Protecting Assets From US Creditors

[Vor]

Say one were in the scenario of being sued by multiple debt collectors in the United States and is about to have default judgements entered against them what would be the best way to protect their assets. If you are also self employed and have bank accounts also in the EU. Would simply keeping the liquid cash in a business bank account in the EU be enough to protect it? payments from customers flow from EU processors to EU bank accounts.

Being self employed should prevent the ability to garnish so then the only real risk relates to bank account levy. If these judgements are won in US courts then the American accounts will be frozen but the European ones should remain untouched correct? They would need to win judgements in the EU country to levy those? Thanks for any insights guys.

 

[OffshoreMonero]

Hello fellow Monero guy.

I think that the best defence is to structure your affairs in advance to thwart lawsuits. Either by remaining anonymous (best), making you impossible to locate (better), impossible to have your bank accounts frozen (ok), or very cost prohibitive to sue (typical).

Now, I'm not advocating illegal activity at all. The governments and banks have put us all in this position. Darks could be used to stay 100% anonymous. Various technologies can make your online footprint anonymous too. I'm sure you're aware of these tactics.

Now back you your question: As far as I'm aware they would need judgements in the EU country to levy those. They would have to hire a lawyer there (cost prohibitive). I am not a lawyer so if you want a solid answer you should seek the council of one. Good luck.

 

[bigdaddyleon]

an American title is not automatically enforceable in the EU, they would have to sue for it in the EU first.

It depends on your company construct.
a little more information would be helpful,

- you live where?
- how many debts?

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

An american judgement may not be directly enforceable in the EU, but this should not always neccesitate the commencement of claim procedure in EU courts from the beginning. Depending on bilateral treaties between nations there might be a procedure for registering a foreign judgment in another jurisdiction - a process that does not requiring re-proving your case. This obviously depends on the merits of each particular case and the particular laws and treaties of the jurisdictions involved. If you are truly interested to assess asset protection options from potential creditors, you should consult a lawyer first.

 

[Vor]

an American title is not automatically enforceable in the EU, they would have to sue for it in the EU first.

It depends on your company construct.
a little more information would be helpful,

- you live where?
- how many debts?

Sorry for the slow response been very busy

-The Netherlands/Aruba
-4 Creditors looking at barely 6 figures of debt

I'm currently able to service all of the debt since I have two businesses and to summarize the current situation business 1 is very profitable and fine... business 2 was doing small margins 10% profit up until about the later part of 2022 then it went into the red. I'd tried to keep business 2 afloat using credit out of the USA(It's personally guaranteed and I'm a US Citizen for some extra context) however things did not turn around it bled more cash until I wound it down. Had a big tax bill to pay paid that.. now stuck with the debts

Creditors are two US banks and then American Express. No individual creditor is owed more than $30,000.
All my assets are in The Netherlands/Singapore both personal/business accounts.

I of course due to business 1 still being profitable will owe ongoing taxes so when you add up my personal expenses, tax prepayments, and the debt servicing on 6 figures of debt(16%-26% interest rates im an idiot I know) I'm barely able to service the debt and im certainly not paying down the balances in any meaningful way.

Talked with a couple bankruptcy lawyers am considering filing a personal bankruptcy in the USA since that would protect 80% of my assets through exemptions. It would cost a bit higher than the typical lawyers fees for a bankruptcy in the US since I have foreign assets, foreign business, and reside abroad so even dealing with state of venue is a bit weirder. one lawyer turned me away due to the complications and referred me to another who would take it(at a higher fee of course since the former only liked to do straightforward bankruptcies is what they explained to me).

However if my foreign accounts in the EU are unable to be levied by the US judgements then I could also settle these debts instead of filing for personal bankruptcy in the USA which then it's just the math of whats worse losing X% of my non exempt assets in bankruptcy or the cost of settling these debts.

I'm not very concerned about my US FICO score in either regard it can be rebuild and is worthless overseas to me anyways and I have little plan to return anytime soon to the USA. With this extra knowledge how likely do you think it would be for creditors to seek attachements of the judgements in The Netherlands?(not one creditor owed more than $30K)