Carl Richards is a certified financial planner, the New York Times Sketch Guy, and the author of Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches. He moved from Utah to New Zealand with his family in a matter of weeks. His wife bought plane tickets ten days after hearing about a friend's available house. Ninety days later, they had moved.

This episode covers:

• How Carl became the New York Times sketch guy (a desperate drawing on a whiteboard)
• Why showing up and being consistent matters more
• How Carl's wife pulled the rescue cord and moved the family to New Zealand
• The detox from US money and work culture that Carl did not see coming
• Moving teenagers abroad during a senior year of high school
• Why New Zealanders ask about holidays and weekends, not jobs
• The French cafe lesson: you think this is about money. It is about food.
• The worry list: a blank page. Nothing is helped by worrying.
• The cognitive load of a simple grocery store in a new country
• Carl's daughter's advice: you thought you were going to have an adventure without it being hard
• Why Carl would spend his savings again without thinking twice

Carl and host Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA discuss why most of what we worry about never happens and why moving abroad does not require a perfect plan.

Resources

• Read Carl's latest book Your Money: Reimagining Wealth in 101 Simple Sketches
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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Christian Gulizzi is a cross-border tax advisor licensed in the United States as a CPA, in Germany as a Steuerberater, and in Italy as a Dottore Commercialista. He was born to an Italian and German parent, grew up navigating cross-border complexity, and built his entire academic and professional career around it. He currently lives and works from the Italian Riviera.

This episode covers:

• The biggest misconception Americans have about taxes when moving to Europe
• Why leaving money in US accounts does not protect it from European tax authorities
• The 183-day rule and why it does not mean what most people think
• How German residency can begin on day one simply by having a home there
• Why a US LLC provides no protection from the tax authority where you are physically working
• Italy's €300,000 foreign flat tax for high net worth individuals
• The 7% flat tax for retirees moving to southern Italian towns under 30,000 inhabitants
• The Impatriati regime: up to 90% income exemption for workers and researchers
• The Forfettario regime: 5% flat tax for self-employed people earning under €85,000
• Why German courts have blocked tax incentive regimes as unconstitutional
• Italy vs. Germany inheritance tax: €1 million exemption at 4% vs. €400,000 at 19-33%
• Christian's single most important piece of advice before any move to Europe
• Why pre-immigration planning is critical: fixing mistakes after residency is almost impossible

We discuss the specific misconceptions that create the most expensive problems for Americans moving abroad, the legal incentive regimes Italy offers that most people never find in time to use, and why the country you choose to move to is itself a financial decision.

Resources

• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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Daniel Tostado is a naturalized French citizen, a dual-qualified attorney (US and France), and the founder of Tostado Avocats, an immigration law firm dedicated to helping Americans navigate the French legal system. He moved from San Diego to France in 2010, completed a French master's degree, passed the bar on both sides of the Atlantic, and has since built a practice focused exclusively on French visas, residency permits, and citizenship pathways. He also runs a winter homeless shelter for refugees in Paris.

This episode covers:

• The four main visa categories for Americans moving to France (visitor, student, entrepreneur, and family-based)
• Why the visitor visa is the most popular route and who it's right for
• The legal gray area around remote work for US employers on a French visitor visa
• How the Franco-American tax treaty protects American assets including Roth IRAs
• France's healthcare system and how Americans access it from day one
• The entrepreneur visa: what France wants to see in your business plan
• Why selling your US home after establishing French residency can trigger unexpected capital gains
• Naturalization by marriage and the timeline to a 10-year residency card
• How quickly you can realistically get a French visa (spoiler: faster than most countries)

We discuss the legal pathways Americans actually use to move to France, the tax and healthcare systems that await them, and the cultural realities of building a life in a country that does not automatically trust the stranger.

Resources

• Follow Daniel on Instagram @tostadoavocats
• Listen to our episode with Céline Flores-Tavukcuoglu
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory

Mentioned in this episode:

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

Hui-chin Chen, CFP®, is the managing partner of Jade & Cowry and has spent her career working with globally mobile families across Asia-Pacific; including her own, as the spouse of a US diplomat who has lived across multiple countries and tax systems. She is one of a small number of practitioners who understands both the technical US tax obligations that reach across borders and the cultural dynamics that make compliance so difficult to achieve.

This episode covers the compliance traps that consistently catch non-US citizens, US-connected individuals, and globally mobile families who never anticipated owing anything to the IRS.

In this episode

• Accidental Americans and the US tax net - how people become subject to US taxation through birth, the substantial presence test, green card status, or a US spouse, without ever identifying as American
• Planned citizenship and generational wealth in Asia - how affluent Asian families deliberately acquire US citizenship for the next generation and why, without comprehensive cross-border planning from the beginning, that decision creates compounding reporting obligations for decades
• The $60,000 US estate tax threshold for non-citizens - why a non-US citizen holding US stocks, real estate, or RSUs from a US employer faces a 40% estate tax above $60,000, how that threshold has never been indexed for inflation, and why almost no Asian countries have estate tax treaties with the US
• The non-US spouse filing trap - how a US citizen claiming a non-US spouse as a dependent or filing jointly to reduce tax liability can unknowingly pull that spouse's entire foreign financial picture into the US reporting system, creating obligations the non-US spouse never agreed to and may not know exist
• Joint accounts, family business signatory authority, and FBAR - why common Asian estate planning structures (joint accounts with parents, signatory authority on family businesses) trigger US reporting requirements the account holder never considered
• Territorial tax regimes across Asia-Pacific - how Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and other territorial systems interact with US citizenship-based taxation, and why holding assets in the US for diversification can create estate tax exposure that offsets the investment benefit entirely
• The four-to-six month pre-move planning window - why cross-border planning needs to begin months before a move, not after arrival, and why a full financial audit including family account involvement is the mandatory starting point

Resources

• Connect with Hui-chin on LinkedIn
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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What does it actually cost — financially and logistically — to move to Italy as a US expat and raise a family there? In this episode of Passport to Wealth, financial planner Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Danielle Shumway, founder of Ciao Family Travel, to break down the real numbers: Italy's Rientro dei Cervelli tax incentive, US expat tax obligations, Italian healthcare and schools, and the $25K mistake that comes from not filing US tax returns abroad.

Danielle Shumway moved to Italy in 2015 with her Italian husband, an 18-month-old, and a four-month-old. The original plan was five years: take advantage of Italy's Rientro dei Cervelli tax incentive, let the kids grow up bilingual, stay near family, and return to the US. A decade later, she has four children, Italian citizenship, and a family travel business called Ciao Family Travel — and she is still in Italy.

In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Danielle to cover the financial and logistical realities of raising a family in Italy as a US citizen. The conversation covers what the Italian tax incentive actually offers, why Danielle's husband stopped his US citizenship process the month he was set to sign the papers, and what it cost when years of unfiled US tax returns caught up with them.

In this episode:

• Italy's Rientro dei Cervelli tax incentive - how it works, who qualifies, what happens after year five, and why holding three or more children plus a home can reduce your Italian tax rate to near zero
• US citizenship-based taxation and non-US spouses - why Danielle's husband halted his citizenship application, what green card holders face if they hold status outside the US for more than eight years, and the exit tax implications most families do not see coming
• Corporate relocation as a move-abroad strategy - how an Amazon internal transfer handled immigration, housing, and dual-tax-system support, and why starting with your current employer is one of the lowest-friction paths to living abroad
• Italian healthcare for pregnancy and birth - monthly blood work, structured prenatal appointments, the epidural decision that must be made four weeks before delivery, and why postpartum recovery felt cold compared to US standards
• Italian school system from age three - the Montessori-forward scuola dell'infanzia, government versus private spots, the points-based enrollment system, and what the transition into first grade looks like
• The $25,000 tax compliance mistake - what happens when a US citizen abroad stops filing tax returns, how Danielle found out, what it cost to fix, and why a cross-border CPA is not optional
• Traveling 50+ countries with children - the 70/30 outdoor rule, why stress gave Danielle a phantom toothache in the Czech Republic, and how private guides changed how the family travels

Resources

• Follow Danielle on Instagram @ciaofamilytravel
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

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US retirement accounts, estate plans, and investment structures do not automatically survive a move to Canada. The two countries share a border and a language but operate under entirely separate financial and tax systems; and the decisions made before you leave determine whether your existing structures are protected or become expensive problems.

In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Brian Wruk, MBA, CFP® (US), CFP® (Canada), TEP, CIM, RFP®, founder of Transition Financial Advisors Group and author of The American in Canada. Brian is a dual citizen who moved his American wife to Canada, navigated the compliance requirements firsthand, and has been doing US-Canada cross-border planning since 1997.

Topics covered, include:

• Why moving to Canada does not end your US tax obligations
• The Roth IRA rules that can protect your retirement savings across the border
• The TFSA trap that creates phantom US taxable income
• How revocable living trusts can trigger Canadian taxes
• What Canadian healthcare actually looks like in 2026, including 3-year waits for a primary care physician in Ontario
• How to plan for retirement across two countries
• The one thing Brian tells every client before they board the plane

The conversation covers the Roth conversion window that closes the moment Canadian residency begins, why TFSAs generate phantom US taxable income that foreign tax credits cannot offset, how revocable living trusts can trigger punitive Canadian taxation, and what Canadian healthcare actually delivers in 2026; including current wait times for primary care and what private options are beginning to emerge.

Resources

• Connect with Brian Wruk at Transition Financial Advisors Group: passporttowealth.com/brian-wruk
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join
• Subscribe to the Passport to Wealth newsletter: passporttowealth.com/contact
• Find a vetted cross-border advisor: passporttowealth.com/directory

Mentioned in this episode:

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US investment accounts do not automatically follow a move abroad. Custodians have their own policies for international clients, and many of them are more restrictive than most people expect.

In this episode, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA sits down with Otto Rivera, EA, CFP®, founder of Mindful Wealth Planning and Emergent Tax Services. Otto spent years at Charles Schwab before becoming both an IRS Enrolled Agent and a CFP®, a combination that gives him a working view of custodial policy, tax law, and financial planning that most cross-border advisors cannot offer from a single seat.

Topics covered, include:

• What actually changes for US investment accounts when moving abroad: custodian policies, mutual fund restrictions, and why ETF access may require an advisor
• Financial accounts, custodians, and how to check for international coverage before a move
• Multi-custodian access, the Schwab Italy exit, and finding advisors who can hold and invest in foreign currency
• Emerging wealth vs. complex strategy: when adding layers makes sense and when it doesn't
• Why US persons should keep account records and foreign address information current
• Cross-border tax compliance: why withholding rules, PFICs, Roth conversions, IRA distributions, and ETF restrictions require specialized planning for US expats
• Why working with a domestic US advisor after moving abroad can create problems at tax time
• Cross-border divorce, ERISA retirement plans, and why a foreign decree is not enough

Resources

• Find a vetted cross-border financial advisor or tax professional at passporttowealth.com/directory
• Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Apply to passporttowealth.com/join

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

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www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

What does it really take to build a life in France as an American expat?

In this episode of Passport to Wealth™, we explore the practical and personal side of moving abroad, from navigating French visa requirements to finding meaningful work, building a career, and creating a sustainable long-term lifestyle in Europe.

Our guests share their journey from the U.S. to France, including the realities of adapting to a new culture, launching a consulting business abroad, and finding professional purpose while living internationally. We also discuss the growing trend of younger Americans and aspiring expats looking beyond traditional career paths and exploring entrepreneurship as a way to create more flexibility, freedom, and stability overseas.

Whether you’re dreaming of moving to France, already living abroad, or wondering how to turn a love of travel into a real life and career, this conversation offers practical insight, encouragement, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make expat life work.

Resources

Find a vetted cross-border financial advisor or tax professional at the Passport To Wealth Directory

Are you a qualified professional serving US expats in France or Europe? Join the Passport To Wealth community here.

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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Thinking about moving to Germany? In this episode of Passport to Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA, sits down with fellow cross-border financial planner Jordan Vlastuin, CFP®, to unpack what Americans really need to know before relocating.

From choosing the right visa to understanding German tax treaties, federal pensions, and the realities of setting up life abroad, this conversation is packed with insights for expats and future movers alike. Arielle and Jordan discuss the nuances of tax residency, planning before you move, currency risk, and how local advisors can make, or break, your financial plan overseas.

Whether you’re living in Germany or just dreaming about it, you’ll walk away with actionable steps to make your transition smoother and your finances stronger.

Passport to Wealth™ connects Americans living abroad with trusted cross-border financial experts. Visit passporttowealth.com to find vetted advisors, expat resources, and expert interviews.

Mentioned in this episode:

www.passporttowealth.com

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

SwissCast Network

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland

SwissCast Network

In this episode of Passport To Wealth™, Arielle Tucker, CFP®, EA, is joined by Ramin Olson, founder of Nomad Financial and a cross border expert specializing in helping US citizens retire overseas.

Drawing from his global career and personal experience living across Europe, Ramin breaks down the hidden financial risks that many Americans overlook when planning a life abroad. From unexpected tax exposure to currency risk that can quietly impact your purchasing power, this conversation highlights what you need to know before making a move.

Whether you are actively planning your retirement abroad or just exploring the idea, this episode will help you understand what is at stake and how to plan with clarity and confidence.

We cover:

1. Why your US investment strategy may not work overseas
2. How currency fluctuations impact your real purchasing power
3. The tax traps many expats miss, including inheritance tax
4. What changes when you become a tax resident abroad
5. How to structure your finances before relocating

Mentioned in this episode:

Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network

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www.passporttowealth.com