Advertise here from only 40 baht per week
cashING in
The Financial Benefits
of Being an Expat.
Every week in this article Helen Couldrey, a financial
consultant with the deVere
Group, and also a qualified
English lawyer, will give you
tips and ideas of how to take
advantage financially of being
an expat. Helen has clients in
Bangkok, Hua Hin and ChaAm who she helps to maximise
the financial benefits of living
overseas.
CHA-AM AND HUA HIN
Retirement Planning - Education Fee Planning
Regular Savings - Tax Saving
Lump Sum Investments
Helen Couldrey, BA (Hons), L.L.B, CISI
Contact Helen for a finance review
086 088 2127
[email protected]
bond… investment bond
JURISDICTION / CONSOLIDATION
Many expats have numerous assets all over the world.
You may have a property and some cash in Thailand,
more cash in your home jurisdiction, plus some stocks
and shares in Timbuktu. Oh and don’t forget the mutual
funds in.... ah, I seem to have lost track…
Rather than have your assets spread over various
jurisdictions, having them all governed by the same
laws generally makes things simpler. Further, having
all of your assets within one wrapper means the admin
involved is more streamlined.
Whilst all this sounds great, portfolios of this nature can
be an administrative nightmare for your beneficiaries
should something happen to you. Probate,... lawyers
in different countries, .. admin, ... as well as cross
jurisdictional tax issues. Further, it can take months,
or even years, for the proceeds of the estate to reach
the intended recipients. These are all realistic hurdles
that your loved ones may have to face, however, there
are ways to help mitigate the complexities involved.
ESTATE PLANNING
With this in mind, instead of the above headache, many
expats are opting to consolidate their assets into one
offshore wrapper called an International Investment
Bond. Most investment types can be put into a bond
such as cash, shares, funds, structured notes etc. Most
bonds do not accept real estate property, however, as
part of their estate planning strategy some expats look
to sell their properties, deciding to hold the property
value as investments, such as shares, within a bond
instead.
TAX ADVANTAGES
Ultimately, an International Investment Bond is where
your investments can live in an offshore location. As
an expat, the investments within the bond would most
likely attract tax free growth. The offshore locations
are robust jurisdictions such as The Isle Of Man,
Guernsey and Jersey. Unfortunately tax free growth
would not be the case for US tax payers as they are
taxed globally, however, most other nationalities
would enjoy this tax related perk.
Whilst the above points are advantageous, most expats
find that the key benefit of an International Investment
Bond is simpler estate planning. As mentioned above,
it can take months or years for a person’s assets to
pass to their beneficiaries as probate can be complex
and timely. By contrast, when using an investment
bond, the assets are often transferred to beneficiaries
within around just 14 days of receipt of the relevant
documents. This is a much swifter and less complex
process which is extremely valuable at a time when a
family may need the assets rapidly, without the extra
stresses involved in winding up a loved one’s estate.
If you would like to know more about International
Investment Bonds, please feel free to get in touch.
GET NOTICED!
An advert in
AWOL is the best
and cheapest
way to reach your
customers
Join the AWOL forum
9