Legacy Planning & Asset Protection for Crypto Wealth: Interview with Brandon Avergon

Brandon Avergon spent years working with the Rockefeller Global Family Office and other ultra-wealthy families, and he's seen firsthand what happens when people accumulate serious wealth but skip the planning. The consequences are brutal: 40% federal estate taxes, plus state taxes that can hit another 16%, creditors coming after everything, and families stuck in probate while assets get liquidated to pay bills.

This conversation breaks down the real mechanics of protecting generational wealth, specifically for people holding digital assets. Brandon explains why private placement life insurance (PPLI) has become the go-to structure for crypto holders who want tax-deferred growth, asset protection, and the ability to pass wealth to the next generation without getting destroyed by estate taxes.

We get into the specifics: what triggers the need for planning, how trust structures actually work, why the investor control doctrine can sink your entire tax strategy if you're not careful, and what it takes to set up compliant custody for digital assets inside life insurance policies. Brandon also covers the difference between onshore and offshore PPLI, how to access cash from your policy without triggering taxes, and why funding strategies matter more than most people realize.

The Vanderbilts and Rockefellers both built massive fortunes. Only one family still has theirs. The difference came down to estate tax planning. If you're sitting on crypto gains and haven't thought about what happens when you're gone, your family is going to pay for it.