Welcome to Offshore Living Letter, Your #1 Resource for Offshore Diversification

Author: Lief Simon

29 May
Can you reduce tax burden overseas?

An American Retiree Moving Overseas Likely Won’t Reduce His Tax Burden

A friend told me this week that his parents are looking to move overseas for their retirement to save taxes. He recognizes but hasn’t been able to help them understand that that isn’t a realistic objective given their circumstances. My friend’s parents are retired government workers receiving government pensions. Pension income is not eligible for […]

26 May
Filing Your FBAR

Tips For Filing Your FBAR

A friend I caught up with last week in Medellin, an American, told me with a grin that he’d already completed and filed his FBAR for this year. He was pleased with himself for getting  it in early…until I reminded him that, starting this year, the FBAR must be filed electronically. My friend had filled […]

23 May
cartagena colombia as well as medellin are great places to invest in colombia

Investing In Factoring In Colombia

One of the benefits of hosting conferences around the world is the chance they give me to spend focused time with key contacts in key markets. It’s at our conferences that I find out about ear-to-the-ground kinds of opportunities that usually don’t make it beyond a small circle of investor-friends. This week in Medellin, for […]

16 May
Frustrations Of Banking Offshore

Frustrations Of Banking Offshore

You should have an account with an offshore bank. That’s a fundamental step in any plan for diversifying offshore. How do you choose where to open your first (or subsequent) offshore bank account? Don’t try to base the decision on customer service, because, the sad truth is, finding a financial institution with consistently good customer […]

05 May
Where To Drive A Tank In The United States

Where To Drive A Tank In The United States

My son Jackson is in the French school in Panama, meaning he’s on the French calendar. He has a shorter summer (just two months, July and August) but four two-week vacations during the school year. It makes for a more manageable summer and allows for extended family trips throughout the year. Last week was Jack’s […]

01 May
How To Plan For Your Estate

How To Plan For Your Estate

A banker friend in Belize who speaks at many of the conferences my wife Kathleen Peddicord’s publishing group sponsors likes to ask the following question as part of his presentations: “What happens to your bank account (in Belize) if you and your banker, and only you and your banker, know about its existence…and you die?” […]

28 Apr
How To Send An International Wire Transfer

How To Send An International Wire Transfer

I’m getting a lot of feedback from people trying to send international wire transfers. A reader wrote this week to say: “I went to my bank branch to initiate a wire transfer on Monday. The teller had to call over the branch manager to help with the paperwork. Once the manager saw I was transferring […]

21 Apr
Two Winners, Two Losers

How To Choose A Rental Investment Property In Panama City, Panama

The first viewing was a one-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a den on Avenida Balboa. The den could be converted into a small bedroom to make the unit a two-bedroom. Why did the developer not package the property this way in the first place? Probably due to concerns over zoning density. Other apartments along Avenida Balboa […]