This document provides
answers to questions I'm often asked about my books, newsletter,
seminars and online subscription library. FAQs relating to asset
protection and international tax matters are available at the Jacobs Report.
If you some questions about my online
research reports, about the company, about whether you really need my
service or related issues, I welcome your phone calls or emails.
Call (913) 362-9667 or send an email to offshorepress.
The following are
frequently asked questions (FAQ)
by others who were interested but not fully convinced until I answered
their questions. Perhaps the answer to your question might be here. If
it's not, I welcome your phone call or email.
(Note: Frequently
asked questions regarding asset
protection and international tax law are included in the archives of
the Jacobs
Report newsletter. )
How soon will I get
access to your archives?
If you order a
subscription or an e-book through our 24/365 Yahoo
e-store, you will get an email
response - with the subscriber access codes or a copy of the e-book -
within a few seconds of
placing your order with either Visa or Master Card.
If you order by fax or
regular mail I
will send you the access codes when I receive payment or credit card
information. (I do not wait for the check to clear.)
Why
don't you accept American Express?
I can only accept Visa and
Master Card on the Yahoo
Store where you can order 24/365, but I can accept American Express for
mail or fax orders and for digital products such as
subscriptions to our online library, for phone consultations or for our
seminars.
How can I tell if I really need asset protection?
If
you are in a high risk
occupation or business or if you have a substantial liquid net worth,
you need some form of asset protection in addition to liability
insurance. You need some asset protection if you have employees, if you
serve on a board of any corporation, if you own real estate, if you own
a business, if you have family members who are driving a car you own,
if
you have family members who are prone to drink or to use unauthorized
drugs or if you fly a plane or own a boat. For more details, see our
summary of litigation risks.
I have ample
insurance. Isn't that enough?
Asset
protection planning is not
a substitute for liability insurance, but there are serious gaps and
coverage limits in the coverage of different policies. Until you
have a claim, you will not know if the insurance company will defend
you
or will pressure you to settle -- with the implication of guilt. Once
you have had a claim, you may not be able to get insurance again. In
some high risk occupations, the cost of insurance is so prohibitive
that
no one can afford it. In addition, the more insurance you have, the
more attractive you are as a potential lawsuit target. You should have
enough liability insurance to compensate others for any injuries you
may
cause, but not enough to make you a magnet for a lawsuit.
Do you offer any economical asset protection services?
Offshore
Press does not provide
legal services or sell any kind of packaged asset protection system.
However, most of our editorial
advisors do
offer such services at a variety of prices. Also, we have written
extensively about low cost and simple methods of asset protection that
can and should be pursued before jumping into some of the exotic and
expensive arrangements like an offshore trust or foreign limited
liability company.
I've been sued. Will
your service help me?
Asset
protection planning has
one thing in common with insurance. If you wait until you need it, it's
too late. You can't buy fire insurance when your house is on fire.
That's why you need to learn about asset protection and implement it
before there is any clear need for it. That's why you should subscribe
to our research service NOW!
It seems
to me that asset protection is just a way to
stiff a legitimate creditor from being paid and isn't honest.
We
have published an extensive
commentary on the moral issues
of asset
protection and invite you to link to that file for an answer to
your
question.
Will you help me
protect my assets and income from
taxes?
There
are a lot of articles and
reports in the paid subscriber's web site about how to save taxes, both
domestic and offshore. Before we began to publish a newsletter on asset
protection, we published a newsletter for five years about legal
methods
of tax avoidance. And, our offshore tax reports offer help in finding
legal ways to save taxes offshore or to avoid problems with the IRS.
Will
you show me how to save taxes offshore?
If
there is a legal way to save
taxes offshore, we will tell you about it. One of the e-books in the
subscriber's web site is called "Legal Ways to Save Taxes
Offshore
or Onshore". But we also tell you about the phony
scams and schemes being promoted on the Internet that claim you can use
various offshore arrangements to stop paying taxes.
Why should I move my assets offshore if I can't save
taxes?
There
are many good reasons to
"go offshore" which are described in our free report, "Why Go Offshore?"
Aren't offshore
trusts just for drug dealers and
crooks?
No.
While there are drug dealers
and crooks who are using offshore trusts to hide and protect their
assets from the government and their competitors or even their family,
there are many investors and entrepreneurs who are concerned about the
lawsuit lottery and the growing asset forfeiture problem.
How can I be sure my money will be safe offshore ?
There
are three basic steps to
take to be sure your offshore funds are being managed by ethical people
and are safe from a variety of risks. First, don't "put all your eggs
into one basket". Diversify so that no one loss will wipe you out. We
have an extensive report on the subscriber's web site about
diversification for investors. Second, read our free report on "Due Diligence for
Offshore Investors"
for ideas on how to investigate before you invest. Third, use the
services of an independent
protector to oversee the work of an offshore trustee or company
manager.
We
have written an extensive
report on "How To Be sure Your Money is Safe Offshore"
that is available on our subscriber's web site. (If you subscribe and
aren't satisfied with the information in the report, you can get your
money back with no arguments or delays.)
Will I be hassled or
audited by the IRS if I subscribe?
The
IRS does not have any easy
way to know who is subscribing to our on-line reports. They would have
to get a court order to get our customer list and we can't think of a
reason why they would try.
A
lot of people are concerned
about the fact that the IRS is on a "witch-hunt" for anyone who is
doing
anything offshore. We know they are trying to audit anyone who has an
offshore bank account, offshore credit card, offshore investments,
offshore trusts or offshore corporations who are not filing the
required tax forms and are not paying their taxes. However, we also
know
that once they discover you are filing the required forms and paying
the required taxes, they are not interested in wasting their time on
you because they are not likely to uncover any unpaid taxes. They
are after the people who are not paying taxes and not filing the
required information returns.
Doesn't the government watch the offshore web sites?
The
IRS and other government
agencies are welcome to watch our offshore web site because they won't
find anything illegal on our web site. We know they are looking for
promoters of illegal offshore schemes so they can then pursue them and
get access to their customer lists. However, since we are not
advocating
any illegal schemes or phony tax protest plans or methods of tax
evasion, they have no reason to waste their time with us or with our
web
site.
Do you discuss domestic asset protection methods?
Yes.
"Global" asset protection
includes domestic methods of asset protection. Most of the articles we
have written about asset protection since early 1993 are about domestic
methods of protection and those articles are available in our web site
for subscribers.
How
much does your service cost?
The
online research reports and twice monthly newsletter are $240 for access to all of the e-books,
reports and newsletters we have published in the past
eight years and to a full year of future updates and new reports.
How can you afford to offer so much for so little?
Printed
copies of our research
books and reports sell for more than $400. However, with the Internet,
I can cut
the cost by about 50% so that I can afford to sell the reports as a
package at a much lower price.
How can I be sure I will get my money back?
Use
a Visa, Master Card or AMEX
card to subscribe if you are concerned about whether I am able to honor
my refund guarantee. With AMEX, Visa or Master Card, if there is a
dispute between a customer and a merchant, the merchant will be charged
back by the credit card company until the dispute is resolved to
the
satisfaction of the customer.
I
have been in business as a
mail order publisher since 1981 and have not had any problem with being
able (or willing ) to refund a subscription fee. Offshore Press is also
a member of the Better Business Bureau and we are a Member of the BBB Honor
Role for Excellence in
Customer Service from
2003-2006.
(We didn't join the online BBB until 2003 and we have had only three
complaints that were resolved in favor of the customer.)
However, if anyone
is
seriously worried about being able to get back a subscription fee,
they probably don't have enough net worth to benefit from our books or
research
reports.
Can you
send my company an invoice?
Yes,
if you are a professional
legal or financial advisor serving the public, or a business and if you
can send me a signed purchase order that is clearly from an established
business.
Can I see some sample issues before I subscribe?
There
are three free sample
issues of the International Wealth
Protection Monitor available for review at Samples.
You can
also see our free
web-book on asset protection
or our free
articles on offshore tax
strategies.
How long have you
been in business?
Since
1981. Until May, 2000 the
company name was Research Press, Inc. I have been selling newsletters,
reports, books, seminars and software products by mail from the same
home office
location for more than 25 years and have no unresolved complaints from
any
customers. I always resolve complaints in favor of the customer.
Why
don't you publish your street address?
Because
I have a home based
business located in a residential neighborhood and do not cater to walk
in business. I also don't want my home mailbox to be overflowing with
more mail from advertisers so I use a post office box address. However,
I do give out my phone number and am willing to give my street address
to anyone who has a good reason to ask for it.
Why don't you offer real time credit card purchasing?
We
do. You can order online 24
hours a day at http://store.yahoo.com/offshorepress/
Or
you can order by phone or by
fax or by mail. Here are details on how
to
subscribe.
