Financial planner and author Mark Moberg calls it The Room That Nods. Friends agree because they want you happy. Family agrees because they're protecting you. Neither one is actually evaluating whether the move makes sense, which is exactly the gap an outside advisor is supposed to fill. Subscribe to the…
Mark Moberg's family moved to Lisbon mid pandemic, months later than planned because of Portuguese bureaucracy. American vaccine cards weren't accepted at restaurants, furniture was nearly impossible to find, and they spent their first month in corporate housing looking for a place to live. It's the version of moving abroad…
Financial planner Mark Moberg says most families have already made up their mind about moving abroad long before they sit down with a planner. The numbers they ask for aren't really about the decision, they're there to justify it to the one skeptical relative every family seems to have. Subscribe…
Well-meaning advice isn't the same as honest advice. Before a big move, it helps to talk to someone who has no stake in your decision either way. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth #expatlife #relocation
Financial planner and author Mark Moberg calls it The Room That Nods. Friends agree because they want you happy. Family agrees because they're protecting you. Neither one is actually evaluating whether the move makes sense, which is exactly the gap an outside advisor is supposed to fill. Subscribe to the…
Financial planner and author Mark Moberg calls it The Room That Nods. Friends agree because they want you happy. Family agrees because they're protecting you. Neither one is actually evaluating whether the move makes sense, which is exactly the gap an outside advisor is supposed to fill. Subscribe to the…
A lot of people research visas and tax rules before they've actually asked themselves why they want to move in the first place. Start there. The paperwork gets easier once the reason is real. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth #movingabroad #expatlife
Financial planner Mark Moberg says most families have already made up their mind about moving abroad long before they sit down with a planner. The numbers they ask for aren't really about the decision, they're there to justify it to the one skeptical relative every family seems to have. Subscribe…
Mark Moberg's family landed in Lisbon on Christmas Day, months behind schedule, with no furniture waiting for them and a nasal swab required just to eat at a restaurant. That's the moving-abroad story nobody posts on Instagram. Mark is a certified financial planner who closed his practice in Tampa, Florida…
Gifts from a foreign individual totaling more than $100,000 can trigger a Form 3520 filing requirement with the IRS, even when no tax is owed. Miss the form and the penalties can be significant. It's one of the most overlooked cross-border filing traps for ordinary families. Subscribe to the newsletter:…
Even a "temporary" move abroad can quietly establish tax residency, and once that happens, your options narrow fast. A quick check with a cross-border advisor before you go can prevent a much harder conversation later. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth #expatplanning #relocation
A US estate tax exemption doesn't follow you abroad. In countries like France, an inherited property can trigger an inheritance tax as high as 60% of its value, forcing families to sell a home they never wanted to give up. A little planning ahead of time changes that outcome entirely.…
Moving abroad affects more than your address. Tax residency, inheritance rules, and marital agreements can all shift the moment you settle somewhere new. A short review before the move is almost always cheaper than fixing it after. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth #expatlife #crossborderplanning
Immigration status and tax residency are two completely different things. International tax attorney Christine Concepción explains how staying too long on a digital nomad visa can quietly make you a tax resident, and even an inheritance-tax resident, of a country you thought you were just visiting. Subscribe to the newsletter:…
A $300,000 inheritance became fully taxable the moment one family crossed a residency line they didn't even know existed. It's the kind of mistake that has nothing to do with being wealthy and everything to do with not asking the right question before moving abroad. In this conversation, international tax…
Applying for residency through a child instead of a spouse can cut a full year off the path to citizenship in Colombia, four years instead of five. Alyssa Bolaños used this route after her family relocated from the US, and she can legally work, bank, and travel on that residency…
Routine health care costs a fraction of US prices for expat families in Colombia, a dentist visit for twelve dollars and a full eye exam with new glasses for two hundred, versus around five hundred in the US. Alyssa Bolaños, who relocated her family from Florida to Medellín, also has…
Colombia's school year runs on a fixed January start date, and most schools won't enroll a child partway through the year. Alyssa Bolaños learned this the hard way after relocating her family from the US to Medellín, and ended up homeschooling for months while waiting for the next intake. Watch…
Schools in Colombia don't run active sh*oter drills, and kids as young as four walk home from school alone. Alyssa Bolaños moved her family from Florida to Medellín, Colombia and says the difference in daily school safety was one of the biggest adjustments, in a good way. Watch the full…
Your kid's school might not let them enroll mid-year, and that's just the beginning of what changes when you move a family abroad. Moving with children isn't just a logistics decision, it's a family decision that touches culture, identity, safety, and belonging. In this episode, a bilingual creator who moved…
US expats without a US bank account can still fund their child's $1,000 Trump Account, using a State Department Federal Credit Union account or a US-routing platform like Wise or Revolut USA. Both issue a US account and routing number even if you're banking from Belgium or anywhere else abroad.…
The $1,000 seed deposit is the most attractive part of the new Trump Account (530A account), and eligibility isn't automatic. Only US citizen children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 qualify, and parents must file Form 4547 with the Treasury to actually claim it. The deposit comes…
Pay yourself first: automate your savings once and build wealth forever. Set up one automatic transfer on payday. That's it. No remembering, no deciding, the money moves before you can spend it. It doesn't matter how much you start with. What matters is it happens without you. The 5-minute setup…
US expats without a US bank account can still fund a Trump Account (530A account). Two workarounds work: a State Department Federal Credit Union account, which allows Americans abroad with a foreign address to open a US account, or an online platform like Wise or Revolut USA, which issues a…
