3 Implications for Estate Planning When Living or Working Overseas

If you are thinking of living or working overseas, then you need to take a look at your estate planning before you depart. There are complications that normally do not occur with people who are United States citizens. Therefore, make sure to contact your estate planning attorney to make sure that you are covered should you die overseas.

Review Your Estate Plan

You will want to make sure that all your paperwork is in order before you live in a foreign country. In particular, take a look at your beneficiaries and make sure that your estate administrator is aware of your plans. You also need to take a look at what the other country’s rules say about your estate and taxes if you die on their soil.

Understand Domicile and Residency

Your domicile is the country that you consider home. Generally, people can only have one domicile. Alternatively, you can have residences in many different countries. Your residences are temporary as long as you intend to return to your homeland. Both your domicile and your residencies can have important tax implications when it comes to estate planning.

Think About Foreign Estate Disposition Laws

Generally, you can leave your estate to whomever you desire in the United States. That is often not the case in many other countries. Many countries have forced heirship that requires that your property go to your wife and children. In countries with forced heirship, it is easier for liabilities to be passed on to family members who are benefiting from the estate. Forced heirship laws exist in many different countries including Japan, France, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia. Other countries have still different laws. For example, in Thailand, your spouse is seventh in line while in Indonesia, your spouse cannot receive more than one-third of your estate if you have children.

Talking to an estate planning lawyer in Las Vegas can help eliminate many hassles in planning your estate. Take time out of your busy schedule to do it today.

Should A Trust Be Part Of Your Estate Planning?

No one knows what the future holds, which is why it’s important to get the advice of an estate planning attorney when it’s time to put your affairs in order. For example, a trust administration lawyer Las Vegas can help you reduce your tax obligations or avoid probate. There are two basic types of trusts and many ways of structuring them to suit your situation. You don’t need to have a large bank account or a vast estate to benefit, either.

Two Kinds of Trusts

The two main designations for a trust are living or testamentary, which means a trust that goes into play after your death. Trusts can be revocable, meaning you keep control of your assets and can change the terms of the trust. You can also create an irrevocable trust, meaning that someone else, called a trustee, oversees and manages the assets. Trustees are usually lawyers or financial services providers, but you can designate any person you want to administer a trust on your own or a beneficiary’s behalf.

Although the are many possible variables and goals, trusts enable you to:

* Transfer assets to an heir while reducing tax liability
* Make sure that someone trustworthy is in place to oversee your estate should you become incapacitated
* Protect your assets from creditors
* Provide for minor children or an adult child with special needs
* Set up a college fund for your child, protege, grandchild, or the child of a sibling

The Need for a Trust

You don’t need to be wealthy to establish a trust. There are many situations where it might be beneficial, and that requires an individualized approach. Here are a few situations when you could benefit from this option:

* You have an expectation of becoming incapacitated in some way
* You have a child or spouse with special medical or care needs
* You expect your income or business to grow substantially
* You want to limit your financial risk or liabilities

You want to make sure that all of your legal bases are covered when it comes to protecting your family and assets. It’s never too soon to get your affairs in order. Talk to a qualified trust lawyer about your situation today.

Timing the Transfer of Assets Into a Trust

When you pass, assets that remain in your estate may need to go through probate before they can be transferred. Depending on the size of your estate, it may need to pay taxes to state or federal government authorities. However, you can save future generations time and money by putting assets into a trust. How do you decide when it’s the right time to make such a transfer?

Which Assets Have the Highest Cost Basis?

If an asset has appreciated or is expected to appreciate in the near future, put it into a trust as soon as possible. For instance, if you have a stock that you think is going to suddenly grow in value, let it appreciate in the trust. The same is true if you own a business that you assume will continue to grow over several years or generations. Even after the asset is titled in the trust’s name, you can still retain control over it or derive an income from it.

Can an Asset Be Gifted Outright?

Let’s say that you have a bank or brokerage account that you want to pass to your son or daughter when you pass. If that son or daughter is under 21, a custodian will need to be appointed to handle the money on your child’s behalf. Even if your child is an adult, he or she might not be suited to inherit a large gift on his or her own. Instead of selling an asset and giving that child the proceeds directly, you can put the asset in the trust.

Don’t Hesitate to Seek Legal Advice

A trust administration lawyer in Las Vegas can help you draft a trust document or determine when to move an asset into a trust. This can help you retain control of that asset until you no longer want or need it to meet your financial needs.

How to Choose Someone to Oversee Your Estate Plan

If you are over the age of 18, you could benefit from having an estate plan. This plan should include a will, trust and health care proxy. It should also contain plans for your funeral as well as appoint a guardian for any minor children who you may leave behind upon your passing. As your estate plan allows you to create a legacy and provide for future generations, it is important that you choose an executor, trustee or other representatives with care.

Make Sure a Representative Is Qualified to Serve

You don’t just want to appoint someone to be your estate’s executor without first talking to that person. Ideally, you will talk more about the details of the role, what that person’s responsibilities would be and discuss any concerns a prospective representative may have. This should also be done when choosing a trustee or any other surrogate to ensure that he or she is capable of doing the job. If you don’t have any friends who can fill a given role, an attorney or accountant may be able to step in.

Make Sure Everyone Has a Clear Role

There are times when individuals will have roles that overlap with each other. This can cause confusion and even infighting between parties that may not be able to work together. Whenever you ask someone to act in a given role, make sure that it is defined and separate from the responsibilities another person may have.

This Doesn’t Mean Several Parties Can’t Work Together

An estate planning attorney in Las Vegas can take care of the administrative side of an estate while a friend or family member oversees how assets are distributed. This can be ideal because it means an estate plan will be executed in accordance with the law and with the needs of a beneficiary.

What to Check for During an Estate Plan Review

An estate plan review is a time when you meet with your attorney, accountant or important plan surrogates to ensure that plan still works as designed. It can also be a time when either you or your surrogates can ask questions or express any concerns with the plan as structured. Let’s take a look at some of the key questions that should be asked during a review session.

Are Your Beneficiary Designations Correct?

If nothing has changed in your life since your last review, the beneficiary designations that you have chosen are likely worth leaving unchanged. However, if you got divorced, its generally not a good idea to leave that person as a beneficiary. If your child developing a gambling problem or drug habit, it may not be wise to keep him or her as a beneficiary of a bank account.

Do You Need to Appoint New Surrogates?

It may have been appropriate to appoint your best friend as the executor of your estate 10 years ago. However, if you are married now, it may be best that your spouse is the executor. It may also be a good idea to appoint an alternate trustee or health care proxy in the event that those currently performing those roles can’t or won’t do in the future. Finally, you should consider appointing new or alternate guardians for your children.

An Attorney May Help Answer Your Questions

An estate planning lawyer in Las Vegas may be able to help you create or review an estate plan at any time. This may increase the odds that the plan meets your needs and is also created in accordance with state law.