Ask an Expert
The hardest questions in a two-country life are the ones no single professional can answer — because the answer lives half in Philippine law and half in American. These columns bring in people licensed on each side.
How it works
- 1You email a question. Anonymously, if you prefer.
- 2A licensed professional in that field answers it in writing. We ask every contributor for their licence details and professional body, and we publish both — so you can look them up yourself.
- 3We publish the answer with their name, credential, and a link to their practice. Every answer says which jurisdiction it covers.
What this is not: a referral service, a legal clinic, or a way to hire anyone. Answers are general information published for everyone — not advice about your situation, and reading them creates no professional relationship. Credentials are published as provided by each contributor; we don't monitor anyone's ongoing standing, so confirm current status with the issuing body before relying on any professional. For a decision that matters, retain someone licensed where the matter sits.
The columns we’re opening
These are the questions our readers send most. Each one is waiting on the right professional — see a column you could write? Get in touch.
Ask a Philippine Lawyer
SeekingTitles, estates, SPAs, and the paperwork that decides whether you can act from abroad.
Covers: Philippine law only
See what it covers →Ask a US Immigration Attorney
SeekingPetitioning parents, visitor visas, and what dual citizenship changes.
Covers: US immigration law
See what it covers →Ask a Cross-Border Tax Advisor
SeekingUS tax on Philippine income, PH tax on non-resident owners, and estates in between.
Covers: US federal tax and Philippine tax, stated per answer
See what it covers →Ask a Philippine Real Estate Broker
SeekingWhat your property is really worth, and how a sale from abroad actually runs.
Covers: Philippine real estate practice (PRC-licensed broker)
See what it covers →Ask a Geriatric Care Professional
SeekingDementia, falls, medications, and when a situation stops being manageable at home.
Covers: Philippine-based geriatric practice or care management
See what it covers →Ask About Repatriation and Final Arrangements
SeekingThe questions nobody prepares for: a parent dies while you are abroad, or a loved one dies here and must go home.
Covers: Philippine and US funeral, consular, and repatriation practice
See what it covers →Are you the professional?
One question a month, answered in writing, published with your name, credential, and a link to your practice. Our readers are Filipino families in the US making exactly the decisions you handle daily.
We publish your licence details so readers can check them, and we disclose any commercial arrangement. Tell us what framing your professional body permits — we work within it.
Contribute a column →Have a question now?
While these columns fill up, send it to Dear Viva — the reader question column, answered from experience and from what other families have learned.
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