Estate Planning for Green Card Holders in California
What Green Card Holders, Financial Advisors, and Lawyers Need to Know If
Citizenship can matter in estate planning.
When we create your plan, we want to know:
If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, there may also be federal estate tax considerations. For estates potentially subject to federal estate tax, specialized tax planning may be appropriate. Not every green card holder needs complicated planning. But your estate planning lawyer needs to know which questions to ask.
For many of our green card holder clients, the international part of the conversationis not about foreign wealth.
It is about family.
If you have minor children, this deserves particular attention.
You may know immediately that you want your sister, brother, parent, or best friend to raise your children. But if that person lives overseas, naming them is only the beginning.
We also need to consider:
The person who lives closest is not necessarily the person you want to raise your children.
And your guardian does not have to be your trustee. One person can raise your children while someone else manages the assets you leave for them.
Our goal is to create a plan that reflects both your wishes and what would actually need to happen in an emergency.
Some of the people you trust most may live outside the United States.
That does not necessarily prevent them from having a role in your estate plan, but location can matter.
We will discuss whom you are considering as your:
Sometimes the person you originally had in mind is the right choice.
Sometimes it makes sense to divide responsibilities or select a U.S. – based person or professional fiduciary for a particular role.
The question is not simply whom do you trust?
It is also will this arrangement work when your family needs it?
Incapacity planning should account for more than illness or injury.
What happens if you are traveling and cannot return home? What if you are detained or your family cannot reach you?
Who can manage your accounts, deal with your home, communicate with financial institutions, and keep your financial life moving?
Who can make health care decisions if you cannot?
A carefully drafted power of attorney and other incapacity documents can give the people you select legal authority to act when you cannot.
Estate planning cannot solve an immigration problem. It can help prevent another problem from developing because no one has authority to act for you.
De Fonte Law PC provides California estate planning. We do not provide immigration advice, international estate planning, or international tax advice.
When one of those issues affects your estate plan, we may recommend that
an immigration attorney, tax advisor, or other specialist join your planning team.
We also want to hear from you if your circumstances change, particularly if you or
your spouse becomes a U.S. citizen, you give up permanent resident status,
or you plan to leave the United States permanently.
Yes. A green card holder who lives in California can generally use a revocable living trust as part of a California estate plan.
Your citizenship, your spouse’s citizenship, and the location of the people you name in your plan are all facts your estate planning lawyer should know.
Yes. This is exactly the type of planning we do.
We work with California residents who are making the United States their home while parents, siblings, beneficiaries, potential guardians, or other important people in their lives remain overseas.
We do not provide international estate planning for foreign businesses, real estate, or significant foreign assets.
It can.
For federal estate tax purposes, the unlimited marital deduction generally available for assets passing to a U.S.-citizen spouse may not apply in the same way when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen.
If your circumstances require sophisticated estate tax planning, we may recommend that specialized tax counsel become part of your planning team.
Possibly, but the appointment needs to be considered carefully.
Where a trustee lives can create practical and tax issues. We want to understand whom you want to appoint, where that person lives, and the responsibilities you want that person to have before deciding how your plan should be structured.
You can nominate the person you believe would be the best guardian for your children. A court ultimately makes the appointment.
If your preferred guardian lives overseas, we also want to plan for the period immediately after an emergency. Who could care for your children until that person arrives? What would the transition look like? Who would manage the children’s inheritance?
Those questions are an important part of guardianship planning.
No.
You can name one person to raise your children and someone else to manage the assets held in trust for them.
For families with loved ones overseas, separating those roles may be particularly useful.
Potentially, yes.
A beneficiary’s location does not automatically prevent you from including that person in your estate plan. Distributions outside the United States can, however, raise tax, banking, or administrative issues that may require additional advice.
Your estate plan can give people you select authority to manage financial and other matters if specified circumstances prevent you from acting for yourself.
This is something we discuss when designing powers of attorney and other incapacity documents for our green card holder clients.
Not necessarily for your estate plan.
De Fonte Law PC does not provide immigration advice. If an immigration question affects an estate planning decision, we may recommend that you consult immigration counsel.
That is outside the international planning we provide.
Our green card holder practice is designed for clients whose assets and financial lives are primarily in the United States. If you have foreign real estate, a foreign business, or significant foreign assets, you may need an international estate planning or tax specialist.
Yes. Becoming a U.S. citizen is a good time to review your estate plan because citizenship can change some of the assumptions on which your planning was based.
The same is true if your spouse becomes a citizen, you give up lawful permanent resident status, or you decide to leave the United States permanently.
We’ve worked with Patricia and her team for several years now and I’m always impressed by their level of detail and streamlined process. They create a customized experience that helped us think through our estate plan from a financial, emotional, and legal perspective. I would highly recommend working with Patricia!
Abby S.
My wife and I enjoyed working with Nadya at DeFonte Law to create our trust. The firm’s approach was very easy for someone with limited legal and financial experience. They helped us thoroughly account for what we needed to protect out assets and family members while still keeping the process focused and timely.
Eric S.
Working with Wendy on my estate planning with De Fonte Law was a real gift. She is kind, compassionate and patient. It took extra time for me due to multiple injuries and setbacks and I found her to be very understanding and encouraging. It is a big relief to have this major undertaking close to completion. Thank you Wendy!
Susanne K.
What Green Card Holders, Financial Advisors, and Lawyers Need to Know If
At De Fonte Law PC, we offer something rare: Estate Planning With
If you’re a green card holder living in California, it is essential