Shared bank account

[Photo Guy]

Thanks Ken. Yes, I've learned a lot from my mistakes. Things will work out....

[docetae]

A little comment about financial help. One month of her salary is less than two days of work for me. She wants to learn english but I know from her teacher that she is too tired after her work to make good progress. All good will will not replace sleep and peace of mind.

My limited financial support is just to give her some rest and to give the possibility to learn english, to be near her son. If you want something succeed, I believe this is more easy when all prerequisites are here. If one is stressed, worried, this will lead nowhere. If this does not work between us because she is not honest or anything else, too bad, but I will  know that I will have tried to do my best and will have no regrets. Money is just paper. I know how to earn it, so why not if this can help her ?

[catzenmouse]

Doc,

 I see no problem with helping her out in this. Just be careful that you are not a substitute for her normal avenues of income. I say this because if a situation arises where she quits her job to spend full time learning English/French and comes to rely on your contributions to make the day to day for her and it does not work out for some reason she may be stuck without a job and without your support to get her through.

 Just something to keep in mind
   Ken

[docetae]

Her situation is not easy, She has two choices : or to move to Kiev with her son and to find a new job to pay a new appartment (she rents just a room right now), or to go back to live with her mother with no hope to find a job in her town. If this happen, she will have no time to invest in our relation or will want to precipitate everything, what I don't want. In all cases, she has to look for a new job.

She is aware that my support is only for a few months (4 exactly), even if we break before I will assume what I said. this will just give her some time to breath and to decide what she wants.

I have been in the past in the same kind of situation and I'm aware that you can not do good choice when you are totally worried to know how you will finish your month, this is what I want to avoid.

[Manny]

Offshore bank accounts are not recommended. They are typically monitored for money laundering. Use domestic banks only.

That is totally incorrect! Offshore banks outside of your home country's control cannot be monitored nearly as well as banks in your home country. Try walking into a US bank and asking to wire $10000 to Russia, you will be there all day filling Uncle Sams forms in, same in the UK, but in Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Estonia & Latvia you will not have such difficulties and can arrange same by fax or internet! (Tip - Avoid Russian banks at all costs)

The general rule is not to use a bank that has branches in your home country. That way your government cant lean on it to provide account holder data. (as recently happened with UK Barclays Bank and UK resident account holders with accounts in Gibraltar/Spain - big Inland Revenue (Our IRS) court case where the bank had to give info or face sanctions in the UK - that is the only weak points of offshore banks. )

If you choose your bank well then you have no worries. As previously advised, Hansabank in Estonia is a good one or Barclays in Gibraltar (for US citizens) and Jyske Bank (a Danish bank) who have offices everywhere useful!

Good reading on the subject is a book called "Banking In Silence" by Dr W G Hill (Bill Hill) it is written for the International market but has a US perspective.

[Bruno]

That is totally incorrect! Offshore banks outside of your home country's control cannot be monitored nearly as well as banks in your home country....

And how do you send money to your Offshore bank ?

From a local bank ? In so case, you are monitored too...

Make a trip with baggage filled with money ? Don't you think that airport authority will ask you some question ?

Of course, some illegal way exist... but follow them at your own risk !!!

[docetae]

I was looking to get a account with a estonian bank, they provide you an atm card , so you can do deposit directly in any atm supporting visa or cirus.

[Turboguy]

yes, but isn't it going to be a pain in the neck to deposit a few million through an ATM card?   You can wire millions and not be reported to the IRS but withdraw $ 10,001 in cash for the ATM deposit and your freindly IRS agent will be looking you up. 

I was trying to buy a house in a tax sale a while back.  You had to pay in cash.  I made two big cash withdrawls and 6 months later had to spend a few days with an IRS agent as she tried to decide if I was a drug dealer or not.  Fortunately it did not take much convincing. 

[Manny]

There are several methods of low key deposits.............

1) as an enterprising charachter you probably have a domestic account in a straw name anyway? You can wire from that.
2) You can give a friend cash and have them wire from their account (useful if you have a pal with an offshore account who wants to make a withdrawl - eg; you give him 5k cash, he drops 5k in your OS account from his OS account)
3) You can purchase a cashiers cheque and mail it (recommended) - if in the US you need to show ID, you can always use a 3rd party's ID (Russian Lady is ideal)
4) Your opening deposit can be done in cash in person during a small holiday - always best to open it in person. Dont use more than about $5-7k to open it in cash, you can then add the same again at different branches, in cash during your stay. (no structuring regulations outside of Uncle Sam land)
5) Do not deposit via ATM cards in the states - that gives US your OS details into the US banking system.
6) If you are sending money from your own account - you MUST use a passthrough account, ie; wire to your Auntie Edna in Canada, Auntie Edna wires in on for you.

It really is easier than you think once you get used to it.

Docetae - see my Estonian bank link in this thread. You get a Visa Debit card with them as standard and internet account operation.

Golden rules -

1) Choose a good, big well established bank that has no branches in your home country.
2) Choose a country that has no dependancy on your country.
3) Avoid Russian and Muslim banks.
4) Avoid any bank that makes you sign a US citizen rights waiver form (you are in the wrong country then)
5) Dont use your home address, Uncle Sam interecepts mail also!