{"id":6132,"date":"2016-10-13T01:12:22","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T05:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=5725"},"modified":"2020-08-18T14:15:38","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T18:15:38","slug":"international-real-estate-asset-protection-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/international-real-estate-asset-protection-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"International Real Estate for Asset Protection and Privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>International Real Estate for Asset Protection and Privacy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the best forms of personal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/why-everyone-needs-asset-protection\/\">asset protection<\/a> are investments in international real estate. Select a country where it\u2019s near impossible to seize that property, and you have a safe and secure nest egg\u2026 and a landing spot should you decide to leave the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International real estate is also one of the best ways to invest offshore in a private yet tax compliant manner. This is because you are not required to report foreign real estate <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">held in your name<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the IRS. International real estate does not need to be reported on the FBAR (Form 114) nor the Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets (Form 8938). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please note that I said you don\u2019t need to report real estate held in your name. If international real estate is in the name of a corporation, LLC or trust, that entity must be reported. Thus, real estate held in an entity is reported indirectly &#8211; on the balance sheet of the offshore structure. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, if the property is titled in your name, you have zero reporting requirements. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, if you rent out international real estate, you must report the net income. This is reported just as US rental property, on Schedule E of your personal return. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Tip:<\/strong> You may take all of the same deductions against rental income from international real estate as you can from US real estate. The only exception is that you must use straight-line depreciation, not accelerated depreciation. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may be able to deduct one trip per year to check-up on your foreign real estate. Be sure to speak to your tax advisor on this one before incurring any expenses. Many caveats apply. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What Else Qualifies?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might be wondering if there are other non-reportable investments. The major one is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/getting-into-gold-part-1-why-should-i-buy-gold\/\">physical gold<\/a>. If you buy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/offshore-precious-metals\/\">store gold offshore<\/a>, you need not report that on any IRS form. Like real estate, so long as it\u2019s held in your name and not in an offshore structure, it remains private. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also like real estate, when you sell that gold, it\u2019s reportable as a capital gain on your personal return. Basis information goes on Schedule D as a long term or short term gain. You need not indicate where the gold was when it was sold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What Countries Are Not Recommended<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let me get back to the asset protection component of international real estate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International real estate in several countries is <strong>NOT<\/strong> recommended for asset protection purposes, for example: <\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United Kingdom<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">France<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Canada<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These three countries have agreements in place with the United States Internal Revenue Service that allows the US government to seize real estate. If you owe the IRS, real estate in these countries is no more protected than it is in America. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And I expect these collection and seizure powers to be expanded. Bottom line is, if the US wants to take your property in these countries, they will get it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the exception of the above, it is difficult to enforce a judgement from the Unites in a foreign country. This is because the United States is not a party to any bilateral treaties or multilateral international conventions that permit the enforcement of court judgments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why This Works<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reason for this is the United States courts are seen as a joke around the world. The US hands out excessive awards and their litigation system is out of control. Also, America all too often asserts jurisdiction over cases and companies unfairly\u2026 acting as a civil policeman in just about any dispute. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, foreign courts generally do not recognize U.S. money judgments unless:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(1) the U.S. court had jurisdiction; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(2) the defendant was properly served; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(3) the proceedings were not vitiated by fraud; and <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(4) the judgment is not contrary to the public policy of the foreign country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attempting to enforce a US judgement in a foreign country will often take many years. Considering most international lawyers won\u2019t take a case on contingency, the plaintiff&#8217;s legal bills will skyrocket and they often lose interest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means most will agree to settle the matter for pennies on the dollar because of the costs and challenges of collecting on international real estate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Countries in the European Union are most likely to enforce a U.S. judgement. This means that the EU is the highest risk region if you are buying international real estate with an eye to asset protection. However, even in the European Union, U.S. judgements are treated differently. You should seek local counsel if you have a pending U.S. case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Countries, where it\u2019s nearly impossible for a creditor to reach the real property,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0are Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, China and Thailand. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each of these countries has a legal system which is difficult to navigate, cases take years to get traction, and there are many tools available to your defence attorney to delay or have the case thrown out on procedural grounds. Also, each is loath to enforce a US judgement against people or assets in their country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note that I am <\/span><b>not <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saying it\u2019s impossible to enforce a judgement in these countries. I\u2019m saying it\u2019s so costly, complex, and time-consuming, that they are excellent asset protection jurisdictions. That even the most motivated creditor will give up and settle on your terms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Combine this protection with the privacy only available in real estate (and gold) and you see why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/investing-international-real-estate\/\">investing in international real estate<\/a> is a solid asset protection move. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll conclude by saying that investing in foreign real estate might have another major side benefit. Many of the best asset protection jurisdictions offer a residency with an investment of a certain size. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/citizenship-by-investment\/\">Cyprus offers you residency for as little as $<\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/citizenship-by-investment\/\"><span style=\"text-transform: initial;\">350,000 USD<\/span><\/a><span style=\"text-transform: initial;\">, which can lead to a second passport in 7 years or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/citizenship-by-investment\/\">Turkey where a $250,000 USD investment in real estate<\/a> can lead to citizenship in 3 years. And for the above-mentioned asset protection you can even get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/residency-panama\/\">a cheap residency in Panama for roughly $5,000 in legal fees<\/a> and only a $5,000 temporary deposit in a local bank, from there you can go out and buy property easily in your own name and enjoy all that comes with that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I hope you\u2019ve found this article on international real estate as an asset protection tool to be helpful. To be connected with an expert experienced in asset protection, please <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/contact\/\">contact us here<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We will be happy to help you find the most efficient and secure jurisdiction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Here is<\/b> <b>probably the most extensive ebook on <\/b><b><i>Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Eliminating Your Taxes, Protecting Your Assets And Regaining Privacy Over Your Life And Investments<\/i><\/b><b>. It is called<\/b> <b>The<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.store\/product\/ultimate-guide-to-going-offshore\/\"> <b>Ultimate Guide To Going Offshore<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International Real Estate for Asset Protection and Privacy One of the best forms of personal asset protection are investments in international real estate. Select a country where it\u2019s near impossible to seize that property, and you have a safe and secure nest egg\u2026 and a landing spot should you decide to leave the United States. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":39636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9412],"tags":[71,137,1136,258,301,366,406],"yst_prominent_words":[1956,1761,15169,2236,21680,1882,15171,15166,2699,2658,2102,15167,1764,5506,6714,13306,1957,1878,15168,1804],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Panama-City-at-night.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6132"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39650,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6132\/revisions\/39650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6132"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}