Chocolate Gold Cash may be king, but gold trumps it when it comes to hedging inflation and the general devaluation of paper money. Many investment advisors suggest clients hold 10% of their wealth in precious metals. One I know has in recent years been recommending that his clients hold 50% and more of their wealth [...]
Battle-Ready Asset Protection As an expert in asset protection—practicing as an attorney for 13 years and fighting too many battles to count—I can tell you with certainty that most asset protection plans are not worth the paper they are printed on. In fact, the majority of asset protection plans sold in the United States today [...]
Recently, the United States Senate passed a piece of legislation called the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.” Essentially, this is a transportation bill. The main focus is on the construction of roads and bridges. Title III of the act is a revenue provision concerning gas-guzzling cars, leaking underground storage tanks, import […]
From wire fees to minimum monthly account fees and ATM fees, the little bites that are taken out of every overseas transaction you make are increasing. When we moved to Panama five years ago, we weren’t charged a fee when withdrawing money from a local ATM, not even when that ATM wasn’t associated with our […]
FATCA Facts FATCA has been one of the regular topics of discussion at the Wealth Retreat I'm hosting at Buenaventura in Panama this week. FATCA has confused, irritated, and scared Americans since it first came out as the offset provision for the HIRE Act in 2010. We joked that the only jobs created by the [...]
A Humble Suggestion For The IRS If you haven't completed your FBAR form (TD F 90-22.1) for 2012, here's a heads up: The deadline is less than two weeks away. Remember that postmarking the form by June 30 isn't good enough. The Treasury Department must receive the thing by June 30. Completing my FBAR was my weekend project. I'll [...]
Planting Flags I'm reviewing and clarifying my ideas related to the Five Flags theory of diversification in preparation for my opening remarks at the Wealth Retreat I’m hosting in Panama next month. If you're new to the idea, the "Five Flags" are to do with residency, citizenship, banking, assets, and business. Not everyone needs all five flags [...]
Crisis In Cyprus--What You And I Can Learn Cyprus is dominating the financial news this week. The details of any bailout seem to change so fast that the media can't keep up. The suggestion of imposing a one-time tax on deposits in Cypriot banks hit hard opposition from Cypriots, although the tax seems to have [...]
Mortgage Madness In Panama Last week, before leaving Panama for Christmas in the United States, I met with a third bank in an effort to secure a mortgage for an apartment purchase in the city. The front line banker was courteous and wanted to be helpful, but, as I've learned over the past couple of [...]
While in the United States this past week for Thanksgiving, I tried to take care of some administrative tasks. I renewed my driver’s license and Jackson’s Irish passport (the consulate in Panama made the process too difficult). And I tried to open another U.S. bank account for one of my offshore corporations. I realized recently […]
Offshore Living Letter is a publication of Live and Invest Overseas. Our goal is to provide timely, actionable information on all things offshore, including: how to go offshore, diversifying your portfolio, wealth creation, protecting your assets, and much more.
