Destination: Nevis

The beloved American sage of common sense Mark Twain once observed that “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” Some places from their earliest history show patterns that never really go away. The Caribbean is such a place. Since the first voyage of Columbus, the Caribbean has been a playground of rogues, exiles and empire builders.

To Americans, the Pirates of the Caribbean is an image treasured by generations. From Errol Flynn’s wronged & exiled gentleman who reinvents himself as Captain Blood. To Johnny Depp’s lovable, hard drinking eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow. Then the more gritty take of the Starz series Black Sails. In this series the Pirates of Nassau are something more akin to a saltwater biker gang. What were the real pirates like? I’ll argue all of the above and more. In spite of this character’s darker and more sociopathic iterations, the Pirate, like his land loving cousin the Cowboy is a timeless symbol of adventure, freedom and independence.

You’ll be happy to know that the Caribbean is still a haven for those who value a life of autonomy, free of interference by government officials or our covetous fellow citizens. Consisting of more than 700 islands divided in 33 nations with all manner of governments, sovereignty arrangements and political organizations, the Caribbean is a place of tremendous variety and experimentation. This would come in handy after WWII as a ruined Europe, particularly Great Britain, decided to elect governments that targeted what private wealth remained for confiscation. The timing was fortuitous because this was the beginning of decolonization as nations across the world that started the 20th Century as colonies started becoming independent en-mass. In the Caribbean this was a very non-violent process which largely attracted little attention outside the region and realistically changed little on the ground. For wealthy Europeans, it provided an opportunity to protect their wealth. New nations, new governments, new laws, new banks, new safe havens. Thus Offshore Financial Centers (OFC’s) were to have their breakthrough on the world stage. So what makes Nevis special as compared to the 75 nations and jurisdictions that have become OFC’s and therefore destinations for those seeking legal and tax advantages? The Nevis LLC.

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a very basic and well established legal/business concept. Its purpose is to limit the legal and financial exposure of a party to that of their interest in a specific enterprise. A business is owned by an LLC of which I am the only shareholder & officer, therefore it is my business. If it gets sued or goes under, I can only be held liable for the assets & value of the business contained in the LLC. Creditors and claimants cannot come after my house, personal bank account or other businesses. If this business were in my name personally and not within an LLC….well then everything else in my name is fair game. Setting up an LLC is real world business 101, I setup my first at the age of 21. Today this can be done online for $50 to $100. While every LLC is intended for the same purpose, they are far from the same or equal. Wyoming is the US State that has become famous for having the best LLC available in the US. Delaware, Nevada, Alaska and New Mexico are a few other states where Americans have long known that it is advantageous to create an LLC. These different states offer varying degrees of anonymity, legal protections and tax benefits.

That begs the question of "Why go to Nevis when you can get an LLC in Wyoming or some other tax & business friendly state?" Simply put, the Nevis LLC offers the benefits of even the most competitive domestic US LLC, with the added benefit of being outside the jurisdiction of US Courts. Nevis Law prohibits local courts from recognizing foreign court rulings or orders to hand over assets. Case history strongly supports the reputation of the Nevis LLC being one of the strongest asset protection devices in the world. This will likely cost $5,000 to $10,000 to setup, with annual maintenance running around $1,300.

Consider that the United States has just under 5% of the world’s population, though it has 80% of the world’s lawyers and 96% of global lawsuits. That is a stupidly disproportionate amount of attorneys looking for ways to come after what you own and persuade others to hire them to go after your assets and business interests. This is why you should strongly consider adding international layers of legal protection to your estate.

Ask anyone who does not live on Nevis what they know about it and the response you’ll probably get is “What is a Nevis? Does it bite?” Ironically, the most famous son of Nevis is on the US $10 Bill. Yes, the financial genius among our Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis before moving to New York as a very young man to further his education. I invite you to examine the island of Hamilton’s birth, drawing upon this ingenious legal framework to help secure your wealth, property and future in these politically and legally tumultuous times. Yes, history does indeed rhyme.