Episodes

Her mother-in-law's advice was that crying helps babies develop their lungs. The advice from home was the opposite. Sasha Romary was raising her first child in Paris, caught between two cultures that agreed on almost nothing. In this episode, Sasha shares what it was like becoming a mother in France, then Singapore, then Germany, and what pushed her to become a sleep and parenting coach: the isolation of getting contradictory advice in two languages, the shame of a crying baby in a quiet Parisi...

He'd spent years as a certified financial planner telling clients that the numbers matter. Then he moved his own family to Portugal, and found out the numbers were never really the hard part. In this episode, Mark Moberg shares what happened when his wife's company relocated the family to Lisbon: the six rough months his kids went through, the guilt of leaving an aging parent behind, and the concept from his book, The Life Arbitrage, that he now believes matters more than any spreadsheet, givin...

Most people never ask what happens to their estate plan, their prenup, or their inheritance if they move to another country, and that assumption can cost families everything. This episode digs into exactly that gap. International tax attorney Christine Concepción joins Arielle to unpack how residency rules, inheritance tax, prenups, and trust structures behave differently once a US family crosses a border. ────────────────────────────────────────── CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS ─────────────────────────...

A safety incident at her kids' school was the last straw. Within months, one family had traded the US for Medellín, Colombia, and started building a life around a completely different set of values. Alyssa Bolaños grew up between cultures long before she ever considered leaving the US permanently. In this episode, she shares how she and her husband decided where to raise their two boys, why they picked Medellín specifically, what surprised them about safety once they arrived, and how they built...

A Trump Account, officially called a 530A account, is a new federal retirement account for children, funded by a $1,000 seed deposit for every eligible US citizen baby born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. For US expat families, the eligibility rules and account-opening process raise questions the law doesn't answer yet. Cross-border tax advisor Christie DuChateau, EA, of BNC Tax joins host Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA to break down who actually qualifies for the $1,000 seed deposit, ...

Can you keep buying US ETFs after you move to Europe? Austin Davidson found out the answer is more complicated than it should be. Most Americans moving to Europe don't realize that a regulation called MiFID II can quietly cut off direct access to the ETFs they've always used. In this episode, Austin Davidson, an American investor living in Germany, shares exactly what happened when his brokerage account stopped working the way he expected, and Blair Hoover, founder of Choose Your Own Finance, b...

Can ChatGPT replace a cross-border financial advisor? Aditi Kapadia, CFA, CFP® says not yet. Most people using AI for a cross-border move are getting confident, plausible answers to the wrong questions. In this episode, Aditi Kapadia, a cross-border financial planner serving US-Canada families and one of the most AI-forward advisors in the industry, joins host Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA to break down how AI is changing financial planning, where it's dangerously incomplete, and how to use it well ...

Season 4 of Passport To Wealth™ is here, and it's picking up right where the conversation matters most: what actually happens to your money, your family, and your identity once your life crosses a border. Host Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA is a certified financial planner, IRS enrolled agent, and fellow US expat living in Switzerland. In this short kickoff episode, she previews everything coming this season. What's ahead in Season 4: US Social Security for expats: what you need to know before ...

Carl Richards is a certified financial planner, the New York Times Sketch Guy, and the author of Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches. He moved from Utah to New Zealand with his family in a matter of weeks. His wife bought plane tickets ten days after hearing about a friend's available house. Ninety days later, they had moved. This episode covers: How Carl became the New York Times sketch guy (a desperate drawing on a whiteboard) Why showing up and being consistent matters mo...

Christian Gulizzi is a cross-border tax advisor licensed in the United States as a CPA, in Germany as a Steuerberater, and in Italy as a Dottore Commercialista. He was born to an Italian and German parent, grew up navigating cross-border complexity, and built his entire academic and professional career around it. He currently lives and works from the Italian Riviera. This episode covers: The biggest misconception Americans have about taxes when moving to Europe Why leaving money in US accounts...

Daniel Tostado is a naturalized French citizen, a dual-qualified attorney (US and France), and the founder of Tostado Avocats, an immigration law firm dedicated to helping Americans navigate the French legal system. He moved from San Diego to France in 2010, completed a French master's degree, passed the bar on both sides of the Atlantic, and has since built a practice focused exclusively on French visas, residency permits, and citizenship pathways. He also runs a winter homeless shelter for ref...

Hui-chin Chen, CFP®, is the managing partner of Jade & Cowry and has spent her career working with globally mobile families across Asia-Pacific; including her own, as the spouse of a US diplomat who has lived across multiple countries and tax systems. She is one of a small number of practitioners who understands both the technical US tax obligations that reach across borders and the cultural dynamics that make compliance so difficult to achieve. This episode covers the compliance traps that con...

Danielle Shumway moved to Italy in 2015 with her Italian husband, an 18-month-old, and a four-month-old. The original plan was five years: take advantage of Italy's Rientro dei Cervelli tax incentive, let the kids grow up bilingual, stay near family, and return to the US. A decade later, she has four children, Italian citizenship, and a family travel business called Ciao Family Travel — and she is still in Italy. In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Danielle to cover the fin...

US retirement accounts, estate plans, and investment structures do not automatically survive a move to Canada. The two countries share a border and a language but operate under entirely separate financial and tax systems; and the decisions made before you leave determine whether your existing structures are protected or become expensive problems. In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Brian Wruk, MBA, CFP® (US), CFP® (Canada), TEP, CIM, RFP®, founder of Transition Financial Ad...

US investment accounts do not automatically follow a move abroad. Custodians have their own policies for international clients, and many of them are more restrictive than most people expect. In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Otto Rivera, EA, CFP®, founder of Mindful Wealth Planning and Emergent Tax Services. Otto spent years at Charles Schwab before becoming both an IRS Enrolled Agent and a CFP®, a combination that gives him a working view of custodial policy, tax law, an...

Jessica Govern and Claire Naughton have both lived in Strasbourg, France for eight years. Both are originally from the Chicago area. Both moved abroad in their early twenties with no financial plan, no visa strategy, and no idea they were staying. This episode is their honest accounting of what that actually cost them, and what they got right. Govern produces the Passport to Wealth podcast and runs a social media management business in France. Naughton works as a fractional CMO and marketing st...

Thinking about moving to Germany? In this episode of Passport to Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA, sits down with fellow cross-border financial planner Jordan Vlastuin, CFP®, to unpack what Americans really need to know before relocating. From choosing the right visa to understanding German tax treaties, federal pensions, and the realities of setting up life abroad, this conversation is packed with insights for expats and future movers alike. Arielle and Jordan discuss the nuances of tax resid...

Retiring abroad sounds like the dream. For Americans, the financial reality is far more complex. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA, is joined by Ramin Olson, founder of Nomad Financial and a cross border expert specializing in helping US citizens retire overseas. Drawing from his global career and personal experience living across Europe, Ramin breaks down the hidden financial risks that many Americans overlook when planning a life abroad. From unexpected tax expo...

Spain has become one of the most popular destinations for Americans looking to live abroad. But moving to Spain involves much more than choosing a city and applying for a visa. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA, speaks with Carlos Lorenzo, J.D., LL.M., a Spain-based immigration and tax lawyer and founder of American Legal Spain. Carlos works closely with Americans planning a move to Spain, helping them navigate immigration law, tax planning, and long-term residenc...

The Netherlands has long been one of the most attractive destinations for US expats in Europe. But recent and proposed tax changes could significantly impact how Americans living there build and protect wealth. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA is joined by Kaitlin Krozel, CPA, founder of Krozel Capital, a firm specializing in tax and financial planning for US expats and globally mobile families. Together they unpack the Dutch tax system, including the controversi...

Navigating life and finances across the US.–Canada border can feel overwhelming especially when taxes, investments, citizenship, and estate planning collide. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, host Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Lucas Wennersten, CFA, CFP® (Canada), CFP® (USA), founder of 49th Parallel Wealth Management, to unpack the real-world complexities of cross-border financial planning between the United States and Canada. Lucas shares his personal journey into cross-borde...

Financial independence is possible for US expats, but numbers alone are not enough. Your mindset, habits, and values matter just as much as your investment strategy. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA talks with Blair Hoover, expat financial independence coach and educator, about what it really takes to pursue FIRE while living overseas. After losing money in an offshore savings plan early in her journey, Blair transformed that experience into the foundation of her...

In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Aditi Kapadia, CFA®, CFP®, founder of Wealth IQ and a cross-border financial planner specializing in US and Canada financial planning. Aditi shares her personal journey of moving to the US as a Canadian expat, navigating two tax systems, managing cross-border income, and rebuilding her financial framework from the ground up. Together, Arielle and Aditi break down the most common challenges globally mobile professiona...

Buying real estate abroad can be an exciting step for US expats and globally minded investors, but the tax mistakes can be costly without proper planning. In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, EA, CFP, is joined by Alex McGowin, CPA, an international tax expert with deep experience advising US expats and Americans investing abroad. Together, they break down the most common tax traps US citizens face when purchasing property in countries like Costa Rica, Panama, and across Latin...