US securities counsel for Americans living abroad
You live abroad. Your money is in the United States. So is your lawyer.
If a broker froze, liquidated, or mishandled your US brokerage or IRA account, Richard Frankowski pursues the claim in FINRA arbitration — a remote, document-driven forum. Nobody flies home.
Birmingham, Alabama
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Where you are
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- 25+
- Years representing investors
- $25M+
- Recovered for clients
- 500+
- Investor cases handled
- $0
- Fees unless you recover
Where you live
Twelve countries. One forum.
Your account is governed by US law and your broker answers to FINRA wherever you happen to sleep. Choose your country for the local specifics — the hours, the hubs, the pitches that show up there.
- 01 · North America Mexico same hour as Birmingham for most of the year Lake Chapala & Ajijic · San Miguel de Allende · Puerto Vallarta
- 02 · Southeast Asia Thailand 12 hours ahead of Birmingham (13 in US summer) Chiang Mai · Bangkok · Hua Hin
- 03 · South America Colombia one hour ahead of Birmingham (same hour in US summer) Medellín · Bogotá · Cartagena
- 04 · Central America Costa Rica same hour as Birmingham (one hour behind in US summer) Central Valley (Escazú, Atenas, Grecia) · Guanacaste · Tamarindo
- 05 · Central America Panama one hour ahead of Birmingham (same hour in US summer) Panama City · Boquete · Coronado
- 06 · Europe Portugal six hours ahead of Birmingham Lisbon & Cascais · Porto · The Algarve
- 07 · Southeast Asia Philippines 14 hours ahead of Birmingham (13 in US summer) Metro Manila · Cebu · Angeles & Subic
- 08 · South America Ecuador one hour ahead of Birmingham (same hour in US summer) Cuenca · Quito · Cotacachi
- 09 · Southeast Asia Vietnam 12 hours ahead of Birmingham (13 in US summer) Da Nang · Ho Chi Minh City · Hanoi
- 10 · Southeast Asia Bali & Indonesia 13 hours ahead of Birmingham (14 in US summer) Canggu · Ubud · Sanur
- 11 · Southeast Asia Cambodia 12 hours ahead of Birmingham (13 in US summer) Phnom Penh · Siem Reap · Kampot
- 12 · Southeast Asia Malaysia 14 hours ahead of Birmingham (13 in US summer) Kuala Lumpur · Penang · Johor Bahru
What went wrong
Five things brokers do to Americans who moved.
Each is a recognized FINRA claim. Each is easier to get away with when the customer is asleep during market hours. Read the one that sounds like you.
- 01 “They found out I moved, and now my account is frozen.” Your US brokerage found out you live abroad and froze, restricted, or closed the account.
- 02 “I needed income and safety. He sold me something I couldn’t sell.” A retiree living on a fixed income was sold products built for someone else — or for the broker.
- 03 “I was twelve hours away, and the trading never stopped.” Trades you never approved — or so many trades that commissions ate the account.
- 04 “I rolled over everything the month I retired. That was the mistake they were waiting for.” A 401(k), TSP, or pension moved into a brokerage IRA — and into the wrong products — at retirement.
- 05 “He said he specialized in Americans abroad. I never checked who regulated him.” Someone sold you an “international” portfolio, offshore bond, or fund — and may not be licensed anywhere.
How it works from abroad
Four steps. None of them involve an airport.
Twelve to eighteen months. Nothing up front.
- Step 1
Send your statements
Email or upload recent account statements and any letters from the firm. Photos of paper are fine.
- Step 2
Free review
Richard reads them personally and tells you, plainly, whether there is a case.
- Step 3
We file with FINRA
A Statement of Claim is filed electronically. The brokerage must answer.
- Step 4
Video hearing or settlement
Most cases settle. Those that do not are heard by video, scheduled around your clock.
Guides
The questions Americans abroad actually type.
Long-form answers, written to be read on a phone — the closure letter, the IRA, the process, the statements, the advisor nobody checked.
- My US Brokerage Is Closing My Account Because I Live Abroad Got the closure letter? What the deadline means, how to stop a forced sale, how to transfer in kind, and when the closure becomes a claim. 7 min read
- Can I Keep My IRA or 401(k) If I Move Abroad? Yes — Mostly You can generally keep an IRA or 401(k) after moving abroad. What changes is who will hold it — and what brokers get wrong about rollovers and cashing out. 7 min read
- FINRA Arbitration From Overseas: Start to Award The whole FINRA arbitration process for an investor abroad — filing, the answer, arbitrators, discovery, mediation, the hearing, and getting paid. 8 min read
- How to Read Your Brokerage Statements for Churning Turnover ratio, cost-to-equity, and confirmations you never approved: a plain guide to finding unauthorized trading and churning in your statements. 8 min read
- Offshore and Expat Specialist Advisors: Who Regulates Them How to check whether an “expat specialist” advisor is registered — BrokerCheck, the SEC’s IAPD, host-country regulators — and what unregistered means. 7 min read
The lawyer
Richard S. Frankowski
Founder, The Frankowski Firm · Birmingham, Alabama
Richard Frankowski has spent more than twenty-five years representing investors — against brokerages, advisors, and the firms that supervise them — in FINRA arbitration and securities litigation across the United States. Most of his clients he first met by phone.
He co-authored the American Bar Association’s Practitioner’s Guide to Securities Arbitration, used as a textbook by law-school investor clinics, and the PIABA Foundation’s Investor’s Guide to Protecting Your Financial Future. He serves on the PIABA Foundation’s board and holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating.
Before law school he took a master’s degree at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He has always paid attention to Americans abroad — and, lately, to how many of them assume that distance means no recourse.
I live outside the United States. Can a US lawyer actually help me?
Yes. Your brokerage account is a US account governed by US securities law, and the firm is a FINRA member. Claims against it are brought in FINRA arbitration — a national, document-driven forum that does not care where the customer lives. Richard Frankowski has represented investors across the country from his Birmingham office for over twenty-five years, and represents expats the same way.
Do I have to fly back to the United States?
Almost never. The claim is filed electronically, documents are exchanged electronically, and hearings are routinely held by video. If an in-person hearing were ever necessary, you would know months in advance. Most cases settle before any hearing.
What is FINRA arbitration?
When you opened your brokerage account you almost certainly agreed to resolve disputes through FINRA arbitration instead of court. A panel of one or three arbitrators hears the case and issues a binding award. Full cases typically take twelve to eighteen months. Claims of $50,000 or less can use a simplified process decided on the papers.
What does it cost?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency — a percentage of what is recovered, and nothing if nothing is recovered. The initial review of your statements is free and confidential.
Is there a deadline?
FINRA’s eligibility rule bars claims based on events more than six years old, and state statutes of limitations can be shorter. Do not wait to find out which applies — send the documents and we will tell you.
My brokerage closed my account because I moved abroad. Is that itself a claim?
The policy usually is not. How it was carried out can be: unauthorized sales, no reasonable notice, forced liquidations at bad prices, or a hand-off into an unsuitable replacement product are all separately actionable.
Free case review
Tell us what happened.
Statements can follow later. A few sentences about the account and the broker is enough to start.
The office
The Frankowski Firm
231 22nd Street South, Suite 203Birmingham, AL 35233
United States
- US toll-free
- +1 888 741 7503
- From abroad
- +1 205-390-0399
Where you are
- Local
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- Birmingham
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