PRACTICE AREA

Cross-Border Inheritance Matters

U.S. Tax Counseling for International Inheritances and Cross-Border Estates

When a family member passes away and assets, heirs, or both span multiple countries, the U.S. tax implications can be significant — and easy to miss without specialized counsel. Cross-border inheritance matters sit at the intersection of U.S. estate tax, income tax, and international information reporting. For non-resident aliens who hold U.S.-situs assets at death, even modest holdings can trigger U.S. estate tax liability, banking freezes, probate proceedings, and IRS transfer certificate requirements — a system that is difficult to navigate without planning.

Our Services Include:

  • U.S. income tax analysis of foreign inheritances received by U.S. persons — including DNI, UNI, and throwback rules for foreign trust distributions

  • Form 3520 reporting for U.S. persons receiving gifts or inheritances from foreign persons or estates

  • U.S. estate tax analysis for non-resident aliens with U.S.-situs assets — including the limited $60,000 exemption and treaty-based relief

  • Form 706-NA preparation for nonresident alien decedents with U.S.-situs assets

  • IRS transfer certificate procedures for estates with frozen U.S. financial accounts

  • Probate and estate administration coordination for U.S.-situs assets owned by NRAs

  • Treaty-based estate tax analysis and planning for decedents in treaty countries

  • Planning for families with U.S. and non-U.S. members to minimize estate tax friction across generations