Beth Pinsker had a properly signed power of attorney for her mother. The bank refused to accept it anyway, worried about fraud. It took three separate two-hour appointments and multiple calls to the bank's legal department before they finally honored it. Valid paperwork is the starting point, not the guarantee.…
Managing a parent's finances from far away is hard even when "far away" means a couple of states. A valid, properly signed power of attorney still isn't a guarantee a bank will honor it, and the paperwork most families put off touches far more of daily life than anyone expects.…
In the US, your assets pass into an estate that can take years to settle. France works on a principle called "le mort saisit le vif," meaning heirs are entitled to assets the moment someone dies, no settlement period, no estate as a separate legal entity. Taxes are then assessed…
A US revocable trust that just grows, reinvesting its dividends and interest, can often be reported once a year in France with no income tax owed. The moment it distributes money to you for everyday expenses, that changes. France taxes the distribution as ordinary income at a flat 31.4 percent,…
In the US, you can give up to $19,000 a year with no filing required. In France, the filing threshold for a gift or inheritance is one euro, and you get 30 days to report it. It doesn't necessarily mean tax is owed, thanks to exemptions, but the French tax…
France offers one of the most generous tax treaties in the world for Americans, pensions, IRAs, and even Roth accounts can be taxed at zero on the French side. Die there, though, and the same country runs one of the least forgiving inheritance systems for anyone still holding a US-style…
Countries like the Netherlands and Spain apply a wealth tax to assets including U.S. investment accounts, and a 529 is often no exception. That can mean paying tax every year on a balance that was supposed to grow tax-deferred. Some families address this by having a grandparent hold the account…
To use 529 funds tax-free, a school has to be an eligible educational institution that participates in U.S. federal student aid programs. Some foreign universities qualify. Some do not, and a few sit in a genuine gray area called deferment-only status. Check studentaid.gov or savingforcollege.com before you assume your child's…
As of 2026, families can withdraw up to $20,000 a year from a 529 for K-12 education, up from $10,000 the year before. International school tuition often runs $20,000 to $30,000 a year, which makes this a real option worth understanding, not just a technicality. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact…
A 529 is issued state by state, not by the federal government, and the rules on deductions and eligibility vary a lot. Answer these three questions before you open one, especially if there's any chance you'll be living abroad down the road. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth…
If you're behind on college savings and just got a windfall, you don't have to choose between one lump sum and years of small contributions. Superfunding a 529 lets you use five years of the annual gift tax exclusion at once. There is a gift tax filing required the year…
Can a 529 plan actually pay for university outside the United States? Some foreign schools qualify for tax-free withdrawals. Most do not, and the difference is not obvious until a family tries to use the funds. Kaitlin Krozel, CPA and founder of Krozel Capital, has spent years helping American families…
Banks in financial hubs are not fiduciaries. They are product distributors. A relationship manager who calls because you have cash sitting in an account is not asking whether the product they are about to recommend is appropriate for a US taxpayer, whether it creates PFIC exposure, or how it interacts…
Singapore's Central Provident Fund earns 4% in the special retirement account. For Singaporeans and permanent residents it is one of the best-structured savings tools in the world. For US taxpayers in a 37% federal bracket, 4% minus tax is 2.5% in a system that also has PFIC classification issues, restricted…
Singapore imposes no local tax on Roth IRA conversions and no capital gains or dividend tax. That means when an American in Singapore converts traditional IRA funds to Roth, only US federal tax applies — not a second layer of local tax on top. In most other countries, the same…
In financial hubs around the world, bank relationship managers are trained to sell products, not to give fiduciary advice. The products commonly offered to expat clients often carry embedded commissions, may be structured on leverage against your own portfolio, and are almost never reviewed against your US tax obligations. A…
The US taxes Roth conversion income regardless of where you live, it's treated as ordinary income and the FEIE does not reduce it. What changes by location is whether a second layer of local tax also applies. In most countries, a resident converting traditional IRA funds to Roth owes both…
Earning in Singapore dollars while filing US taxes is only the beginning. Americans in Singapore sit inside one of the most favorable tax environments for Roth conversions anywhere in the world: no Singapore capital gains tax, no dividend tax, and the conversion itself isn't taxed locally. Most are not using…
Moving countries doesn't have to mean losing the feeling of home. Families who move often say it's the small, repeated traditions, not the address, that end up defining what home actually feels like. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning #passporttowealth #expatlife #relocation
Parenting coach Sasha Romary has raised her sons in France, Singapore, and Germany, and says home was never really about any one of them. It's the traditions her family carries with them, taco Tuesday, Saturday mornings at the playground, to-go coffee cups, that make anywhere feel like home. Subscribe to…
Parenting coach Sasha Romary (@sasharomaryparenting) has spent years fighting for a school environment where her neurodivergent son can actually thrive, something she says is far harder to find in much of Europe than in the U.S. The reason her kids take a 40-minute train to school every morning isn't the…
Parenting coach Sasha Romary's (@sasharomaryparenting ) first son only slept upright against her, and only after hours of crying, while French mothers around her sipped coffee next to babies who napped peacefully in their strollers. Her mother-in-law's advice was simple. Babies cry, it helps develop their lungs. Romary needed something…
Expat parents often get pulled between two completely different playbooks, the one they grew up reading and the one everyone around them actually follows. Neither one has to win. Finding what actually works for your kid is allowed to be its own answer. Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.passporttowealth.com/contact #expatfinance #financialplanning…
Sasha Romary's first son would only sleep upright against her, and only after hours of crying, while the French mothers around her sipped coffee next to babies who napped peacefully in their strollers. Her mother-in-law's advice was blunt: babies cry, it helps develop their lungs. Sasha is a parenting coach…
