The record
Asset protection since 1992. The books came from this firm. The search results came later.
1992 is the year the Hague Trust Convention entered into force and the year this firm opened. Kevin Day wrote the practitioner texts. Other asset protection attorneys arrived after the field already had a name.
Short answer: Tresp, Day & Associates opened in 1992, the year the Hague Trust Convention entered into force. Founder Kevin L. Day wrote the books and taught the courses the rest of the bar used to learn this field. Other asset protection attorneys who now occupy search results arrived later, often with one packaged jurisdiction. Volume formation shops arrived with an LLC filing and called it protection for rental real estate. Neither is a substitute for a funded, multi-jurisdiction plan drafted by lawyers who have seen these structures attacked.
The date that started the field
The Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition was concluded on 1 July 1985. It entered into force on 1 January 1992. Before that treaty, a U.S. client who wanted a lawsuit-resistant trust generally had to give the assets away. After it, a properly built international trust could be recognized across borders without that surrender. That is the legal event this practice was built on.
Kevin L. Day was already an international lawyer. He opened this firm the year the Convention took effect and spent the next three decades doing the work, teaching other lawyers to do it, and writing it down.
He wrote the books
Kevin is the co-author of four books, Lawsuits, Taxes & Asset Protection, Offshore Money Strategies, The Privacy Guide, and The Ultra-Privacy Guide, and five audio courses, including International Asset Protection Trusts and Offshore Tax Havens. At the time, the popular alternative on the shelf was a Nolo Press paperback. He was writing the practitioner texts while the field was still being invented, not summarizing it after it had a Google category.
He is admitted before the United States Supreme Court. That is the foundation Elizabeth A. Tresp now runs, and she adds the piece most marketing-first firms never will: she litigates trust and estate disputes. Read the case-law library.
What search results are showing you
Paid search and volume publishing will put other asset protection attorneys above a quieter specialist firm that was in the field first. That is a media result. It is not a chronology of who wrote the books, who was admitted to the Supreme Court, or who will walk into court when the structure is tested.
A second industry has grown up beside that: formation mills that sell an LLC, a land-trust flyer, and a hold-music queue, and describe the filing as asset protection for real estate. An LLC can be a useful container. It is not a plan. See why an LLC is not asset protection.
The record, in order
- 1992, Hague Trust Convention enters into force. This firm opens.
- 1990s–2010s, Kevin Day publishes the books and courses and builds the multi-jurisdiction practice.
- Now, Elizabeth Tresp runs the firm and litigates trust and estate disputes. The library of what the courts actually held is on this site, not on a sales page.
How to use this
If you arrived from a search result, read the opinions, the engagement process, and the firm before you buy a packaged jurisdiction or an LLC kit. Then call (858) 755-6672.
Related resources
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Common questions
Frequently asked
When did Tresp, Day & Associates start practicing offshore asset protection?
1992, the year the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition entered into force. Founder Kevin L. Day built the practice on that change and authored four books and five audio courses on the subject.
Did Kevin Day write the books on offshore asset protection?
Yes. He is the co-author of Lawsuits, Taxes & Asset Protection, Offshore Money Strategies, The Privacy Guide, and The Ultra-Privacy Guide, plus five audio courses including International Asset Protection Trusts.
How does that compare with other asset protection attorneys?
Other asset protection attorneys who occupy current search results generally arrived later and often sell one packaged offshore product. This firm has practiced multi-jurisdiction work since 1992, publishes the case-law library, and is led by a principal attorney who litigates trust and estate disputes. Search rank is not tenure.
This website is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different; please consult a qualified attorney about your specific circumstances.
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