What does the Lodmell & Lodmell Annual Fee cover?

The Lodmell & Lodmell annual fee is designed to cover the cost of the systems we have designed to make sure that your plan is properly maintained and effective to protect your assets. One of the most important aspects the annual fee covers is direct access to us and our expertise. Once you are a client we do not bill for time with you or any of your other financial team, such as your CPAs or financial advisors. We also include updates to your plan at no charge as well as basic amendments as needed. We also include annual reviews and minutes for your plan. This is very different from most law firms, which charge for time as well as every basic task they do.  

Our philosophy when creating an annual fee was to remove the uncertainty of having a law firm "on retainer" and provide our clients with the best service and access to us without the concern of uncertain future billing.

In addition to this, there are 4 critical roles that must be properly filled and maintained within that system which are also covered by the annual fee. These are:

• Statutory Agent of your Arizona Limited Partnership 
• The role of "Protector" of your Bridge Trust
• The role of "Foreign Agent" for your Bridge Trust
• The role of "Special Successor Trustee" for your Bridge Trust

Our annual fee is specifically designed to be the most efficient and reasonable fee in the industry. In fact we are the only Asset Protection Law Firm that I am aware of in the world who uses our distinct copyrighted 2-tiered foreign jurisdiction structure. This is done specifically to minimize your annual fees and maximize your protection. 

By way of comparison, if you were to attempt to replace the systems that we have packaged together on an individual basis you would need to replace each of the below roles with the appropriate provider. This would look something like this:

• Statutory Agent of your Arizona Limited Partnership. This is a simple role and may be completed by yourself if you live in Arizona, or by one of many registered agent firms serving in that state. Average cost is between $150-$450 per year if a firm is used.
• "Protector" of your Asset Protection Trust. This is a critical role for the effectiveness of your planning. It is very important that this role be filled by an attorney intimately familiar with your Trust document and the overall area of law surrounding asset protection planning. Average cost is between $1,500 - $2,500 per year.
• "Foreign Agent" for your Asset Protection Trust. There are a very limited number of possibilities for this role. Were you to contact any of them directly and develop a billing arrangement the average cost for this role would be between $1,200 - $2,500 per year.
• Special Successor Trustee of your Asset Protection Trust. This is by far the most critical and essential role in the Lodmell & Lodmell Asset Protection System. This role is only available to clients of Lodmell & Lodmell. If you were to contact any of the 5 Trust companies in the Cook Islands directly, the minimum annual fee will be $3,500 per year, and in many cases it will be upwards of $5,000. Additionally, none of these Trust companies will work directly with a client and all require the use of a qualified Asset Protection Attorney to facilitate the planning, almost always the attorney who drafted the Trust.
• Legal Counsel.  This would be a law firm who would charge you by the hour for advice and support for your asset protection structure. Even just one hour a year would range between $500-$1,000.

We understand our clients and specifically designed our system to be highly efficient to maintain with minimal costs for the level of services provided. As one of the leading Asset Protection Law Firms in the world, we also used our size and leverage to negotiate on behalf of our clients to make this happen.

The biggest advantage is that you are working with a firm that does nothing but Asset Protection, and has been doing so for over 25 years. We have a tremendous amount of experience and reference points that have proven invaluable in helping clients through tough situations.  Much like buying a car, often the most important part of the purchase is access to the right service after you are already driving down the road.

We get this! And because we do, we have dedicated our systems, staff and resources to making sure you can use the planning if you ever really have to. Having the documents alone is simply not enough. You must have them right, maintain them properly and have expert counsel if you ever need to use them to protect what you have worked so hard to build.

If you have any further questions about your fee, or about anything in this article or your planning, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at [e-mail] or 602-230-2014.