You Can’t Unscramble the Egg: Sequencing Risk for Clients Moving to Portugal

Brought to you by the International & Cross-Border Planning Knowledge Circle, some financial moves can’t be undone, and cross-border clients make them all the time. Learn where sequencing risk hides in US–Portugal planning, why the client’s why drives the technical plan, and what three real cases teach about knowing your edge.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Client Communication & Care, Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: General Principles of Financial Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours:

• Identify the key decision points in a US–Portugal relocation where the order of actions changes the tax outcome. These include residency timing, Roth conversions, and selling appreciated assets.
• Explain how being taxed by both the US and Portugal turns some routine planning moves into irreversible ones.
• Apply a discovery approach that brings out the client’s underlying reason for relocating, and connect that reason to the technical planning decisions.
• Analyze three anonymized client cases to spot common sequencing errors and missed opportunities.
• Determine when a cross-border client’s needs go beyond a domestic planner’s scope and liability, and how to refer that client to a specialist.