FBAR 2016

The nice government men request we tell them annually all about our foreign financial holdings.

  FBAR has changed to a new due date of April 18, 2016.  However since this is a change over prior years, there is an automatic extension to October 16.  You must file online using: 

  http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

Simply go to that link and follow the instructions.  You will be given an opportunity to click on why you are late.  I clicked "records not available".   

United States persons are required to file an FBAR if:

1. the United States person had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one financial account located outside of the United States; and
2. the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.

 Due date for 2016 FBARs is April 18, 2017, but a six-month automatic extension of the filing deadline to October 16 is available without having to file a specific extension request. (Previously, the deadline for filing the FBAR was June 30, without regard to the due date of the filer’s income tax return, and no extensions were available.)  E-filing remains the order of the day. Rather than paper filings of old Form TD F 90-22.1, filers must e-file their FBAR, including any delinquent or amended FBARs for prior years, using the BSA E-Filing System. Filers must ensure that their FBARs are received by the due date. 

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   SOLD !   Beautiful Condo Facing Large Park

   Convenient location just south of Centro, in walking distance.  Gringo style condo with 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, walk in closet,  laminate flooring, granite and tile kitchen, open living and dining area, pantry, spacious kitchen with large GE oven, many cabinets, newer refrigerator and dishwasher. Approximately 130 square meters or 1400 Sq feet.  Also has a bodega and garage space.  Good neighbors too.

   Large windows with good views in all directions, located two blocks from Solano and Remigio Crespo.  The neighborhood is quiet and close to Monte Sinai hospital, many restaurants, and bus stops.  Across from a large newly remodeled park and safe with 24 hour guards.  Two blocks south of Pizza Hut.  $134,900  Some furniture negotiable.   098-599 4299                             USA (828)367-4321

2015 IRS FBAR report due June 30, 2016

                                 FBAR for fun and and protection?

The nice government men  request we tell them annually all about our foreign financial holdings. The Form 114  needs to be filed by June 30.  This year you must file it electronically.  Then you will receive a confirmation email from the IRS. Keep a copy for your records.  The gentle penalties can be up to half of your account balance (willful fraud)!

       Go to : http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

                     

You will see the official site with instructions.  

Click on   PDF form "Start now", 

If at any time during the year you have a total of over $10,000 in financial institutions (including Banks, Credit unions, Coops, etc.) you must file by June 30 (no extensions). Over $150,000 (joint return) requires a different form.

The Form 114 must show the highest balance for each account during 2015.

Note:  Form 114A does need to be filed.

   FinCEN form 114 (866) 270-0733

The IRS helps number for FBAR is (866) 346-9478

Cuenca Suite, a musical picture of our home

Cuenca Suite

Hello Friends!

During our first year in Ecuador in 2011, Sue wrote a piece of music entitled, “Cuenca Suite.”  She recorded it at Big Crowd Music owned by Pablo Lozano, recording engineer in Cuenca.

So, let's post it again to be refreshed.

Imagine running through green pastures with glorious sunlight, or up the “Cajas” near this beautiful city, Cuenca – OR perhaps listening to the rushing waters of the four rivers.  

Whatever – just hope you simply enjoy!

Acute Care, Long Term Care and End of Life Planning in Ecuador

Acute Care, Long Term Care and End of Life Planning in Ecuador

                             Five Documents: 

1.     A will (depending on complexity of estate)

2.     Power of Attorney (POA)

3.     Declaration for remains; register of death by blood relative

4.     Five wishes form describes instructions for survivors, burial, etc.

5.     Patient data form

The Ecuadoran system assumes that the patient comes from a large family and has many nearby blood relatives.  A blood relative is required for registration of death.  A blood relative does not includes the spouse.  A Health Care POA might serve this purpose.  Declaration for Remains may be included in your POA.

Hospital nurses may resemble aids in their training and practice.  They usually do not have access to patient records, prescriptions or current treatments.  They may visit the patient every hour or two.  Therefore it is necessary to have a friend in the patient’s room to monitor health.  Two POAs are preferred since they may be called upon at any moment to request patient care or obtain information.

The POA document must be in Spanish (with English copies).  Three originals of each are necessary to cover patient and two trusted friends to manage care.

The patient data form should include the following information:

       1.     Name and Cedula number

       2. Street Address with directions

       3. Phone numbers

       4.     Primary care physician with phone number

       5.     Specialist with phone number

       6.     Blood Type

       7.     Current prescriptions; any allergies to meds

       8.   Medical history:  Current and past

       9.    Family medical history if related to patient’s condition

      10.           POA #1 and POA #2 Name, Phone number and Address

If an ambulance is needed quickly, call a taxi.  The ambulance provider will slow things dramatically requiring much medical information on the phone and upon arrival.  If immediate life-saving procedures are essential, you may want to call the ambulance and provide the patient data form.

Death Registry may require a doctor certificate (death certificate), certificate or cremation or burial, declaration for remains, original Cedula and POA.

   As usual, verify all information with your attorney. Laws and practice are constantly changing.

Quotes from Five Missionaries to Ecuador

                       Quotes from Five Missionaries to  Ecuador 

These quotes are from my earlier blog dated August 12, 2012

Nate Saint, while a maintenance crew chief in the Air Force, decided to become a missionary at a New Year's Eve church service in Detroit.
 

He wrote, “It was the first time I had ever really heard that verse, 'Follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men.' The old life of chasing things that are of a temporal sort seemed absolutely insane”.

After his discharge from the Air Force, he joined Mission Aviation Fellowship as a pilot.

 
While Ed McCully attended law school at Marquette University, he worked as a night-desk clerk at a hotel. During the slack hours before dawn he read the Bible.

He wrote, “On the way home yesterday morning, I took a long walk and came to a decision which I know is of the Lord. I have one desire now—to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it... If there's nothing to this business of eternal life we might as well lose everything in one crack and throw our present life away with our life hereafter. But if there is something to it... Well, that's it”.

 Roger Youderian had jumped, as a paratrooper, into the Battle of the Bulge. He was decorated for his part in the fighting. In a letter to his mother he said, “Ever since I accepted Christ as my personal Saviour last fall and wanted to follow Him and do the will of the Lord, I've felt the call to either missionary, social or ministerial work after my release from the service.. . . I want to be a witness for Him and live following Him every second of my life”.

Youderian's call led him to work among the head-hunting Jivaros, and he developed a technique using drawings to teach them to read and write in their own previously unwritten language.

Youderian went through some deep physical and spiritual struggles, but, concerning divine guidance his diary records, “The Holy Spirit can and will guide me in direct proportion to the time and effort I will expend to know and do the will of God”.

 Pete Fleming had been converted at age thirteen through the testimony of a blind evangelist. When he chose to become a missionary, he had already earned his master's degree in literature and was majoring in philosophy at the University of Washington. Concerning his decision to go to Ecuador, he wrote, “A call is nothing more or less than obedience to the will of God as God presses it home to the soul by whatever means He chooses”.

As he decided to move from work among the relatively peaceful Quichuas to the warlike Aucas he said, “It is a grave and solemn problem; an unreachable people who murder and kill with extreme hatred. It comes to me strongly that God is leading me to do something about it, and a strong idea and impression comes into my mind that I ought to devote the majority of my time to collecting linguistic data on the tribe. ... I know that this may be the most important decision of my life, but I have a quiet peace about it”.

The fifth missionary, Jim Elliot, wrote to a friend mentioning his motive for being a missionary: “The command is plain; you go into the whole world and announce the good news.... To me, Ecuador is simply an avenue of obedience to the simple word of Christ. There is room for me there, and I am free to go.... The will of God is always a bigger thing than we bargain for”.

Elisabeth Elliot, now Through the Gates of Splendor

                                          Through the Gates of Splendor

     Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) has just past Through the Gates of Splendor.

She wrote the story of their mission to Ecuador after the death of her husband, Jim, in 1956.  It became one of the most inspirational  missionary stories of the 20th century. The book recounted the mission of her husband and four other American martyrs to bring Protestant Christianity to the remote Waorani (Huaorani) Indians. She returned later with her young daughter to live among the natives and share the gospel. One of his killers became a pastor!

    Jim's most famous quote is "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep for what he cannot lose."

   Some of Elisabeth's quotes include: 
        "The secret is Christ in me, not a different set of circumstances." 
        "Money hold terrible power when it is loved." 
        "I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my strength and energy into it."

   Her radio program inspired me in Asheville years ago.

                      Thank you, Elisabeth Elliot, for a life well lived!