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.
Category: Banking
12
Aug
Irish Forestry Incentives And More Current Opportunities In Europe Traveling to six countries in four weeks (eight countries if you count airports) reminded me that opportunity can be found just about anywhere. It's a matter of what kind of opportunity you're in the market for. In Turkey, for example, the economy is reasonably strong, and [...]
05
Aug
How To Hold Precious Metals In A Practical And Affordable Way
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 [...]
01
Aug
Why Most U.S. Asset Protection Plans Are Worthless
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 [...]
25
Jul
Recent Changes To U.S. Law May Affect Your Travel Rights
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 […]
23
Jun
How To Pay Less In Overseas Bank Fees
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 […]
20
Jun
What FATCA Means For The Global Banking Industry
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 [...]
17
Jun
FBAR Filing Requirements
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 [...]
27
May
Where To Diversify Your Investments, Your Assets, Your Business, And Your Banking Offshore
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 [...]
21
Mar
Banking Crisis In Cyprus
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 [...]
24
Dec
Trying To Qualify For Bank Financing As A Foreigner In Panama
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 [...]