2w ago

Financial prepping in the US for the future

Assuming the fit hits the shan and things get real ugly in the US, what happens with all the electronically managed money. Like say I make a break for Canada and get there. Can I still access my funds? Can the government freeze everyone's assets to prevent those who make it out from getting at their money?

I have retirement stuff in vanguard and fidelity mostly. I would assume they are international companies, and thus might not have to abide by a US freeze order. But then again, it might be in their interest to keep the money frozen so they technically still have it.

And what are other people doing to be prepared for the possibility that things get civil war like in the US. Are their places you can put your money that are safe from US hands? And what are the tax implementations of moving money to them?

Edit: I realize from the comments that it might look like this is my reaction to the falling market. It isn't about that. I don't react to market conditions in general... This is more about my family being in the administrations top 5 groups they hate. And if we feel the need to flee, is there anything I can do to ensure access to some money while having a minimal impact on my financials if it never comes to that.

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If you cannot access funds from the US there is already a much bigger problem than money

This is 100% fear based and not at all what you should do in an emergency situation.
First of all, why would you want to pull money out of your investments at all right now? Now is probably the worst time to pull out any money. Let it ride, this will pass eventually. If you touch investments at all right now you're just going to lose money. Remember that losses are only actualized once you sell.
Second, yes you can move your funds, but there are tax implications for it. However, as other commenters said, the US is the world currency. Way more is screwed if the US was frozen. The looneys and tooneys up in the great white north would not be worth anything either.
Stop reading the news, just turn off the TV, and try to relax a bit. Yes, the market is unstable, it may even go down, but the best thing for you to do in those downturns is to just let your money sit. Make sure you have a good savings buffer somewhere if you need it at some point, but you don't need to start buying gold or anything. We're definitely not heading towards a civil war, jesus. Us Americans are much too lazy for that.
- Actually I was thinking about this unrelated to the current market drop. It is fear based, but not based on the dropping market. Moving money now would certainly be terrible. I am thinking farther foreward and just wanting to know my options.
  While my family aren't immigrants, we are not far below them on the list of targets for this administration. So the time may come when the gov goes after us and we feel we need to flee before the gov targets us specifically. I just don't know if there is anything I can do to ensure I will have access to money if we feel we need to flee.
  In the case of investments it would be more like a transfer, then a pull out in my head. Maybe there are institutions I could move some of my investments to that would be out of reach of the US gov for example. I do have an after tax brokerage account for example. Not a ton in it, but unlike retirement money, it is probably free to move without penalty.
  
  In that case, you have options (but your post really does not convey that).
  Personally, I'd be hesitant to moving any retirement account. Touching that at all has massive tax implications, but you could casually ask them how disbursements work if you move out of country, I'm sure there is a policy for that.
  As for individual accounts, you can set up an account in another country. (I believe Canada has an account expressly for this). However as I said, tax implications. I believe up to 10k is fine, you just have to say you have an account on your taxes. Over 10k you have to report the amount on the taxes, I believe it has to do with FINRA regulations. I wouldn't put all of my money into an overseas account unless I was moving out, that just opens you up for audits. Personally, I'd think in your case it's safe to have a safety net overseas, but I'd be hesitant to start moving everything until you're ready to move.
- Assets can fall further. Much further. Telling people to "hold on" is only correct if this is the bottom, which is basically impossible to accurately predict. Being able to do so would make you incredibly wealthy.
  If it's not the bottom, selling and holding cash and buying in when the market is lower is a better play. Basically, it's better to lock in 10% losses and buy back in at the 30% loss point then to take the 30% losses.

Ugh, ok, almost every assumption you made was not correct.
Vanguard and fidelity will absolutely comply with any banking freeze, and if they didnt, theyd be sanctioned into the dirt. Thats what makes US sanctions so effective, is 97% of world financial transactions route through our servers. That gets shut off.
If you have faith in the FDIC then youre protected for $250k in government insurance, but inflation eats that quick.
In a scenario where things are so bad that the US has halted all financial electronic transactions than your electronic dollars don't mean anything no matter where you are, amd your paper dollars mean almost nothing either.
- So my only option is to peddle my flesh for trade?
- My thought are that the US is alienating more and more countries everyday. And maybe other countries may become less willing to aid US persecution of it's own people, and less afraid of US sanctions if the US is already making trading with the US pointless. So my thinking was maybe international investment companies might have some amount of insulation. But I don’t really know a lot about how the money works behind the scenes.
- In a scenario where things are so bad that the US has halted all financial electronic transactions than your electronic dollars don't mean anything no matter where you are, amd your paper dollars mean almost nothing either.
  This is honestly the biggest takeaway. If the US actually stops cooperating with foreign banks, the dollar will instantly become worthless; The dollar only holds international worth because other countries want to have and hold dollars. If those other countries are unable to do so, there is no incentive for them to accept dollars as valid currency.

My concerns are more with the defaulting of the national debt, and the dollar crashing in value in general. But I agree with the other post might as well hold and hope sanity prevails. Tough times ahead for sure. I've thought of bailing too (not too sure we would be appreciated abroad anyways), but we need to right the ship here. And you seem a decent fellow hate to see you leave but I wouldn't blame you if you do.
- Yeah, I don't intend to flee easily. But my family is special... if they start targeting people like us, I may feel I have to flee to keep my kids safe. I wouldn't want to cash out of the market, just maybe change who is managing it to protect it from the US gov if they come after us.

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