When many expats think of life in another country, it is about living in different cultures or taking on jobs overseas. However, ultimately it is about creating a secure future for you and your family. But, as soon as your wealth, assets and dependents are in different locations, the complexity begins. After all, planning is no longer one jurisdiction; it is multi-jurisdictional, multi-regulatory and multi-currency.
One of the biggest opportunities to ensure that expats retain their wealth wherever it domicile, is to help ensure that they can protect and mobilize investment in their home country while continuing to accumulate investments abroad. This also means protecting against loses including inflation or changes in local laws which can leave the expat in a precarious financial position. Ultimately, what may work easily and well in one country as an example of effective use of money, may be difficult to achieve, set up or work effectively in other. When combined with not having an integrated plan, the expat can effectively finish with financial planning gaps and these gaps expose the expat to vulnerability.
Adding protection of your loved ones only serves to complicate the planning involved with your expat journey. Most expats are relocating to a new country with a significant other, children, or dependent parents, so you need to think about your family’s financial position if something unexpected were to occur. Expats are tasked with moving beyond international health insurance, education planning, tax implications, wills, and inheritance, across borders and at every stage of the financial and estate planning process.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ model when you are living a life across borders. The most important part of the process is to create a strategy with global wealth management and family protection in mind. This may involve utilizing advisors that are experienced in employing insurance policies that provide coverage in several different regions or creating tools like trusts that have the ability to be deployed to ensure that your personal wishes around assets disbursement will occur. By thinking past boundaries, you establish financial security and can have confidence that you have taken as much care as possible to protect your family whatever life throws at you.
As an expat, your travels and journey are not bound to one location. And your financial protection shouldn’t be either. With the right advice, you can create a safety net across countries, growing your wealth safely, and protecting your family as your adventure continues elsewhere!
Book a discovery call, and let’s talk through your unique expat journey.
Or, if you’re curious where you stand right now, take just 3 minutes to complete our Financial Freedom Scorecard, and see how aligned your plan really is with your goals.
