Legal & Estate Planning

Those of us who live overseas have plenty of challenges to contend with that become increasingly complex as we move from one country to the next leaving a wake of residences, accounts, and often business and personal investments behind us. While living in non-U.S. countries we are often subject to their inheritance laws that evolve from local attitudes and traditions. Sometimes these conflict with U.S. law in uncomfortable ways.

Whether you are considering marrying a foreign national, facing foreign taxation by your country of residence of an U.S.-based inheritance, or planning for the distribution of your assets after you are gone, you will find helpful material here from various country jurisdictions, diverse experts & other FAWCO members.

Click the category title below to learn more about each topic, and find articles related to tax below.

If you have stories or information regarding legal and estate planning issues facing U.S. person living abroad that you would like to share, or you have questions or problems, we will try to help. Please send them to .

Basic Inheritance Law

Medical Directives & Living Wills

Country Specific Info & Presentations

Read the Tax & Banking Disclaimer.

Most Americans and green card holders must file tax forms and in some cases pay taxes with the US Government every year. You may have to file even though you have no earned income, already pay taxes in your country of residence, are below the foreign income exclusion and/or give or receive money in the form of a gift or inheritance. It can get complicated but we're here to help!

Click the category title below to learn more about each topic, and find articles related to tax below.

Have a tax story or information about taxes to share? Email us at 

Tax Basics

Income Tax

Compliance Issues

Tax Planning

PFIC Regulations

IRS Links

Filing Options

Tax Forms

DC Advocacy

Read the Tax & Banking Disclaimer.

Many FAWCO member clubs are involved in making heart pillows to donate to help the recovery of women who have had breast cancer surgery. AWC The Hague has a Heart Pillow Best Practice with instructions for how you can start your own heart pillow project that you can access in our members-only Best Practices section (you must be registered and log in to see these). We also have Heart Pillows featured in these articles: Heart Pillow Project and Stitched with Love.  

Women Peace and Security is a committee within the Human Rights Team. Its goal is to raise awareness about violence against women in conflict zones and the role of women in the peace-keeping process.

The theme of women and conflict resonates with the very origins of FAWCO. According to The Red Book, FAWCO: A History 1931-2011:
 
Caroline Curtis Brown founded FAWCO on the belief that "enlightened women, working cooperatively throughout the world, could do much to help achieve permanent international peace; and that this was especially true of American women living abroad who had acquired special experience in living in foreign lands among foreign people and foreign customs. Their American clubs not only provided a home away from home, she felt, but also served to promote sympathetic awareness of the needs and problems in countries other than the United States."  Our founder's words are perhaps even more relevant today than in her own time. In our globally connected world, wars have a real impact on the lives of all of us, even when they occur in a distant land. A peaceful world benefits everyone.
 

In 2009, FAWCO and The FAWCO Foundation announced a four year program to bring a critical global issue to the attention of FAWCO Clubs, their members and the world. The FAWCO Target Water Program was an opportunity for FAWCO member clubs and FAUSA members to work together towards the goal of clean water worldwide.

The 2009-2013 Target Program was focused on the global environmental issues of Water and Sustainability. In addition to raising awareness about the importance of clean water in all the countries where we are represented, we asked our member clubs to fundraise specifically for Tabitha Wells for Clean Water, Cambodia.

FAWCO is an international NGO and the Target Program distinguishes FAWCO clubs from other international clubs by giving them the opportunity to pool their efforts and contribute together to a UN Millennium Development Goal. We asked our member clubs for their support in whatever ways were open to them. Together we have made a huge impact on access to clean water worldwide.

 At the 41st Biennial conference in Bern, Target Program Chair Anne van Oorschot (AWC The Hague) received a Caroline Curtis Brown Spirit Award for her tireless work in the last two years. She gave an excellent final report and included a thank-you video from Tabitha's founder Janne Ritskes.

Thanks to the generosity of our clubs and members, FAWCO has changed the flow for 1541 families in Cambodia.

CLUB RESOURCES:

Download the Target Program Final Presentation. 

Download PICTURES of FAWCO wells .

Check out our fundraising ideas.

Go to The FAWCO Foundation website for more fundraising ideas and stories from Cambodia.

Target Program Education 2016-2019

At the Interim Meeting in Frankfurt (March 11-13, 2016), Education – Empowering Women and Girls through Knowledge and Skills, was announced as the overarching theme for the FAWCO Target Program 2016 - 2019. 

Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women. When girls are educated, they lead healthier and more productive lives. They gain the skills, knowledge and self-confidence to escape the cycle of poverty. They become better citizens, parents and breadwinners. An educated girl has a positive ripple effect on her health, family, community and society as a whole.  - USAID

Stay Up-to-Date

On April 1, 2017, FAWCO announced the 2017-2019 Target Project

Hope Beyond Displacement an initiative of the Collateral Repair Project                - Submitted by Therese Hartwell of FAUSA

Educating and Empowering Refugee Women and Girls in Jordan

Visit the Target Project page to learn more.

FAWCO Target Program Education 2016 - 2019

Education – Empowering Women & Girls through Knowledge & Skills

The best way to find out everything you need to know about the Target Program is through our monthly Bulletin. 

Over the next three years, we will take a deep dive to learn what matters in girls’ education. We will explore the issues which prevent millions of women and girls from receiving quality education around the globe. We will become familiar with the goals established by world leaders in education to remedy this injustice. We will look at the impact educating women and girls have on their lives, their families, their communities and society. We will become experts! Click the image above or link below to visit our Education and Awareness page. Here you will find information about the new Target Program Blog: Let's Get Schooled, writings by the UN Team and Teams which discuss the topic of education, and our growing Resource Library. Education and Awareness page...		The FAWCO Target Project is a sustainable investment by our Member Clubs to empower women and girls. Over the next two years (2017-2019), The FAWCO Foundation will employ the energy and generosity of our members through the Backing Women Fundraising Campaign to support women's and girls’ education. Proceeds generated through these efforts will support the FAWCO Target Project: Hope Beyond Displacement an initiative of the Collateral Repair Project Submitted by Therese Hartwell of FAUSA Educating and Empowering Refugee Women and Girls in Jordan Target Project page…

Target Program Flyer 

We know it can be hard to explain exactly what the Target Program is all about. This PDF flyer explains the Why, What and How. If there is anything else you need to promote the Target Program in your club, please be in touch! 

Tricia R. Saur

Target Program Chair

"Ensuring Healthy Lives and Promoting Well-Being to Improve the LIves of Women and Girls" was announced as the theme for the 2019-2022 FAWCO Target Program: Health at the Biennial Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 24, 2019.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.

– World Health Organization

Health programs that address gender barriers improve development programs overall. When women are educated and can earn and control income, infant mortality declines, child health and nutrition improve, population growth slows, economies expand, and cycles of poverty are broken.

– US Aid

Key Areas that have Serious Consequences for Female Health

Target Program: Health Timeline 2019-2022

Target Health Blog - coming soon

In our monthly Target Blog, we will learn about the most important issues in women's and girls' health:

• What are the top ten issues for women's and girls' health?

• What prevents women and girls from accessing quality health care?

• What are the goals established by world leaders in health to remedy these issues?

• What are the effects of poor health on women and girls, their families, communities and societies?

• What is the impact on women and girls, their families, communities and societies when good health is achieved?

Target Health Bulletin

Our monthly bulletin, Target Program: Health, will update you on the current status of the Target Program, tease you with a snippet from the blog, and offer a visual inspiration to enhance your understanding of the health issues faced by women and children.

Don't miss a future issue, it's the best way to stay up to date!

FAWCO's Club Workshops program is designed to help Member Clubs enrich their meetings, provide value to their membership and perform better as a Board. Most workshops are FREE to members. Please contact us for more information about any costs and how to arrange a workshop for your club. More information about all the workshops can be found on the Club Workshops Description page. 

Please send a message to , if you are interested in a workshop for your Club.    

Are you interested in developing a workshop or presentation? Please contact us at . 

The CRC was the first legally binding international instrument which set standards for the civic, economic, social and political rights of children under the age of 18. It consists of 54 articles and two optional protocols.

The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.

The optional protocols deal with rights of children involved in armed conflict, sale of children, prostitution and child pornography.

It is the most widely signed of all UN treaties. To date, 195 countries have ratified it; South Sudan and Somalia ratified the CRC in May 2015. Only the United States remains as a non-signatory to the treaty.

FAWCO endorses CRC and has joined other NGOs in urging the US Senate to ratify the treaty as soon as possible. In late 2015, in honor of International Children's Day and in collaoration withFAWCO's UN NGO Reps Team, FAWCO's US Liaison promoted an advocacy campaign to FAWCO members, with letters to President Obama and key US Senators encouraging them to ratify CRC as soon as possible. 

        

Key Links

UNICEF- Rights of the Child www.un.org/rights/dpi1765e.htm

Campaign for US Ratification of CRC www.childrightscampaign.org

Amnesty  International – Rights of the Child www.amnesty.org/en/children

Child Right International Network (CRIN) www.crin.org

Welcome to our new UN Youth Rep, Vali Mitsakis. Vali is from Greece; her mother is a member of AWO Greece. She was active with the Model UN in high school, and she's spending a year in New York, where she's keeping very busy going to UN meetings and learning about the UN's post-2015 sustainable development agenda.

FAWCO's first UN Youth Rep was Gavin Higbie (pictured below at UN Headquarters in New York, third from left). Gavin is the son of Erica Higbie (FAUSA, AWC Perth) who is an active FAWCO volunteer; she serves as our UN Rep in New York and as the Chair of the Human Rights Team. 

Gavin attended UN meetings live in New York and via Webcast throughout 2014 and reported via a blog. He attended the UN Youth Assembly on February 5 and 6, 2014 and posted blogs about his experiences.

This is a great way for your club's teenagers to engage in global issues and get involved with other FAWCO youths. Please encourage your club's teenagers to check our Youth Program webpages.

To follow Gavin's UN Youth Rep Blog, click here.

Violence against women and girls is a horrific worldwide phenomenon.

It has been estimated that one in three women (35%) of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

Intimate partner violence is the most common however other forms of violence include human trafficking, sexual violence including when it is used a s tactic of war and harmful traditional practices such as early forced marriages, female genital mutilation and so called “honor” killings.

Globally, as many as 38% of murders of all women are committed by an intimate partner.

Gender based violence cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education and international borders.

Click here for more information about FAWCO’s Sub-Committee on Ending Violence against Women and Children
 

Key Links

World Heath Organization Fact Sheet on VAW www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/

Say No to Violence - Join the orange campaign to fight violence against women www.saynotoviolence.org/

UNITE- UN Secretary General’s Campaign to End Violence against Women www.un.org/en/women/endviolence

UN Women- support for Ending VAW  www.unwomen.org/

US Strategy to End Violence against Women and Girls http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/08/20120812134584.html#axzz2nkXBZuih