sum payment may be used to pay off an outstanding mortgage or simply passed on as part of an inheritance.

There are two types of life insurance: Level term and decreasing term.

Level term insurance will often run alongside an interest only mortgage. It lasts for a set period and pays out the set amount you chose at the outset in case of death during the term.

Decreasing term insurance often run alongside a capital repayment mortgage. It offers a smaller payout year on year as the outstanding mortgage debt falls.

With both types of insurance there are many factors that the provider will take into account when calculating the premium. These factors will include; your age, weight, whether you a smoker or non a smoker and your medical history amongst other things.

A Five Point Plan When Taking Out Insurance

1. By speaking to a specialist adviser before you buy insurance could pay off. Ensure that you adviser is able to offer a range of policies from a variety of different providers.

2. Shop around for mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI). Dont just agree to take out the policy offered by your lender without doing some research of your own. Policies offered by the lenders are not always the most competitive in the marketplace.

3. Dont forget to budget for your monthly insurance payments. For MPPI & Life insurance, the younger & healthier you are, the lower your costs, however payments can still easily add up to over 50 per month.

4. Never forget to find out what your excess is, or how much you need to pay before your insurance will pay out. Many policies have exclusions so dont forget to find out what these are too.

5. Many people fail to adjust their insurance policies accordingly when their circumstances change. If you insurance policies are not reflecting your current commitments then you could find that you and your dependents are underinsured.

James Copper
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/the-essential-guide-to-insurance-107576.html

ASSET PROTECTION FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS

For contractors and developers, a declining real estate market is a double whammy. Most conspicuous, of course, is the resultant decrease in new construction that ensues when the market slides. But more alarming is the correlation between a dipping market and the regularity of lawsuits against developers and contractors. Contractors Studies of dozens of insurance company filing s show a direct inverse correlation between the robustness of the real estate market and the number of insurance claims filed against developer and contractor’s insurance policies Indeed, when Southern California’s real estate market peaked in 2006, 36 claims were filed against 1,800 liability policies.

But the past year it has seen interest rate s increase and home values slide. In turn, claims against these policies have increased 200 percent. Aggravating matters are the widespread exclusions that provide little in the way of actual coverage for contractors and developers. One story making the rounds: A mass grader was required by the hiring city to carry a $5 million general liability policy with products and completed operations coverage. After being declined by more than a few insurers, the developer was finally able to purchase a policy from a non-admitted carrier with a price tag of $3.4 million in annual premiums. The policy, delivered eight months into the contract term, listed “subsidence, soils, and any soil related complaints” as the first in a long list of exclusions, making the policy almost useless for a contractor responsible for moving large plots of soil. Indeed, the mass grader’s policy would likely not cover any claim that would ever be le vied against him!

One might hope that this example is the exception, but loopholes and exclusions are commonplace, some making policies almost entirely worthless for the insured. Aggravating matters, runaway jury verdicts can be catastrophic and threaten to wipe clean a contractor or developer’s life savings. The days of good sense fair treatment by a jury of one’s peers are long gone. In the event a client goes to trial, there is little chance of having a single juror of his peers. Most likely it will consist of people unsympathetic to business owners who will be champions of the less affluent

To protect their assets, therefore, many high-risk professionals, including con tractors and developers, simply transfer all assets into the spouse’s name. Though this strategy” might provide a token layer of protection so long as the marriage remains stable, it assumes the spouse will never be in a car accident, or any other situation in which a law suit might be initiated. For contractors and developers, a deeper level of ingenuity must be explored to mitigate risk. But let’s make this clear: You should stand behind your work; skirting accountability by protecting 100 percent of assets from creditors is irresponsible and imprudent. But with lawsuits and insurance claims on the rise, contractors and developers would be equally irresponsible and imprudent to ignore risk management entirely.

Proper entity structuring

The first layer of protection requires forethought as to the entity in which business investments are held. Limited Partnerships (LPs) and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs),’ of course, offer “pass through” tax protection. They also provide an opportunity to separate control from ownership, an important concept in risk management. In most cases, Limited Partnerships offer the most protection when controlled by a small – percentage general partner (1-2%) and the remainder owned by a limited partner.

In this case, the general partner (the contractor or developer) would have

100 -percent control of the decisions being made, but would only own a small percent of the assets (In the case of an LLC the managing member controls the LLC).This might not sound favorable, but imagine now that the limited partner is a foreign privacy trust (also known as a wealth protection trust) in which the general partner is a trustee Wealth protection track. Using this arrangement, the trustee is disenfranchised and would have no real power because it does not have direct control over the assets held by the partnership. Because the limited partner has 100-percent control, the contractor or developer makes all decisions as to when and to whom distributions will be made. If a creditor sues the LLCILP successfully, a court will issue a “charging order,” which instructs the LLC/L P to pay the debtor’s share of distributions to the creditor directly. Because of LLC/LP structure, the courts may decide not to allow creditors to seize assets directly. Instead, the partner being sued, the one- percent general partner (or managing member in the case of a LLC), will have hi s distributions paid directly to the creditor But the charging order does not provide the creditor with any leverage to force distributions , which means the general partner can simply withhold distributions. In the meantime, the charging order forces the creditor to step into the economic shoes of the general partner, and because LLCs and Limited Partnerships generally offer pass through tax protection, the LLC/LP does not pay taxes: Its owners do. The income is taxable, regardless of whether distributions are made, which means the creditor, who has stepped into the economic shoes of the general partner or managing member is responsible for paying the tax bill on this phantom in come.

This partnership between the general partner (contractor or developer) and the limited partner (wealth protection trust) offers yet another layer of protection. If the general partner hears a grumbling or suspects a creditor attack might be imminent, it can terminate the LLC or Limited Partnership and transfer the assets directly to the account of the limited partner in the foreign domicile outside of the reach of U.S. creditors. Then, the partnership between the contractor and privacy trust can be terminated, with assets distributed accordingly. This provides two benefits: First, it makes the assets in the offshore trust virtually impossible to reach. It will also liquidate the general partner’s small percentage of assets, making them immediately available to the creditor.

To make use of this protection, however, contractors and developers must begin risk management procedures now, before the threat of liability. Assets that have been placed behind legal moats prior to lawsuits are largely safe. Assets sequestered after a lawsuit begins can still be seized, regardless of ingenuity or complexity of the structure. Once a claim arise s, any transfer of wealth can be undone, and the court can rule any such reallocation to be a fraudulent transfer. Furthermore, offshore privacy trusts provide almost unlimited protection. . …….Cont.

To know more about captive insurance and how a company can lower cost and increase profit please refer to http://riskmgmtadvisors.com/

R. Wesley Sierk

               Adoption of a “human rights perspective” in all measures taken to prevent and end trafficking in women and children.

             Development of standard minimum guidelines for all officials and service providers with regard to pre-rescue, rescue and post-rescue operations including rehabilitation, repatriation and reintegration of trafficked victims.  These guidelines should be gender-responsive and lay emphasis on the primacy of human rights of those who have been trafficked, including referral to other service providers in order to prevent revictimisation.  These could be prepared in the form of information kits or booklets or handbooks or do’s and don’ts or be made part of the rules issued under the concerned law and should also specify the accountability of the agencies concerned in providing services.  This would enable all officials and service providers – judicial officers, prosecutors, lawyers, law enforcement officials, medical and psycho-social professionals, functionaries manning homes/agencies of different kinds and others, to discharge their functions and duties effectively.

             Ensure that trafficked children, including girl children, are dealt with separately from adult trafficked women in terms of laws, policies, programmes and interventions. The best interest of the child should be of prime consideration in all actions concerning trafficked children. Steps should also be initiated to ensure that children who are victims of trafficking are not subjected to criminal procedures or sanctions for offences related to their situation as trafficked persons.

Formulation of an Appropriate Legal Framework

                The Government of India having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflicts; and on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and having signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000, there is a need to bring a new national law or amend the existing law in consonance with international standards.  The new or amended law should be comprehensive enough to address all forms of trafficking including provision for stringent punishments and effective penalties. For example, incorporating legislative provision for confiscation of the assets and proceeds of trafficking and related offences.  Wherever possible, the legislation should specify that the confiscated proceeds of trafficking would be used for the benefit of victims of trafficking.  Consideration should be given to the establishment of a Compensation Fund for victims of trafficking and the use of confiscated assets should finance such a fund.

               The new or amended law should ensure that trafficked victims are prevented from being prosecuted, detained or punished for they are victims of situation beyond their control.  Likewise, it should be ensured that protection of trafficked victims is built into the anti-trafficking legislation itself.   The protection offered in no way should be made conditional upon the willingness of the trafficked victim to cooperate in the legal proceedings.

                The Central and State Governments/Union Territory Administrations should review current laws, administrative controls and conditions relating to the licensing and operation of businesses that may serve as a cover for trafficking, such as marriage bureaus, employment agencies, travel agencies, hotels and escort services.

                The law enforcement machinery should take effective measures to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate trafficking, including its related activities, irrespective of the fact whether these are committed by governmental or by non-state actors.

              In the light of international commitments made by the Government of India, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development should review the Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children prepared by them.

               The services of nodal officers – one representing the police department dealing with investigation, detection, prosecution and prevention of trafficking and the other representing the welfare agencies dealing with rescue, rehabilitation and economic/social empowerment of the victims and those at risk – appointed by the State Governments/Union Territories with the suggestion of NHRC should be utilised for all purposes. 

Arvind Bagadgeri

Partnership in real estate or any venture is not a new idea. Many big projects can take shape because of partnerships or in the better terms consortiums. Most of the major real estate and infrastructure projects have been results of partnership between various companies. Real estate demands large investment and more the investment, more is the chance of making profit. So it is not at all a bad idea to get into a joint venture.

There are some things that must be clearly understood before getting into partnerships. The stability of partnership cannot be guaranteed. There are partnerships and joint ventures that have been lasting for decades and there are partnerships that hardly last the project. It automatically raises another question, whether investing with a partner in a reality project is a sensible proposition? The answer is not that simple. The factors that generally decide such partnerships depend on person, his solvency and trust. A known person is not always the right partner however close he might be. Also the investor must first set his goal. He must be fully aware about the time by which he wants his return, the amount of return and must also examine the offer of partnership and the reliability of such offers.

The first thing that should be the basis of any partnership is consensus. Remember that in a partnership no decision can be made by majority vote as in democracy. Until the partners agree on a matter it should not be proceeded upon as such actions can eventually lead to break-up of the partnership. Such break-ups can cause havoc to schedules when the matter is related to real estate. The result will be project delays and cost overruns and finally loss in the overall venture. This is not a way to do business. But if such a situation comes up when no consensus can be achieved then there must be a method to overcome the deadlock. The best way is to allow a third party to do the job of conciliation. He may be a consultant, any mediator or even a family member close to both the partners. But he should be influential enough to do the job.

A common way out is an agreement or deed of partnership. It should be a written document drafted by an attorney and acceptable to all the partners. The moment the deed is accepted the attorney will look after and be the attorney of the partnership. There are many types of partnerships like real estate investment trusts, tenant in common investment, limited liability partnership or limited liability corporation. You will have to choose from the one that you find most attractive.

To remain hassle free you can invest in a limited partnership as the liability is limited to only the invested capital. Also joining and leaving is no complicated affair and can be done anytime without dissolving the partnership. In such cases the general partners run the business and the profit is shared by all  partners including the limited liability partners after deducting the administrative expenses and taxes.

Jason Sands

From then, the insurance field has been developing rapidly. In India, there are different types of insurance policies are available like vehicle, death, accident, life, health, house and business etc. Among these policies, Whole life insurance is the one which helps the family members to balance the financial situations after the death of policy holder. We can also say it as a permanent coverage for whole life of a particular person, who takes this policy. This is a contract between the insurance company and the policy owner regarding the benefits and particular amount of money offers by the company after the death of policy holder. The owner can take policy in his own name or on the life of a person but he needs to have some financial interest in the life to be insured. This means that owner and insured can be same entities as well as different entities. Up on the insured’s death or up to completion of the contract time, the owner has to pay money in the form of instalment basis which is known as insurance premiums. Most of the companies are offering 3, 6, 9 and 12 moths premium policies. The owner can select the best one depending on his financial position. Some of the insurance companies are offering interest rates on the premium amounts to the whole life insurance policy holders.

Some of the leading insurance companies in India are the Life Insurance corporation of India, Met Life, Bharathi-AXA life, Aviv life and reliance life.

The owner, who has taken the whole life insurance policy can enjoy with many of its benefits. To solve temporary financial needs, the policy holder (read owner) can apply for a loan from any bank and money lenders in India as long as the policy is active. He can cash by surrendering the policy. One of the main advantages of this policy is it helps the users to get exemptions in their tax payments. The family members can get insured amount in an easy way after the death of insurer just by claiming to the insurance company. The insurance plan for whole life acts like an investment as the policy holders can get the insured amount with other benefits after completing the policy time.

If you decide to take a whole life insurance policy, you should take right steps before going to take a policy. Some of the insurance agents will try to mislead you by giving wrong information. So, it is highly advisable to you not to trust anyone. The first thing to do is comparing life insurance plans that are offered by the different insurance companies. There are many ways to compare life insurance plans of all the companies. One is you can take the advice of your friends, family members, colleagues and relatives. The second one is to get information from books and newspapers. One more way is Just to visit all the India insurance companies websites over the Internet to find out the best one which is beneficial for you. This is the right place to compare life insurance plans of India.

Without going for different types of policies, you go for one policy which is really helpful to your family members after any accidental happening. Before taking the whole life plan, you should clear all your debts to pay the premiums in right time. Select the best insurance company which offers more benefits and interest rates on taking policies. To make a clear way to get insurance amount for a particular person after your death, mention his/her name clearly on the contract. You should have a clear idea of your policy time and premiums.

Just by taking some precautions, you can take whole life insurance policy with more benefits from a good company.

Addi

All marital assets are not equal! Even if the goal is to try to “split down the middle”, asset valuation prior to making a final division is critical. If for example the family home and a pension/retirement plan are both worth $400,000 today, the home is a non-liquid asset requiring cash-flow to support it, while a retirement account grows tax deferred with no cash input required. Retirement assets can be reallocated with changing economic factors, and thus can more easily rebound from market fluctuations.

Before waiving rights to a retirement plan that is a marital asset, be certain you will be able meet your own retirement needs. When assets are tied up in the equity in the family home, the only way to access that equity is with an equity line (interest is charged to access your money/equity) or by selling your home. The tax liability should be understood beforehand, and you will still need housing!

Taxable accounts differ from a tax-sheltered account for the same reasons, as earnings will be taxable each year. The age of the couple at the time of the division (ie, the number of years to rebuild retirement assets) must be weighed. An experienced financial planner and a CPA can determine the true value of marital assets, and suggest the best possible long term strategy for you. Thinking beyond today’s value is extremely important in reaching a fair settlement.

Earnings Potential: One spouse often earns a lesser percentage of the household income, or has minimized a career in order to raise children. They may need help to pay for additional career training or education, as well as to meet the children’s needs during the time that additional training or education is being obtained. A house cleaning service or childcare may be needed for this to be realistic and successful. Short term assistance may result in greater long-term financial independence. Providing the financial means for the spouse who now needs to boost their earnings, or return to the workforce, for career counseling, or personal and career coaching, may help move the family along the path of healthy divorce recovery. Think of it as similar to career outplacement services in the corporate world. Facilitating a smooth and successful transition ultimately financially stabilizes and benefits both the children as well as both former spouses.

QDRO: A spouse who receives part of his or her spouse’s qualified retirement accounts will need a court order called a “Qualified Domestic Relations Order.”(QDRO). Your attorney needs to be aware of ALL retirement accounts and the QDRO rules are for each plan. To expedite the QDRO, your attorney should obtain pre-approval from each plan before the settlement is final. The court must sign the order before an account can be divided. Be sure the order is sent to the retirement plan sponsor and is approved early in the divorce process. If not completed before the divorce is final, you will have to return to court later, incurring more legal expenses and risking the loss of assets in the account. Include survivor benefits in the QDRO. If you will be receiving retirement benefits from your former spouse’s pension, be sure the QDRO includes survivor’s benefits, if the plan allows them. Otherwise, those benefits could stop if your spouse dies before you do.

Also, understand your Social Security benefits. If your spouse earns more money than you do and you were married ten years or more, you will be eligible for Social Security benefits based on your spouse’s work history. That may mean higher benefits than if you have to rely on your own work history, and does not impact the benefits of the ex-spouse at their retirement time.

Tax Implications: Access to expert tax advice plays a critical role in determining the structure of a property settlement. Say it’s proposed that one spouse keeps a $150,000 individual retirement account and the other keeps a $150,000 taxable investment account. Sounds fair, but it’s not. A traditional IRA grows tax-free, and is then taxed when their money is withdrawn, while the non-retirement account is taxed on annual earnings along the way. So the two accounts are not truly equal in value, and sound assumptions of the projected net values are needed. Also, be sure the parties taking tax benefits are clearly spelled out, as well as how taxes will be filed and paid, for any partial year of marriage.

Life Insurance: If you rely on an ex-spouse for child support, retirement benefits, spousal support, or other financial benefits such as a commitment to pay for the children’s college education, purchase a life insurance policy on your spouse to ensure the money will be there. You should own the policy, and purchase it before the settlement is final so you know whether your spouse is insurable.

Sometimes people fail to consider the financial impact of the death of a non-working or part-time employed parent who is caring for children. The cost to replace all the contributions of that individual in order that the surviving parent may continue with job security and income production needs to be calculated and also covered in a life insurance plan. Some estimates are as high as $160,000 a year to outsource the services that custodial parents provide. The option to continue existing coverage and transferring those responsibilities along with updated beneficiary forms should be explored. This includes any current coverage of minor children.

Protecting Your Credit: Both spouses are liable for debt incurred on jointly held loans and credit cards during a marriage. Even when the divorce decree states that one spouse should pay certain bills and the second spouse pay others, both spouses are legally responsible, and creditors will pursue both parties in debt collection. It is important to request duplicate statements from creditors, close jointly held accounts, and immediately begin establishing credit in your own name. Working collaboratively on establishing separate credit is advised as during the time you are doing so, both parties’ credit scores are impacted by all of the joint credit and debt from the marriage. This can delay approvals and impact credit limits approved, as well as the ability of the individuals to refinance mortgages and car loans. Order and review reports from the primary credit monitoring agencies. This is recommended prior to finalizing the asset allocation agreement because there may be errors that need to be identified and addressed by the divorcing couple jointly. Re-check credit reports before signing final documents to be sure there are no “hidden”, new, or forgotten debts that may surface after the divorce is final.

With the emotional strain and financial complexities of divorce, a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach is the best way to assure a fair and equitable distribution of assets. Everyone benefits when both parties have the support, guidance and means to move forward with their lives, and children are the biggest winners when parents work together for their benefit.

Janice Burroughs