Cook Islands Finance CEO Tony Fe’ao and Tine Ponia, Managing Director at Asiaciti Trust Cook Islands at the 2023 ABA Family Law Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tony Fe’ao, CEO of Cook Islands Finance, and Tine Fa’asili Ponia, Managing Director at Asiaciti Trust Cook Islands, attended the 2023 ABA Section of Family Law Fall CLE Conference with the mission to promote the Cook Islands as a global leader in trust law and asset protection.
The conference, held in Louisville, Kentucky, from October 11-14, brought together leading family law practitioners and professionals from across the United States to delve into crucial developments in family law. As the government agency dedicated to promoting the financial services industry, Cook Islands Finance took the opportunity to highlight wealth planning and asset protection tools available to family lawyers and their clients.
“Cook Islands asset protection trusts have been used by US-based estate planners and attorneys for decades, offering robust protection for family assets against lawsuits, claims, and creditors.” stated Fe’ao, who attended on behalf of Cook Islands Finance.
“As Silver Sponsors for this year’s conference, it proved an excellent opportunity to build awareness for the Cook Islands financial services industry to a targeted and specialised audience in the US market.”
The conference also served as a platform to present the International Relationship Property Trust (IRPT), an innovative trust instrument designed with the best interests of the family in mind.
The concept of the IRPT was well received by attendees, with positive feedback on the unique wealth planning and asset protection solution it provided.
Tine Ponia, who has nearly 2 decades of experience in the Cook Islands Trust industry, noted that the invaluable discussions with US based lawyers regarding the IRPT helped trustees understand the practical challenges they face when planning their clients’ wealth management structures.
Cindy Swan, Director of Family Law at ABA, shared on the success of the conference.
“Key objectives [of the conference] included having good attendance; having outstanding CLE sessions on cutting edge topics along with speakers/teachers from around the country.”
“Professional contacts, connections, and most of all – friendships – were made by practitioners from across the U.S (and internationally). This opens up opportunities for joint collaborations, information sharing, and referral sources. Our numerous networking opportunities are highlights of the conference.”
Conference organisers also acknowledged the presence of Cook Islands Finance as sponsors of the event.
“The Cook Islands have a niche business and are filling a need that we know our conference attendees appreciated learning about.”
Cook Islands Finance CEO Tony Fe’ao with ABA family law director Cindy Swan.
