Costa Rica Expertise LLC

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

This is how to trap an expat into marriage, a big payoff or a lifetime of alimony payments. It is not just a woman’s guide, but as public service to men and even expat women to save them from themselves in Costa Rica.

Many men come here to play around with women. Many of them are married in their home country, and they come here because playful women are plentiful and they seriously believe their wives will not catch them. Others are here because no other women will have them. A smaller number of women are in the same categories, but the sex most affected is male.

In Costa Rica, the one-sided laws favoring women get men into trouble and they usually do not even know they are in trouble until it is way too late. “Some women swindle with domestic violence law” and “Judges are a girl's best friend when extortion's afoot,” cover some of the ramifications of living with a woman in Costa Rica.

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By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Trusts can save the day in many cases in Costa Rica and avoid lawsuits or arbitration. In cases where litigation has already started, using a trust is a great way to get out of court. Most large development projects in Costa Rica — and small ones too — use trusts as the financial vehicle of choice. Literally, the possible uses of a trust is only limited to the imagination of the creators.

Most people — especially expats — think of trusts as they do wills. They are legal documents full of mumbo jumbo to take care of beneficiaries after one's death. Trusts are much more than this here. They are dynamic legal instruments with many uses.

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When expats die, their kin have to pick up the pieces

By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Can loved ones afford an expats death in Costa Rica? Are they ready for what they find here?

Recently, a man died and his sister had to drop everything — all her responsibilities in the States — and hop a plane to Costa Rica. He died of natural causes not as a victim of a crime or accident. She was the only family member who could afford the trip. No doubt, it was going to be expensive.

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By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

According to Consumer Reports, 66 percent of those living in the United States do not have a valid will. Imagine how many expats do not have one in Costa Rica.

Laws governing last wills and testaments are different in this country, and most people never get around to making a valid document.

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By Garland M. Baker
Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Today could be your last day. The end could come fast, a collision with a bus or a whack from a coconut from a palm tree.

What happens then to all those assets accumulated in Costa Rica?

If the assets are in a personal name . . . ouch! The process is going to be difficult for heirs. Probate in Costa Rica is a long and tedious process involving a court case, which means finding a lawyer one can trust with tenacity to stay on top of the process. How do heirs know if an attorney is a lazy lawyer who will just exacerbate their situation?

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