Customer Reviews

The Privacy Plan : How to Keep What You Own Secret From High-Tech Snoops, Lawyers and Con Men

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I have learned to be skeptical of financial privacy and asset protection books, most promise far more than they deliver--this book is no exception.

When it arrived from Amazon, my doubts began when I saw that the book was shrink wrapped. This usually means they don't want potential customers actually looking at the content in the bookstore. Also, the back cover prominently displays an internet site for the book. This Web site links you to the authors' professional Web site.

In my opinion this book is an overpriced infomercial for the authors' legal services.

The first one-third of the book is devoted to stating the obvious, that personal financial data is readily available for purchase and that our society is highly litigious. Is there anyone out there who didn't realize this?

Most of the rest of the book is devoted to an overly general discussion of various legal entities for asset protection and privacy such as corporations, family partnerships, limited liability companies, and trusts. For those who are unfamiliar with these issues, the book provides an adequate introduction to the topic. The book is 268 pages in length, but the author squanders page after page on filler, fluff and padding. Obviously, the authors want you to to go on to purchase their legal services.

In my opinion, the authors' enthusiasm for the limited liability company is a bit premature. This is a relatively new legal entity and there is not a large body of case law--especially in the complex and thorny area of asset protection. Also, there is no meaningful discussion of the all important tax implications of the choice of an LLC over that of a S or C corporation.

Despite the title, there is very little useful discussion of privacy preservation devices and there is much more emphasis on asset protection. The authors tend to overstate the protection afforded by privacy trusts and to understate the level of inconvenience that can result from their use--and there is absolutely no discussion of the costs of setting up and maintaining any of the plans they recommend.

I was particularly dismayed by one of their case studies in which they set up a privacy trust to hold title to the modest real estate and financial assets of an elderly client. In such instances, I would tend to advise conveying the residence to the person(s) she intends to bequeath the property to, while retaining a life estate to protect her interests. This would be much less expensive to set up and would have almost no maintenance costs, unlike the privacy trust.

On the plus side, the authors do a good job of warning people about offshore tax evasion schemes and other absurd internet scams.

Also, the authors overstate the benefit of keeping a low financial profile. Asset searches are quite expensive. A potential litigant who believes you have hidden assets may simply file the suit and in discovery (usually via an inexpensive interrogatory) will demand disclosure of all your interests in corporations, trust, etc.) If you perjure yourself and get caught--you're in big trouble. If you are not the big fish he thought you were, the litigant will at least try and pick up some chump change--and even the weakest of cases do have nuisance settlement value. Keeping a low profile is a great idea, but it is no panacea. What the authors call dangerous assets should be protected by some limited liability vehicle, but the choice between a corp. and an LLC is often more driven by tax implications than legal issues. Your first stop should be your accountant, not your lawyer.

While this book has some good points, it unfortunately seems to be intended to generate clients and legal fees for the authors.

I only wish the authors had written the book the title implies--a solid, detailed, practical manual on maximizing personal privacy. I believe there is a good market for such a book. There are already enough mediocre books on asset protection.

The Privacy Plan is the rarest find - a book that actually delivers what it promises. In a well written, clear and logical fashion the authors show how to protect financial privacy from a variety of dangerous intrustions. The authors explain in detail how others can gain access to our supposedly "private" bank and brokerage account records. That's fascinating material but most importantly, Mintz and Doft share their legal expertise and show us what strategies they use to protect the privacy of their clients. I have read other books on the topic of financial privacy and asset protection and there is nothing that comes close to the Privacy Plan. I give the Privacy Plan my highest recommendation.

This book will make anyone think twice before giving out any type of personal information. There are several books written on this topic but none of them explain the issues they way Mintz and Doft do. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in protecting their privacy.

I found the book very interesting. We all know we have less privacy today than yesterday, but this book brings it home in a very personal way. If you have assets, this book is a must read.