Asset Protection Terms and Definitions

Durable power of attorney
A power of attorney that remains valid when the principal becomes incapacitated.

Casualty Insurance
Casualty Insurance coverage is primarily for the legal liability of an individual or organization that results from negligent acts and omissions causing bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party. However, the term is broad and includes such property insurance as aviation insurance, boiler and machinery insurance, glass insurance and crime insurance.

Trusts for Children
You can set up a trust for your children, too. The terms of the trust can specify which of the children's expenses to pay and under what circumstances.

Foreign Bank Accounts
There is a thriving industry of offshore practitioners advising U.S. citizens to set up offshore bank accounts.

Revocable Trust
In a living, or revocable trust, you name yourself as the grantor, the trustee, and the current beneficiary. You then transfer some or all of your assets to the trust. The terms of the trust require that the trust is to be used for your benefit during your life. After your death, the living trust continues for the benefit of your intended beneficiaries.

Bearer Accounts
The bearer account requires a minimum of USD 7,000 as the initial deposit plus facilitator fees. Funds can only be deposited or withdrawn upon presentation of both a password and a bearer bank account book.

Totten trust
A savings account that allows the depositor to open the account as trustee for someone else (no real trust is set up). Account owners may use the funds as they see fit during their lifetime, and then upon their death the account balance is paid to the named beneficiary.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
Protection for the lender against a loss if a borrower defaults on a loan. It is usually required for loans in which the down payment is less than 20 percent of the sales price or, in a refinancing, when the amount financed is greater than 80 percent of the appraised value.

Spendthrift Trusts
A spendthrift trust is created specifically to provide asset protection for the beneficiary. These trusts are written so that the beneficiary can receive the benefit of the trust, but have no right to demand benefits from the trust.

Diversification
Holding several investments that have different risks. The concept of "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." The chance that a single stock or other investment will lose money is offset by the chances of your other stocks and investments making money.