In this day and age, to bank offshore is never simple, but often necessary. Due to the thousands of pages of under-analyzed and over-enforced laws enacted in the U.S. in the past few years, banking within the borders of the U.S. is rapidly becoming less of a private matter. The implications of this are staggering as anyone having even a passing knowledge of the USA PATRIOT Act and other similar laws knows. Here are some examples:

· The government has access to any and all financial information, account balances, transactions, purchases etc.

· The IRS is becoming even more severe in enforcing of income tax laws and is currently in the process of auditing innocent people for an ever growing list of minor “infractions”.

· Taxes being collected are used for purposes the majority of people disagree with, which is, in a true democracy, wrong!

Luckily, throughout the world there are still places that give banking privacy to the law-abiding, business oriented and money producing people, away from the prying eyes of the government.

Considerations should be given only to countries that have superior banking secrecy laws along with fairly solid economic and political systems. These countries include those located in the Caribbean and Latin America (such as Panama and Costa Rica), along with several of the developing Eastern European countries, such as Latvia, as well as tried and true places like Switzerland and Singapore.

However, there are some points to take into consideration prior to opening a bank account in a foreign country. The first is to ensure that all information provided is thoroughly reviewed, the second is to consult a lawyer or financial/tax advisor about any issues and questions that come to mind. When considering a foreign account, a person should know the answers to the following questions:

· How is my privacy protected?

· How will I be able to make payments and withdrawals?

· Are there any fees to register and keep my account in good standing?

· What are the rates of interest paid on the account?

· Does the bank provide an international debit/ATM card?

· Are there any limits to withdrawals?

· What type of identification is needed to set up the account?

Finally, a person has to be certain that the country he plans to set up the bank account in has STRONG privacy laws. Better yet, the person should also be sure that the banking institutions they wish to do business with are able to provide assistance either by phone, web, or email in the language that he speaks.

If you would like more information regarding asset protection, trusts, family limited partnerships or the subject of this article please call or email our office.