When is it right to open a private foundation?

Consider that it takes two years to make an asset untouchable once it's transferred to a foundation. The two-year wait after the asset's transfer is to prevent foundations from being opened for fraud. To protect the assets, they should be opened early, when there's no legal protection for the assets, preferably as an anti-seizure insurance policy in case things go badly. Generally, three or five years in advance, so that the two years legally required for ownership to be transferred to the foundation have passed.