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Asset protection grows ever more popular and permanent. After spending over six years in prison for civil contempt, Stephen Jay Lawrence is a free man once again. In the statement releasing Lawrence from prison, Judge Alan Gold for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, concluded that, Lawrence has come to value his money (whatever may be left) more than his liberty. Back in 1991,

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Gideon S. Rothschild and Marlene Soukavanitch

Asset protection grows ever more popular — and permanent.

After spending over six years in prison for civil contempt, Stephen Jay Lawrence is a free man once again. In the statement releasing Lawrence from prison, Judge Alan Gold for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, concluded that, “Lawrence has come to value his money (whatever may be left) more than his liberty.”

Back in 1991, Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. was awarded $20.4 million in an arbitration proceeding against Lawrence. Shortly before the conclusion of the arbitration dispute, Lawrence transferred about $7 million, or 90 percent of his net worth, into a newly created offshore asset protection trust. In 1997, before any...

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About the Authors

Gideon Rothschild

Partner, Moses & Singer LLP

 

GIDEON ROTHSCHILD is a partner with the New York City law firm of MOSES & SINGER LLP, where he co-chairs the Trusts & Estates and Wealth Preservation Group.  He focuses his practice in the areas of domestic and international estate planning techniques for high net worth clients and is a nationally recognized authority on wealth preservation and foreign trusts. 

Mr. Rothschild is the Vice-chair of the Real Property Trust & Estate Law Section of the American Bar Association, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and Academician of The International Academy of Trust and Estate Lawyers.  He is a member of the Advisory Boards of BNA’s Tax Management and Trusts and Estates, the Immediate Past Chair of the New York Chapter of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), and a member of the New York State Bar Association. 

He served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami Law School Graduate Program and has lectured frequently to professional groups including the University of Miami’s Philip Heckerling Institute, the New York University Federal Tax Institute, the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  

Mr. Rothschild is the co-author of the BNA Tax Management portfolio on Asset Protection Planning and has authored numerous articles for publications including  Trusts and EstatesandEstate Planning.  Mr. Rothschild is a recipient of the prestigious Distinguished Estate Planner award from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils and is listed in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Top 100 New York Superlawyers and Worth’s Top 100 Lawyers.  Mr. Rothschild is also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant.