One of the products offered by Panamanian law firms is a unique asset protection package that incorporates a Private Interest Foundation with a Belize corporation. What makes this attractive is that it spreads ownership of one’s assets into two countries where both have strong anonymous corporation and bank secrecy laws.

With economic pressure affecting the world, there are an increasing number of cases where people file desperate suits that seek to get more alimony or to challenge wills. Privacy through anonymous ownership of one’s assets can prevent frivolous lawsuits and costly probate battles. And in a world with increasing access to resources for finding people and their assets, it is more important to get double protection.

Panama’s Private Interest Foundation (PIF) law is modeled after similar laws in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. A Panama PIF is a legal entity combining three different things: a Trust, a Corporation, and an Estate Planning tool.

The Private Interest Foundation has five main components:

1. Founder: The founder (law firm) creates the Foundation in the Panama Public Registry.
2. Foundation Council: The council serves the same function as directors do for a corporation. The council member names and passport numbers are registered in the Panama Public Registry. In order to protect the privacy of clients, law firms generally provide a nominee (straw man) council, and provide pre-signed, undated letters of resignation from the nominee council. Thus, the council has no real control and can be quickly replaced.
3. Protector: The Protector ultimately controls the Foundation and is usually the client. Upon creating the Foundation, the council appoints a Protector through a notarized Private Protectorate document. Since the document is private and not publicly registered, the Protector remains 100% anonymous. Thus, the Protector has full control over the Foundation and all of its assets while remaining anonymous.
4. Beneficiaries: The Beneficiaries are appointed through a Private Letter of Wishes or a more formal set of By-Laws, written by the Protector. The Letter of Wishes is a private document keeping the beneficiaries 100% anonymous. Only the Protector can change or modify this document.
5. Registered Agent: The Act requires every Foundation have a registered agent, who must be a Panamanian lawyer.

A Belize corporation, like one in Panama, offers tax-free income along with privacy as there are no public records of who the directors or shareholders are. Only one director and shareholder is required. The Register of Shareholders can only be inspected by shareholders or by a Belize court order at the request by a shareholder. The only public filings with the Belize government are a Memorandum & Articles of Association. No annual tax returns or audited accounts are required. Anonymous “Bearer Shares” can be used in Belize where who ever possesses the shares is the owner.

Belize, where English is the first language, is also a player in the world of offshore banking. Account holders never have to travel to Belize to open an account or conduct banking business. From anywhere in the world the account holder can use the Internet, e-mail, courier service, or even telephone by simply contacting the banking representative or through a registered agent. Belize Debit cards and Belize ATM bank cards are accepted worldwide. Multi-Currency (including USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR) bank accounts can be opened in Belize.

Estate planning is another benefit of this structure. Since all of the assets are held by a Belize corporation which is owned by a Panama Private Interest Foundation, once the Protector passes away his/her beneficiaries (heirs) will immediately own the assets without costly and time consuming probate.

This is an article written by Panama Offshore Legal Services, info@pos-inc.com for www.panamabusinessandtravel.com, a site offering information on Panama in both business and tourism. Readers wishing to find further information regarding the country of Panama should visit www.panamabusinessandtravel.com.