A Smaller World Creates More Issues
With the increase in globalization and individual mobility, more decedents have assets in different countries. Despite the increasing commonality of this situation, both succession law and tax law in the United States and around the world has lagged in reducing the complexity. Having counsel that understands the cross-border issues, conflicts of law, and the US tax requirements calls for very specific experience and subject matter knowledge to ensure the complexities do not overwhelm the family and unnecessarily consume estate assets in additional costs and taxes. Having helped efficiently resolve international estates for families in many countries, we stand ready to help yours.
Our attorneys do not just work directly with families, but also their professional advisors. Given advisors having direct positive experiences working with us on mutual clients as well as presentations and publications in the Unites States and abroad on international estate administration, we are often sought after to help provide additional support to legal, accounting, and other advisors who are looking for additional assistance with international estates. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with other advisors who share our vision of personalized high-end, high-touch services and contribute to the client's experience with these complex legal and tax issues.
Foreign Estates with US Assets
When a non-US person dies with assets that have a connection to the United States, the estate must address the US tax and probate issues associated with those assets. We help these international estate maximize the amount of assets they are able to transfer in the United States and minimize the time and expenses associated with the transfer.
Financial assets and real estate generally cannot be transferred in the US without exposing a party to liability prior to obtaining a transfer certificate from the IRS and potentially state taxing authorities. We help non-US estates obtain this necessary tax clearance. Non-US persons and estates are subject to a different estate and income tax regime than US estates. Without counsel who understand these rules, an estate could potentially fail to reporting all required assets, miss allowable deductions and credits, or not claim relief under a tax treaty that could apply to the estate. Having helped many non-US estates, we know these issues and help our clients prepare the necessary filings promptly and properly so that they can obtain the documentation needed to transfer the property.
Probate law is jurisdiction specific where courts in the United States will apply its own procedural law to the administration of an estate if probate is required in the US. We are well placed to handle the US probate proceedings for international estates in New York and Connecticut given our experience in these courts. In addition to navigating international estates through US procedural rules, we help with substantive conflict of law issues. International conflict of laws, that include the potential applicability of forced heirship rules or the impact of choice of law elections, are an area where we are a valuable resource to the estate's legal counsel in its home jurisdiction to help them understand how these rules operate in the United States.
US Estates with Foreign Assets
When a US person dies with assets abroad, that estate must deal with both the US requirements and those of each foreign jurisdiction there was property. For the US requirements, we help executors understand how foreign assets should be reported in US probate proceedings and provide guidance on how conflicts of law between jurisdictions are resolved. We also help prepare estate tax returns or advise other tax professionals on not only the issues that are routine with US estates, but also applying estate tax treaties where applicable and ensuring the proper foreign tax credit is claimed.
Due to the complexity of these estates, our knowledge, experience, and international network of professional advisors who share our vision of client service are valuable assets to our clients. We help our clients retain the necessary legal counsel outside of the United States and coordinate the efforts of all legal counsel involved so our clients get clear, consistent, and correct guidance from all jurisdictions.
