Estate Planning When Family or Assets Are Outside the United States

Many people today have meaningful ties outside the United States. You may own property abroad, have close family members who live overseas, or you might not be a U.S citizen or you might be married to someone who is not a U.S. citizen. Planning an estate with an international family can feel overwhelming at first—but in practice, it is very doable.

We’ve built a simplified process for these situations. You are not asked to master international law or solve everything at once. Instead, we start with questions you already know the answers to:

Who do you trust most in the world?
Who is a local person you trust temporarily, if needed?

From there, we design a plan that works across borders, keeps your trusted people in charge, and uses professional support only where it actually adds value. Most clients—even those with international families—are able to complete their planning in a few focused hours and feel confident about the choices they’ve made.

This article explains how U.S. estate plans interact with foreign real estate, overseas trustees and guardians, beneficiaries who live abroad, non-citizen spouses, and U.S. estate-tax rules (at a high-level). The goal is not to make international planning feel complicated, but to show how a thoughtful structure can keep things simple, efficient, and well supported.

It’s also important, when choosing an estate planning attorney, to make sure they have a realistic plan for international issues if those matter to you. Some firms avoid these topics altogether or treat them as exceptional. We regularly incorporate tools such as specialized guardianship clauses and structures that allow your family to remain in control while working with a U.S.-based professional fiduciary when needed—hired and overseen by your family, not imposed on them.

Quick Answers to Common International Estate Planning Questions

I own property in another country. What happens to it?
Your U.S. trust or will usually does not control foreign real estate. In most cases, a local will or other local legal process is required in that country. If you only have financial accounts abroad, beneficiary designations are often sufficient and can be a practical solution.

My preferred trustee lives outside the U.S. Can I still name them?
Yes. We typically recommend also including a U.S.-based trustee option to handle banks, tax filings, and U.S. administration, and to avoid unintended foreign-trust status (a foreign-trust is taxed at a higher rate, but you can usually select a structure that avoids that result). Many clients prefer a structure where trusted family members serve as a Trust Protector—a supervisory role in which they hire and manage a local, licensed professional fiduciary for U.S.-based tasks. They can take back control at any time. You do not need to select a professional fiduciary now.

My preferred guardian for my children lives overseas. Is that allowed?
Yes. Courts and immigration systems can take time, so your child may not be able to move overseas immediately. That’s why we encourage naming a local temporary guardian and having adoption-expense or relocation provisions in place so transitions are smooth.

Can my beneficiaries live abroad?
Yes. The main issues are making sure your trustee can locate them, communicate with them, and distribute assets efficiently. Beneficiaries may also owe tax on the inheritance in their own country.

Do I have to worry about U.S. estate tax? (Sometimes called inheritance tax.)
If you die as a U.S. citizen or “U.S. domiciliary”, you generally have a very large federal exemption ($15 million in 2026, indexed for inflation--though this amount could change in the future if the law changes). Most of our clients are U.S. domiciliaries and do not have assets totalling more than this amount at the time they pass away, so they do not owe federal estate tax.

How do I know if I am a U.S. domiciliary?
You are generally a U.S. domiciliary if the U.S. is your primary long-term home and the place you intend to remain indefinitely, based on factors such as residence, family, work, property, voting, and overall life patterns. (This is a general summary of what can be a complicated tax determination, check with a CPA if you have specific concerns.)

What if I am not a U.S. domiciliary and I have US Assets?
Non-citizen / non-U.S. domicilaries with significant U.S. assets will probably owe significant inheritance tax when they pass away because they have a much smaller default exemption (about $60,000 of U.S.-based property), unless a treaty applies.

These types of clients have two options: (1) If they do not intend to return to the U.S., shift assets abroad (or to a U.S. domiciliary spouse if you have one) to reduce tax. This works because tax is imposed based on the value of U.S. assets, so by reducing the US-based assets the tax is reduced. (2) If they intend to live in the U.S., buy life insurance to reduce the impact of the tax on your loved ones. Buying life insurance to pay for the taxes will leave more assets for your loved ones to inherit and be supported by.

What if I am a U.S. domiciliary but my spouse is not a U.S. citizen?

If you are leaving your spouse less than $15 Million:

When the U.S. Domiciliary passes away and leaves everything to the non-citizen spouse, for most clients no inheritance tax is due.
- This is because the domiciliary spouse can leave $15 million to whoever they want before there is any inheritance tax due.
- When the second/surviving spouse passes away they may owe inheritance tax, it will depend on their status at the time.

If you are leaving your spouse more than $15 million, here is how it works when the first spouse passes:

There will be tax due, but it can usually be deferred (left unpaid) until the second spouse passes away. This is what a QDOT – a special type of trust – does. It holds the assets for the benefit of the spouse during their lifetime.
- But you only need the QDOT for the portion of the assets above the $15 million that passes tax-free.

So if you were leaving $20 million to a non-citizen spouse:
- $15M goes to them tax-free, they can do what they want with this money.
- $5M is subject to inheritance tax, you have two options:
  - 1 – without any special planning, at the time of the first death, the spouse pays 40% inheritance tax on the $5 million, and then does whatever they want with the rest. When the spouse passes away there is likely to be additional inheritance tax due.
  - 2 – with an estate plan that includes the option for the spouse to use a QDOT trust, the $5M can be invested and held in the QDOT trust.
    - The principal in the QDOT trust is left to grow without being taxed during the lifetime of the surviving spouse.
    - That probably produces $150,000 or so in income annually. The spouse pays income tax on that $150,000 each year.
    - The 40% inheritance tax on the original $5million is paid when the second spouse passes away (you have to keep that much in the trust), or if you take money out you pay a portion as tax at that time.
    - This option works particularly well when there is an asset like an apartment building where it is hard to pay 40% in cash as tax at the time of the first death.
  - Note: with either of these options, when the second spouse passes away, there is likely to be inheritance tax due based on that spouse’s assets (including inherited assets) dependent on their status at a time.

Key International Estate Planning Issues — At a Glance

Planning When Important People or Assets Are Outside the United States

Many of our clients have a key connection to another country: a home abroad, a child or sibling living overseas, or a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen. Your estate plan can absolutely accommodate this. Our focus is simply to address a few known pressure points in advance so administration stays smooth and your family has clear, workable options.

1. Property Located in a Foreign Country

Owning real estate or other assets in another country is not a problem. Best practice is to have a U.S.-based estate plan and a coordinated foreign plan where needed.

In your U.S. revocable trust and/or will, we clearly list significant foreign assets so your U.S. trustee understands that coordination with another country may be required. However, U.S. estate documents alone usually do not control how foreign real estate transfers at death. Most countries require a local will or similar instrument that complies with their inheritance laws.

For that reason, if you own real property abroad, we generally recommend:

Working with a lawyer in that country to prepare a simple local will (or similar document) covering assets located there; and
Coordinating that local will with your U.S. plan so the documents do not conflict or revoke one another (we always include these coordination provisions).

If you have only financial accounts abroad, beneficiary designations are often sufficient and can be a reasonable, low-friction solution.

In some cases, where treaties or local law allow, a foreign court may recognize a U.S. will. That option is very fact- and treaty-dependent and is often more expensive, so it should be confirmed with local counsel rather than assumed.

Plain-English takeaway: Foreign real estate usually needs a local plan, but it can be simple and coordinated. Most clients resolve this cleanly with a short add-on, not a second full estate plan.

2. Trustees Who Live Abroad

It is common for clients to name a sibling or friend who lives outside the United States as trustee. That can work well, but there are two practical considerations.

Practical and Administrative Considerations

A non-U.S. trustee may face challenges opening U.S. financial accounts, obtaining an EIN, signing U.S. tax returns, or meeting in-person identification requirements. These issues are manageable but can slow things down if not planned for.

Tax and Reporting Considerations

If a trustee is not a “U.S. person” for income-tax purposes, the trust may be treated as a foreign trust, which can trigger additional reporting and, in some cases, less favorable tax treatment.

How We Structure This in Practice

Family Trust Protector + U.S. Professional Fiduciary

Many clients prefer to keep trusted family members in control while hiring a licensed, insured U.S.-based professional fiduciary to handle day-to-day administration. The professional fiduciary is hired, monitored, and replaceable by the family. This structure often reduces friction with banks and institutions and makes the plan easier to finalize.

Foreign-Trust Savings Clauses

For clients who prefer a family member to serve directly, we include backup provisions allowing the appointment of a U.S. co-trustee or successor trustee if needed to avoid unintended foreign-trust status. This provides flexibility without forcing professional fees unless they are actually helpful.

Plain-English takeaway: You don’t have to choose between family control and professional support. You can combine them in a way that feels comfortable and practical.

3. Guardians for Minor Children When Family Is Abroad

If you have minor children and your preferred long-term guardian lives outside the United States, planning simply needs to account for court approval and timing.

Courts generally try to honor parental wishes, but they must formally appoint guardians and approve any relocation. Because international travel and visas take time, we typically include four different tools that help:

Nominating a local temporary or standby guardian for immediate care.
Nominating a preferred long-term guardian abroad.
The trust allows funds to be used to allow the nominated long-term guardian to adopt the child to make it easier for the child to move abroad.
Specific trust provisions allow inheritance for children to be transferred overseas if that action is in their best interest.

Plain-English takeaway: With a layered plan, children are cared for immediately, and longer-term transitions happen calmly and intentionally.

4. Beneficiaries Who Live Outside the United States

There is no legal problem with leaving assets to beneficiaries who live abroad. The main considerations are practical.

Trustees need to locate beneficiaries, communicate with them, and distribute assets efficiently. We recommend keeping contact information in a separate schedule that can be updated easily. Beneficiaries may owe tax in their home country, depending on local law and treaties, and can address that with local tax professionals at the time of inheritance.

5. Estate Tax When You or Your Spouse Are Connected to Another Country

From a U.S. federal perspective, two questions matter most:

Are you a U.S. citizen or U.S. domiciliary at death?
Is your surviving spouse a U.S. citizen?

5.1. U.S. Domiciliaries

U.S. domiciliaries receive the full federal exemption (based on $15 million in 2026, to be indexed for inflation in future years). As a result, most estates owe no federal estate tax.

A domiciliary is someone who lives in a place and intends to remain there indefinitely. Domicile requires physical presence plus intent to make that place a permanent home, even if the person has other residences, visas, or citizenships.

5.2. Leaving Assets to Non-Citizen Spouses (QDOT Planning)

If a surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen, there could be inheritance tax due if the U.S. Domiciliary is leaving the spouse more than $15 million. For the inheritance above the $15 million on which tax would be due, a QDOT can defer tax, but it adds administrative complexity. For that reason, we make QDOTs optional and let families decide later whether they are useful.

5.3. Non-U.S. Domiciliary Non-Citizens

If you die as a non-U.S. Domiciliary/non-citizen, only U.S.-situs assets are subject to U.S. estate tax, and the default exemption is much smaller ($60,000) unless a treaty applies. We can help you identify options to reduce the impact on your family – (1) transferring assets abroad or to a citizen spouse now or (2) buying life insurance to reduce the impact.

Plain-English takeaway: For the vast majority of clients who live in the U.S. and intend to stay, estate tax is not an issue.

Final Thought

International estate planning is very manageable when it’s designed around real families, not rigid templates. With clear roles, flexible options, and a structure that supports—rather than replaces—your trusted people, most clients find the process far easier than they expected and feel good about the plan they put in place.

About the Author

Sarah Summerall is the Managing Attorney at Summerall Law. She has worked with thousands of clients whose families, assets, or spouses are located outside the United States. Many of those clients came to her after being told that international issues were “too complicated” or not covered under legal insurance.

Summerall Law focuses on practical, low-cost estate planning that keeps families—not institutions—in control. The firm regularly incorporates international considerations, accepts legal insurance for cross-border planning, and does not charge additional fees simply because a client’s family or assets are located abroad.

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