Using 'straw men' is always poor planning. Its pitfalls are obvious. First is the fraudulent conveyance pitfall. Gifting your assets to a friend or relative after you're sued with the tacit understanding that they'lllater return your assets seldom works. Even if you title your assets to a 'straw' before you have creditors, how do you know that your 'straw' is safer from lawsuits than you? Nominee 'straws' have their own marital problems, creditors and lawsuits. Your straw can easily lose your assets to their creditors. You also incur a gift tax when you transfer assets to someone other than your spouse. And your nominee straw incurs a gift tax when he re-transfers your assets to you. The third problem is that you can't be certain that your nominee will return your assets. Not every straw or nominee is trustworthy.
