Offshore Asset Protection…Two Men In a Boat

Anson and Quigley were close friends.

They were joint owners in a small company that ran a sight seeing boat doing harbour tours in a city popular with tourists.

The business had been growing nicely from its fitful start some nine years ago. In fact they had sold the initial boat and upgraded to a character wood vessel that was much admired by their many clients as it plied the waters of this lovely harbour city, stopping here and there to point out and admire the local architecture or attraction.

The boat was very expensive and they and their wives had gone on the hook to the bank to finance it but they were confident it would pay off very well.

Even though Anson and Quigley were close friends, they did not share common views on personal finances.

Anson was by far the more cautious but when he broached the subject of protection from any potential catastrophic event, Quigley would shrug off any of Anson’s suggestions and say that he was quite content with the coverage of their insurance package and change the subject.

Anson would drop the subject but set his own plans in motion.

Murphy was aboard their boat one day and of course that was the day that if anything could go wrong, it went wrong huge!

An elderly passenger had come aboard and was enjoying the day when, on disembarking, he caught his shoe on a gangway cleat and pitched himself clean over the side guard chain and into the water between the boat and the dock. On the way down he hit his head on a piling.

They rescued the passenger promptly but sadly the hit on the head proved damaging to the extent that the poor old gentlemen suffered brain damage and was confined to a wheel chair.

You would be right in expecting that the elderly gentleman and his goading and expectant relatives would drop the writ promptly and they did.

The long and the short of it was that the settlement exceeded their insurance by a very large amount.

When the prosecuting attorneys did their examination for discovery to expose the partners assets outside the business they found that Quigley had a fully paid for house, a sizeable investment portfolio, a piece of investment property, a large motor home, an antique car and a stamp collection which over the years had become Quigley’s pride and joy and was now worth a tidy sum.

They took it all. Even the stamp collection.

When they looked into Anson’s affairs they found that his house was mortgaged to the hilt. The second mortgage was held by a company domiciled in Panama and duly registered in all the right places.

Anson had been making payment as required.

He had a few thousand in his checking account, a used car and that was pretty well it.

There was nothing more to see or attach—so they gave up on trying getting anything more out of Anson.

The old gentleman’s fall had cost both partners equally in business assets but when it came to the private stuff, Quigley was wiped out and Anson survived almost unscathed.

When it was all over, Quigley asked his friend just what he had squirreled away, where and how.

Anson reminded Quigley of how often he had tried to steer him the right way and how Quigley had ignored him.

They are still friends but probably won’t go into business together again and every now and then they meet at the local pub and hoist one together and Quigley looks at his friend--- and wonders.

Epilogue:

Anson had enlisted the aid of an accountant he knew of who specialised in offshore financial planning.

No one knows for sure whether he owns that ranch that he visits often in Mexico, or that investment portfolio in the Turks and Caicos or that hefty bank balance in a well known Swiss bank.

No one knows for sure because nothing is registered in his own name.

Question:

Which one are you?

Anson or Quigley?

The author has been involved in the financial arena for most of his adult life, latterly as the CEO of a successful financial services company which he sold a decade ago to devote his time to advising a select group of clients in prudent and cautious uses of offshore structuring. He has traveled extensively among many offshore jurisdictions over a span of 25 years and acquired hands on experience together with high quality contacts and resources in the better jurisdictions. He provides consulting services and can be reached at http://www.offshoreandprivate.com

Lugano A Piece of Italian Heaven in Switzerland

Switzerland is a multi-language country. While we were there, we found French to be the main language in Geneva and Neuchatel. Later, we encountered German as the most used language; however, in the south, some very warm-blooded Italians surprised us by talking in Italian inside the pleasant coolness of the Swiss canton Ticino situated at the Italian border.

We first witnessed Lugano in Ticino from Monte Lema, a southern Alp with a modern cable lift. You didn’t think I would hike up there, did you?

Sitting inside a cable lift is almost like flying, although I am not into flying unless inside an airplane. I am not into paragliding either. Yet, we enjoyed the sight of numerous paragliders in most places over the Alps especially around Ticino

Monte Lema has the most splendid view of Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore, and southern Ticino. The terraced restaurant on Monte Lema, which was like a self-service take-out, offered us a variety of simple lunches. The terrace had a wood planked deck-like floor and long picnic tables with benches where we perched to eat our lunch, watching the magnificence of the view with mountains, lakes, and in the distance, cities glowing in glorious colors.

While admiring Lake Lugano from the top of Monte Lema, we met a couple from New Jersey who told us that they went on a magnificent day cruise on the lake. Anyway, if there is water with a sightseeing cruise on it, be it a lake, river, or an arm of the ocean, something forces me to it. My husband has lasting memories of a few hilarious and difficult boat and water related adventures I pushed him into, but our boat trip on Lake Lugano was pleasant and calm.

Cruises sailed off almost every hour or several times during the day. At about lunchtime one day, we boarded a white and turquoise boat with "Navigazione Lugano" written on the side of it.

On the boat, we went up to the top deck, and as we sailed, the cool lake breeze, the beautiful dark blue lake surrounded by lush, green covered Alps that looked like moss hills, and the lakeside towns and villages boasting of colorful flowery patches made us forget about the lunch served on board. Such extravagant richness of nature and beauty of the sights humbles a person and makes him think how lucky he is to be there to witness it all.

Alps around Lugano, though quite high, seem more rounded at the peaks than those in mid to northern Europe, as were the people who seemed to be smoother, friendlier, and more open in their ways, for Lugano offered us the warmest human contact. "Benvenuti, benvenuti!" Everywhere we went, we were welcomed with open arms.

In Europe, one thing different from the US is that Europeans do not drink tap water, except maybe in a couple of places in France. If one asks for water, one has to be ready to pay for it. Also, each locality has a special way and means of imbibing its favorite drinks. In Lugano, they drink wine from small bowls called boccalinos and their after dinner drink is a walnut liqeur Ratafia.

The food, too, tasted excellent, but that may be because I am partial to Italian cooking. In the northern Swiss cities, the food is delicious in a local sense, but extremely pricey, especially if one ate all his meals in a restaurant.

English is rarely spoken in Lugano, and if spoken, it is very difficult to understand. Something similar happens with my Italian. I can somewhat understand Italian if I force myself, but if I try to talk it, what comes out of my mouth is a distorted Spanish. Despite the language barrier, I met the nicest, warmest people in Lugano and if I dare study Italian again, it will be because of the people of Lugano and my wish to visit this fantastic town and to hear, one more time, a sweet-voiced tenor's singing just for me.

Lugano is a great city for walking tours, for there are many things to see and experience. Besides the Via Nassa and the Swiss Banks, there are the lakeside promenade, narrow streets of the old town, St. Mary’s Church, parks, flowers, the sweet smells of oleander, lemon, and magnolia, museums, outdoor cafes, lake breezes, and the strong cappucino that is served at almost any place, and of course, that divine food: polenta, ossobucco, pastas galore and my favorite crusty bread and formaggini, which is goat cheese topped with olive oil and coarse pepper. I can safely say that the best food I ever ate was the Italian food in Lugano.

Shopping in Lugano is an adventure. Unless you’ve hit the lotto, it is better to stay away from shopping on the cobbled Via Nassa. Rolex, Gucci, Versace, and many other too hot to touch stores are on this pedestrian-only street where it is great to walk up and down if only to dream Cinderella dreams.

Several years have passed since I’ve been to Lugano but the memory stands shadowless, still delicately injecting its splendor into my life, making me hope--in my next vacation--to visit Lugano again.

Joy Cagil is an author on a site for Creative Writing (http://www.Writing.Com/) Her education is in foreign languages and linguistics. In her background are varied subjects such as psychology, mental health, and visual arts, and she loves to travel. Her portfolio can be found at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/joycag

Pontoon Boat Covers

Own a boat and a vista of immense opportunities for recreation opens. The options are many. Come the much awaited weekend and you can leave behind the madding crowd and commune with the serenity of the waters or if it is spending time with your family that is the perfect idea of happiness, then take your boat, sail in the water, try fishing and then enjoy the meal at the lighted camp fire. Such is the utility of your boat and it makes sense to keep it well maintained.

This may involve many features, but one of the most important is covering the boat with a cover. When going cover hunting, do consider the pontoon boat cover as a feasible option. As the name itself suggests, the cover is best meant for the pontoon boats. Pontoon boat covers offer the choice between trailer able boat covers and non-trailer able boat covers. The advantage associated with the non-trailer able is its full cut size. This not only allows extra room for rails, but also provides protection from water, light etc.

Now trailer able boat covers are generally meant for boats when they are kept stationary. This means the boats are in a way parked under the cover and are protected from the weathering and corrosive aspects of nature. The fabric for non-trailer able boat covers is usually rugged polyester or sturdy canvas. The strength and flexibility of these materials give the covers a longer life and a decent protection to your boat.

Trailer able pontoon boats covers come in handy when you are pulling the boat with a trailer. These covers are designed with a quick release buckle and strap system for uniform fitting. The covers usually have dual air vents to reduce moisture and bloating of the cover in case of high winds. Both trailer able and non-trailer able covers can provide the ideal coverings for your pontoon boat and you can choose between the two depending upon whether your boat is camped or in use.

Boat Covers provides detailed information about boat covers, boat lift canopy covers, boat seat covers, and more. Boat Covers is affiliated with House Boat Rentals.