Your wealth is affected by all sorts of things that often you feel you have no control over.

But, I say again, you still have a card to play. By going offshore, you get to hold on to more of your assets, to protect them so that they grow safely, even tax-free.

Let's look at three of the biggest risks to your wealth today...and how you can exercise control over each one and enjoy more of what's yours...

Risk #1: Currency fluctuation. Greenback-holders have seen better days. The dollar has taken a beating this past year and is expected to stay down over the long term.

I often hear people talk about their efforts to diversify their portfolios only to discover that what they mean is diversification among real estate investments within the confines of the United States and among shareholdings all with American companies.

Having all of your assets in U.S. dollars (or any single currency) is not sound financial planning. You don't have a diversified portfolio if all your assets are in one currency.

By going offshore and holding portions of your assets in other currencies, you are truly diversifying and protecting yourself from the ups and downs of one currency.

Risk #2: Rising taxes. From Jan. 1, 2011, Americans across the board are going to experience significant tax increases, leaving us all with less in our pockets. Plus, from Jan. 1, 2013, U.S. citizens with foreign bank accounts may pay a withholding tax of 30% on transfers of funds to and from these accounts (one of the provisions of the recently amended HIRE Act).

If you run your own business, it makes great sense right now to think about moving shop to a more tax-friendly environment offshore. Or you could stay in the United States and keep an account offshore where it is free of U.S. tax obligations.

The important point is that, whatever you're going to do, you should do it as soon as possible...well in advance of 2013.

That's why we're calling this Emergency Offshore Summit.

Risk #3: Litigation. This may not be of great concern to everybody. But, if you're a doctor, say, or somebody with a high profile who's more susceptible to being sued, then you appreciate the risk. Fact is, in the United States, a new litigation suit is filed every 17 seconds.

In this case, the best solution is to protect your assets by moving them offshore. Your offshore assets will be outside the realm of U.S. judgement and, therefore, far more difficult for creditors to get at.

The U.S. government already requires you to report all overseas assets with a value greater than US$10,000. With the amended HIRE Act, foreign financial institutions (that is, your bank in Mexico, Belize, France...wherever) are required to report on the investment activities of U.S. clients. So, for example, the IRS can call up your bank in the Caymans and ask for the balance of your account.

With the Bush tax cuts expiring at the end of this year, a whole range of new taxes and increases are planned that will affect employees, small businesses, families...really, everyone is going to be affected at some level. These changes, in fact, represent the biggest tax amendments in the history of the United States.

Here are just some of the changes that Americans face from Jan. 1, 2011:

• Income tax increases at all brackets -- the top rate will rise from 35% to 39.6% (this is also the rate that applies to most small businesses)
   
• Child tax credit will be cut in half from US$1,000 to US$500
   
• Capital gains on savings and investments will be taxed at an increased rate of 20% (from 15%)
   
• Small business expensing will be slashed -- larger expenses will have to be depreciated over a number of years
   
• Alternative Minimum Tax-paying families will rise from 4 million this year to 28 million in 2011
   
• A number of changes to Obamacare that mean Americans won't be able to use health savings account, flexible spending account, or health reimbursement pre-tax dollars to purchase over-the-counter medicines (with the exception of insulin)
   
• The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. 
   
• Tax will be raised on all types of businesses.

You're not going to set up your own company--either at home or overseas--just to minimize your taxes. But, if you're entrepreneurially inclined and maybe run your own business already--then you ought to weigh the costs of transplanting your livelihood to a location beyond U.S. shores.

By setting up a company in a tax-free jurisdiction, it could be possible for you to draw a salary up to the value of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and not pay any federal income tax on that income. The key is that that income is derived from an active, not a passive, business operation.

The maximum FEIE for 2010 is US$91,500. If your spouse is an employee of the company, you can double your tax-free earnings (Stateside) to US$183,000.

Here's the kicker: If the business is operating from a country that doesn't tax foreign-sourced income, the result could be that you live entirely tax-free.
Yes, some effort is required to organize things so that your structure is effective and compliant, but the tax advantages of incorporating offshore can be great.

"It's important to note that the ultimate goal of asset protection should not be secrecy. In today's world, true banking secrecy is hard to come by. What you want to be assured of is that, even if somebody can find your foreign bank account, it's protected in a way that they can't actually touch it."

"In today's international business environment, tax requirements and legislation are becoming increasingly complex and demanding," says Chris. "Tax and international business planning must be a focal point when starting, funding, and operating an international business."

As an international tax attorney, approximately 30% of Chris's practice involves planning and forming international structures; 70% is dedicated to defending clients who've used a non-compliant offshore structure (set up, we want to be careful to point out, by someone other than Chris!) and other federal and state tax disputes, including audits of U.S. citizens and residents with unreported foreign income and bank accounts, offshore credit cards, international seizures, and extraditions. In other words, Chris has seen it all...

If you're thinking of starting a business overseas, Chris can help you to get it right from the start...and avoid costly legal proceedings down the line. Chris' areas of expertise include: offshore incorporation, opening offshore bank accounts, determining the most tax-efficient way to structure your foreign office, structuring the funding of your overseas business, managing your tax and the timing of transactions, determining the best methods of profit extraction, preparing and filing all U.S. federal and state tax returns.

"People who go offshore fall into one of two camps," Joel maintains. "First is the Hide and Seek camp, where folks try to stash their wealth where nobody can find a trace of it. Second is the Show and Tell camp, where you show the world where you've put your asset and encourage anyone to come and take it...if he can."

Joel strongly believes that, in today's world, there's no safe place to hide your wealth--in other words, there's no global transaction that can't be seen. Joel, therefore, recommends that, in the current environment, you follow a show-and-tell strategy. Over our two days together in Panama in December, Joel will detail exactly what that means, and he'll walk you through how you achieve that goal to your best advantage.

Joel is the founder and managing partner of Nagel & Associates, a boutique legal firm focused exclusively on international issues and with a special focus on tax, banking, and asset protection opportunities overseas.

Joel can help you select the right jurisdiction for a transaction and the best vehicle to reduce taxation and to protect assets. He has pioneered the licensing of international structures for foreign banks, mutual funds, hedge funds, and insurance companies. Joel created his firm's Personal Asset Protection Program and has developed sophisticated international estate plans encompassing trusts, corporations, partnerships, and insurance products.

"At a time when the United States government is deeply in debt, prudence dictates offshore planning and financial activity," maintains Bob. "So-called 'patriotism' does not require us to commit financial suicide when there are reasonable escape exits to better places."

Legal Counsel to The Sovereign Society, Bob serves on its Board of Directors and was the founding editor of The Sovereign Society Offshore A-Letter more than a decade ago. A former Congressman and member of the District of Columbia Bar, Bob is also the prolific author of many articles, reports, and books. His writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, National Review, Human Events, and many other publications.

Bob's chief areas of interest, which he'll expand on in Panama in December, include "preserving liberty, saving on taxes, protecting your wealth, investing and growing your money, enjoying financial privacy, and most of all, finding peace of mind."

"Whereas U.S. laws limit what you can buy, with an offshore bank account, there are no longer any restrictions to what you can invest in," explains international banker Peter Zipper.

President of Caye International Bank, Ltd. in Belize, Peter has been involved in marketing and international business development in the private banking industry for more than 20 years. An authority on offshore banking and investment centers, Peter has lectured at thousands of conferences and spoken on television and radio shows around the world on the subject.

Peter will tell attendees of the Emergency Offshore Summit in Panama more about this little-known Caribbean banking haven...and how to benefit from all the advantages of holding an international bank account here.

You know that Panama is one of the world's top offshore, investment, and doing-business havens. Now it's time to meet the number-one resource for doing business in Panama...Rainelda Mata-Kelly, Attorney-at-Law and Principal of Law Offices Rainelda Mata-Kelly.

Rainelda is our personal attorney, the one who has been by our side for every real estate purchase, every visa application, every bank account, every corporation, and every contract we've undertaken in this country for the past decade.

Rainelda has assisted not only us, but thousands of others like us with real estate purchases, residency applications, incorporations, bank accounts, and tax and business issues in the world's #1 doing-business jurisdiction. Her track record is as good as they come, her reputation second to none.

Whatever your offshore plan in Panama, Rainelda is the one to help make it happen.

Private real estate investor, consultant, and developer Lief Simon looks for one of two market situations when evaluating a potential investment: an abundance of opportunity created by a market distortion (crisis investing), or a chance to position yourself ahead of new infrastructure or some other local trend (the path of progress).

For example, Lief told his newsletter readers to buy in Argentina immediately after the 2001 financial crisis in that country, a time when CNN was showing riots in the streets and warning people to stay away. Lief saw not crisis but opportunity. Forward-thinking readers who followed his lead enjoyed appreciation rates of 100% and more in fewer than three years on buys in Buenos Aires.

In recent years, Lief has also turned readers on to investments in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Romania, buys that have appreciated 160% in 18 months, 120% in 12 months, and 82% in 15 months, respectively.

Even now, with most of the world's real estate markets in trouble (and most investors sitting tight...waiting it out), Lief sees opportunity. If diversifying into foreign real estate is something that interests you, don't miss Lief's presentation in Panama. He'll tell you where in the world, right now, you should be looking to invest, considering both short- and long-term strategies, and how to maximize the opportunities for making international real estate investing part of your overall offshore diversification strategy.

These are just some of the experts who'll convene in Panama City for this important and timely event. In addition, we'll introduce you to...

• Our preferred experts from the world's top offshore jurisdictions (including Panama, Belize, Uruguay, and Andorra)...
   
• Our top international life insurance expert...
   
• Our favorite Andorran banker (who will detail why this tiny European principality is another of our recommended offshore centers)...
   
• One of the world's savviest gold experts (who'll show you he believes the precious metal could jump a further five or six times in value)...

"Clueless governments still don't understand that their ruinous actions have created a credit-infested and bankrupt world. They will continue to prescribe the same remedy that caused the problem in the first place, namely more credit and more printed money. The consequences are clear: inflation, hyper-inflation, economic and human misery, as well as social unrest..."

-- Egon von Greyerz, Internationally Respected Gold Expert

You don't want to organize your new life overseas around tax code...and, most of the time, protecting your wealth and planning a new life overseas are separate strategies. But sometimes the two agendas can converge...

That is, it can be possible to relocate to the Shangri-la of your fondest daydreams...while, at the same time, reducing your tax burden, maybe to zero.
This is the case in Belize--a country that rolls out the welcome mat, not only offering significant benefits for foreign residents, including seriously appealing tax advantages, but also making it easy for you to become a foreign resident in the first place.

Belize, in fact, is one of the easiest places in the world to become a full-fledged, legal foreign resident. You don't even have to live in the country full-time. One month per year is all it takes to qualify. You don't have to be of "retirement" age either. Belize rolls out the red carpet if you're 45 or older.

Neither do you have to make any large, lump-sum capital investment. And, as a full-fledged Belize resident, there's something else you may not have to do...ever again--that is, pay taxes. Neither to the Belize taxman, nor, if you're an American, to Uncle Sam back home.

And, if you thought Belize was just for retirees, divers, and back-packing sun-worshippers (that's exactly what Belizeans want you to think!), you should know that there's a lot more to this little Caribbean state.

When you hear talk of offshore accounts and private banking centers, places like Austria, Liechtenstein, the Cayman Islands, and Panama probably spring to mind.

But an offshore account in Belize? Not a jurisdiction you typically see flaunted in the advertising pages of glossy in-flight magazines. That's the way Belizeans (and those putting their money here) like it. Under the radar suits them just fine.

While no one has been paying any attention, Belize has developed into one of the world's safest and most stable banking havens. Belizean banks are required by law to maintain liquidity levels of 24%. That's unheard of anywhere else in the world. And it's how Belize managed to escape the recent financial meltdown that shook much of the rest of the world.

The even better news is that opening a bank account here is a straightforward process. You don't need to be physically present in the country, and no minimum deposit is required.

Our experts will explain exactly how you can get in on the opportunities of this low-key haven, this December, in Panama.

Your Emergency Offshore Summit admission includes all seminars, breakout sessions, workshops, lunches, cocktail parties, entrance to the sponsor hall, participation in the farewell reception, plus printed materials to take home with you.

The cost of admission is US$1,095 per person--and only US$1,595 per couple. That's right...the second half of a couple attends for less than half-price.

We're holding this special event at the centrally located Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Panama City, Panama, where we've negotiated a very special rate for our attendees, including full breakfast and free wireless Internet daily. We've reserved a block of rooms, but, when they're gone, we may not be able to get more. So, again, please, don't delay in making your reservation.

If you reserve your seat soon, I'd like to offer you a discount of US$250...as a thank you for being one of the first on board. That's just over 23% off your registration fee.

All you need to do to qualify for this Early Bird Discount--and pay just $845 for your place--is to reserve your seat before Midnight on Sept. 30, 2010.

In addition, we'd like to extend a special discounted invitation to our Overseas Retirement Letter subscribers. If you're an active ORL subscriber, you save US$50.

Plus, we would like to offer an additional US$100 discount if you have attended any conference with us in the past. Note that you can combine this with your Overseas Retirement Letter subscriber discount if you're eligible for both.

And both can be combined with the Early Bird Discount -- meaning you could save a full US$500 when you book by Sept. 30, 2010.

And, of course, Live Overseas Personal Consulting Clients are invited to join us as our guests. Simply contact Conference Director Sofia Hogan to reserve your place in the room.

Please don't delay. Reserve your place now. Click on the "Reserve My Place Now!" button below. Or get in touch with our Conference Coordinator Sofia Hogan by e-mail: Events@liveandinvestoverseas.com or by phone, toll-free from the United States: 1-888-627-8834. (Please remember to mention you are an ORL subscriber or that you have attended a past conference with us when you get in touch to make your reservation.)

I look forward to seeing you in Panama.