The first step in forming a complete offshore structure is to form a corporation in an offshore country. Keep in mind that the terms "International Business Corporation", "IBC", "offshore company" and "offshore corporation" are interchangeable.  An IBC is a corporation formed in an offshore country. An IBC is private; the client (you) may be the only person in the company, may completely control it and may be the sole shareholder (owner). No one else need be involved or have any knowledge of the IBC’s business or affairs. The founder may include others in the IBC if he/she wishes to, but there is no obligation to do so. 

Don’t be confused by the word “corporation”. There is no requirement to start an actual, running business or to travel to where the IBC is formed. An IBC is established so that the client has a legal entity that can own assets such as property, investment accounts, bank accounts, precious metals accounts and vehicles in its name rather than the client’s personal name. Moving assets into the IBC will keep them out of the reach of third parties and in their rightful hands: yours.

For the vast majority of clients, forming a new IBC achieves their goals completely. However, there are some who wish to purchase an IBC that is already in existence and who are willing to incur the additional expense that comes with it. A small percentage of individuals and corporations that go offshore want to demonstrate that their company has been in existence for several months or years. A Shelf Company is the perfect solution for this scenario. An offshore Shelf Company, also known as an "aged company," is an IBC that has already been in existence for weeks, months, or years. Most Shelf Companies are literally sitting on a shelf waiting to be purchased, thus the name Shelf Company. A Shelf Company affords the same privacy and asset protection advantages that a newly formed company provides.

Shelf Companies are almost always more expensive than newly formed IBC's. In some cases a Shelf Company's price may be several times the price of a newly formed IBC. This is due to the fact that each year that an IBC is in existence a fee (called an "annual fee" or a "renewal fee") must be paid. The price of a Shelf Company increases each year by at least the price of the renewal fee. For example, if a Shelf Company is three years old, the purchase price not only includes the price of a newly formed IBC, but also includes three years of annual fees.

Once the IBC is in place, an additional layer of protection is added. An offshore trust is created which becomes the owner of the IBC. This further removes any connection between the client’s personal name and his or her assets. Being the owner of the IBC directly could be problematic if the client were ever forced to divulge his or her assets. By means of an offshore trust, the founder can remove the potential liability of being the IBC’s owner without sacrificing privacy and complete control of his/her offshore corporation.

Accordingly, an offshore trust is created which takes possession of the IBC's shares. The offshore trust then becomes the legal owner of the IBC. Ownership of the IBC is then in the hands of the offshore trust instead of the client. This removes any liability that might have come with owning an offshore corporation. The offshore trust simply acts as a passive, non-involved shareholder and therefore does not alter the functionality, control or the privacy of the IBC. The client retains complete control of the IBC: he/she remains the only individual with any knowledge of the IBC's business, the only one who can use the IBC and the only one who may sign on any accounts or purchase real estate, investments and vehicles in the IBC's name.

The offshore trust may also be used independently to hold domestic assets (car, home, boat, art collections, etc.) that cannot be moved offshore. Moving domestic assets into an offshore trust protects them from lawsuits by taking them out of an individual’s name and placing them into the name of an offshore structure which third parties cannot obtain information about.

After the IBC and offshore trust have been formed, the client may then move assets under the protective umbrella of these offshore entities. This is accomplished through opening offshore bank, brokerage and precious metals accounts.

Offshore Bank Accounts

The last step in going offshore is to establish an offshore mail forwarding address. At this stage, the client is almost completely set up offshore. The offshore company and trust have been established and bank and brokerage accounts are operating. But these newly formed entities and accounts may generate mail. This presents a potential problem. If the wrong eyes (an employee, business partner, spouse, etc.) see mail from an offshore bank or broker the privacy of the entire structure could be in jeapardy. To insure that this never happens, an offshore mail forwarding address is established for the IBC. Any mail for the IBC (such as offshore bank or brokerage statements, property titles, etc.) is received at the offshore address by HFS and sent discreetly to the client - typically via email (for items such as bank statements) or courier (for important mail such as property titles). 

Assets are now secure. You can breathe easier knowing that your assets  are private, safe, secure, out of harm’s way and will remain their  rightful hands: yours.