If your mom is legally of sound mind, she can do what she wants. Her not being mustachian is not yet a reason for you and your brother to decide where she lives (does she even want to live in San Diego?) or deprive her of her money. You are not entitled to safeguard it either for her benefit or so you can have an inheritance.
If you want to offer her advice, that is one thing. If she doesn't want to take it, that is up to her.
My understanding of property prices in San Diego is that the lower sum isn't going to buy two good properties anyway, and why should your mum live in a not-good property?
Sorry to be so blunt.
No worries, this community is all about bluntness. I should probably take a step back because as I reread my post, I can see how my inflection has lead to some of the responses below. So, where do I start. I suppose an important backstory note is that my mom has not held a job in over 30 years. She was in a car accident before I was a baby and my relatives say she has never really been the same, Maybe PTSD? She is still sound of mind, but it's just....something isn't quite right. She is very difficult to communicate with because she is very forgetful, and absent-minded. I would liken it to a mixture between someone with ADD, and someone with early-onsent alzheimers. I love her to pieces but she ended up in the philippines because of alienating herself from her brothers and sisters after our house got forclosed and she didn't have a place to stay. Eventually everybody gave up and refused to let her crash at their place, and the only option was to have her move back to the family home in Manila where she could help take care of my grandma, who DOES have alzheimers and is declining in health.
I am not seeking advice because I am expecting any inheritence at all. I am trying to find a way to make the money that she inherits somehow provide her basic necessities (roof over head, food on the table, and medical expenses until she qualifies for medicare). It's not going to be much money as far as "retirement" is considered, but she is incapable of bringing in income on her own. It is up to me to find a way.
Yes, I have inherited money in another country. But you haven't, so why are you making plans for it?
Honestly, you're way out of line with your mom. Unless she has personally said she wants you to set this up for her you need to back off and be a resource to her and if she wants to blow all her money on Amway so be it.
I totally agree with what you are saying about being a resource. You can lead a horse to water but cannot make them drink, I get that, and I have struggled with that my entire life with her. Now I may be wrong, and often I am wrong as evidenced by my post history on this site....but if someone's mother was an alcoholic, who had nearly drank herself into homelessness, but was then given the keys to a liquor store in her inheritance, Does her family have a responsibility to at least TRY to keep the doors locked up? Maybe it is a cultural thing, but for Filipinos, we can't turn our backs on family members and leave them to destroy themselves with their own devices. We try and try to find a way to help, sometimes destroying ourselves in the process.
I am certainly not an export on foreign trusts or moving cash across borders, but I may be able to provide se input from a tax perspective. It would be helpful to know if your mom and her father are US citizens, green card holders, or spend a substantial amount of time in the us. As you probably know, inheritances are not taxable to the beneficiary, but there could be estate tax implications for the fathers estate if it is subject to US estate tax. In addition, there are reporting requirements for gifts and inheritances of $100,000 or more from foreign persons, but I imagine that is only applicable if your mom is a "US person."
To my knowledge, the US does not have restrictions on moving cash into the US, but I would look into the rules in the Philippines, as some countries have currency restrictions.
I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish with the LLC. If you are looking to form a "regarded foreign entity, that entity will likely be taxed in the US on income from the rental activity either on a gross basis (withholding on US source income) or on a net basis if the rental activity constitutes a US trade or business. Gain on a subsequent sale could also be subject to the FIRPTA rules and taxes as effectively connected income. If there is a treaty with the Philippines, that could change slightly but it is hard to tell what your goal would be with setting up a foreign entity.
I am sure that was a a clear as mud, but more info might help.
Thank you for weighing in, a veteran posters insight is always greatly appreciated. Basically what I am trying to accomplish is simply moving a massive sum of money from one country to another, in the most tax-friendly (but LEGAL) way. You can't just wire $500k from the philippines to the usa can you? I think there are money laundering laws and stuff in place to flag this type of stuff. I'm just trying to find a legit way so that my mom can take this money, which will be the only positive cash-flow she will get on her own for the rest of her life, and funnel it into...a roof over her head, and food on her table. So that I don't have to worry about my FIRE plans going down the tube because of supporting her financially for the next 30+ years.
Thank you again every one for your kind, and even for the...harsher words. Every one except the nigerian prince comment, that was a little unnecessary, but whatever. I apologize if my tone came off as a snooty kid trying to screw their parent out of money that is rightfully hers. But as a health professional I hope that my anecdote about an alcoholic shed some light on the situation, because I think that is an apt metaphor for the situation at hand. It is not a money problem, it is a health problem.