|
Making the Move: Part 1, Your Lawyer |
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Wednesday, 23 April 2008 |
Making the Move: How to avoid hardships and hiccup’s when moving to Costa Rica
So you’ve finally arrived. Whatever the circumstances were leading up to the big decision, the most important thing is, you made it. You’ve purchased your property in paradise and it’s time to start thinking about how to get things set up below the border. There are a number of items to consider that can really help out if you have them lined up ahead of time. In this short series, we provide some insight from someone who’s been there and done that, and who wants to help you avoid some common mistakes when moving down.
Part one: Your lawyer
The first thing you’ve hopefully already done, is to have closed on your property and have met an attorney you trust. I can’t express enough how easy it is to believe that attorneys are a dime-a-dozen here and that it really doesn’t matter who you use. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. A good attorney here in Costa Rica can help you arrange things ranging from buying a car, setting up a bank account and advising you on which bank will work best for you, setting up corporations to take possession of personal items and purchases, arranging your residency status, helping you to procure a cell phone and/or hard phone line from ICE, arranging bills to be set up in your name, lining up insurance, keeping your vehicles current and legal, and just about anything else I may have forgotten pertaining to dealing with the Costa Rican government. The thing is, you really need to be able to trust the individual, as all of these things are important and leave you with some temporary exposure. However, if done correctly, can make your experience much easier and will save you a lot of time and head ache.
What do I mean when I refer to “leaving you with some exposure” exactly? Basically, the quickest way for someone who doesn’t yet have their residency in Costa Rica, and therefore no cedula number (the equivalent to your SS# back in the U.S.) to get basic operational tools such as bank account and phone lines working, is to set up corporations that are anonymous and limited in their exposure to you, the owner/president of the corporation. An anonymous corporation is created or an existing shelf corporation (ready made and sitting on the lawyer’s shelf) is put into existence with the National Registry. The corporation is basically a figure head for you while you wait to get your own residency put through, which can take some time, or can remain a figure head for you in the future to remove your name from transactions or ownership of entities, property, or chattel. Some people never bother with residency, since it depends on your personal situation as to whether or not you’ll even need it. However, if you want to have some of these basic things, such as personal accounts and ways to pay bills online, you’ll have to start a corporation or two to do that in the beginning. So the exposure comes in when your lawyer drafts your protocol paperwork, which is created in Spanish to be legally recognized, and signed by your lawyer, perhaps along with his or her secretary, and you (and whoever is involved on your end). The lawyer records the protocol with the government and then later removes him or herself from your corporate structure. There is, however, a lag-time to where people other than you, i.e., your lawyer and whoever else signed the protocol, will have access to your personal business pertaining to that particular corporation. It is therefore very important to trust your lawyer. How do you do that? Find someone who comes recommended and who can show a track record. If you get a bad feeling about your attorney and they haven’t come recommended, get out of there.
Now, with all that being said, it is very rare that something like I’m describing would ever happen to you. I’ve had business with many lawyers and have had nothing but success with all of them. However, they’ve all come recommended in one way or another. If you have questions pertaining to legal operations in Costa Rica for foreigners, or would like to speak to an attorney, there are several that our office would be happy to recommend. So to get you quickly on your feet and operational in your new home away from home, a good lawyer is worth their weight in Chorotegan gold. |
|
|
The Nosara Civic Association |
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Monday, 21 April 2008 |
|
By Andrew Saxton There are many things that are unique only to Nosara. The sense of community, the access to amenities and activities without the hustle and bustle of similar towns, the friendliness of the people, and of course the consistent surf are all things that are obvious to the vacationer and visitor at face value. But what goes on behind the scenes that keeps things moving smoothly? One of the most unique things you’ll find in Nosara has to do with that very question. The Nosara Civic Association, which is the community’s local association that aides in almost every administrative activity, has been silently keeping Nosara the clean, safe, and protected place it’s been for so long.
The mission of the NCA is “…to preserve the total environment of the Beaches of Nosara by protecting against improper use of its assets, careless pollution and irresponsible development. The NCA promotes and understanding of the environment and careful community development through advocacy, conflict resolution and dissemination of information.” So far, the NCA has been accomplishing its mission.
With what stemmed from a need to manage the existing home owners’ land who had originally purchased from Alan Hutchinson’s “American Project” (see our history of Nosara), the NCA was formed in 1975, and is a Costa Rican chartered non-profit organization. According to information provided by the NCA, seven members are elected each year as volunteers for a one year term. The duties of these members include collecting money for the services provided, and remaining diligent in both recognizing what additional services are needed and administering the services themselves.
The NCA keeps afloat by collecting dues from its members. Dues are $50 per year for one, or $85 for two. Dues include a discount for medical insurance for those who apply. Fees are also tax deductible in the U.S.
So what are some of the day-to-day operations of the NCA? Aside from being involved in distributing information pertaining to environmental issues and development, the NCA is a true “grass roots” organization. From beach cleanup day, gathering volunteers to help maintain our local garbage dump, raising awareness of environmental factors and attractions in our area (such as the Ostional turtle refuge), fighting legal battles to help protect parkland amongst other things, helping to maintain and repair our road ways, providing legal reports on pending lawsuits pertaining to town, slowing development through legal processes to force studies on questionable development, aiding residents with information on how to acquire permits for water, electricity, phones, and construction, disseminating maps, recommending plants to use for landscaping, all the way to an obituary column with each update. Sound like a lot? It is!! This only scratches the surface.
So the next time you’re headed for a surf and see someone with a trash bag cleaning our beaches, run over and thank them for it. Maybe find a piece of trash on your way over to help contribute. Or maybe the next time you go for a hike through some of the nature trails by the beach, be thankful that the NCA exists, and continues to provide a voice and a way to keep Nosara beautiful and sustained as such for years to come. |
|
|
