UNDECLARED OVERSEAS BANK ACCOUNTS

A person with signing authority on a non-US financial account is required to acknowledge the existence of such an account on his tax return. Failure to admit to such an account would constitute the crime of tax fraud.

Some years back, there had been an amnesty program for persons who had failed to acknowledge such accounts in exchange for payment of a substantial penalty. That program has expired.

A person may learn for the first time after the death of a loved one that they inherited an offshore financial account which had not been declared by the deceased. Any individual in such a situation requires an experienced tax attorney to minimize any civil liability and to insure that an aggressive IRS agent does not try to initiate a criminal investigation so as to gain leverage to squeeze more money from the taxpayer. You need an experienced tax counsel, especially one who served as a special Assistant State Attorney. The Weinberg Law Firm is ready to help.