International Families and New York Assets: Where to Start

Start here if your family or assets cross borders: New York estate planning for non-citizens, FIRPTA, minors with parents abroad, foreign estates, LLCs.

This page is a starting point for families whose people or property cross borders: an owner abroad who holds a New York apartment, account or company, or an immigrant settled in New York with parents, children or assets elsewhere.

Three tests that are easy to confuse

Citizenship, income-tax residence and estate-tax domicile are separate tests, and the answers do not have to match. Federal estate-tax residence turns on domicile at death, not on nationality and not automatically on income-tax residence.

Find your situation

You or a family member is not a U.S. citizen

Start with our guide to estate planning for non-citizens in New York. One figure confuses many families: when someone who is neither a U.S. citizen nor domiciled in the United States dies, a federal estate-tax return is generally required once U.S.-situated assets plus adjusted taxable gifts exceed $60,000. That is a filing threshold, not by itself a tax-free allowance. See also tax planning for non-resident aliens.

New York real estate bought or sold from abroad

Under FIRPTA (the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act), a buyer generally withholds 15 percent of the amount realized when a foreign person sells U.S. real property. The amount realized includes cash, other consideration and liabilities assumed, not merely the gain, and the amount withheld is not necessarily the final tax. Exceptions and certificates exist, but none is automatic. Parents buying for a child should first compare three ownership structures.

Parents abroad, children in New York

If a child's parents live overseas, or a parent here could no longer act, who would care for the child in New York and manage property left to the child? New York has its own procedures for appointing guardians of minors. See guardianships for minors.

An estate that crosses a border

A will admitted abroad does not by itself transfer New York property, and a separate New York proceeding is usually needed. New Yorkers with assets abroad face the corresponding questions about those assets, which counsel qualified there would need to answer. See foreign estates and ancillary probate for out-of-state families.

Owning a New York LLC from abroad

An EIN (Employer Identification Number) identifies the company for federal filing and is not an owner's Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Applying online depends on the applicant having a legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in the United States or a U.S. territory and on the responsible party having a valid taxpayer identification number. For ownership, tax and what happens when an owner dies, see LLCs and partnerships and business succession planning.

Protecting assets

Asset protection turns on how assets are owned and on timing, and it belongs before a claim exists, not after. See asset protection planning and the guide to asset protection strategies in New York.

Before you call: what to gather

Citizenship and country of residence of everyone involved
U.S. assets, approximate values and how each is titled
Existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney and company papers, from any country
For a death: the death certificate and any foreign probate papers
For a sale: the contract and each party's tax status

Frequently asked questions

Is the first $60,000 tax-free for every foreign owner?

No. It is the general point at which a federal estate-tax return becomes required for a decedent who was neither a U.S. citizen nor domiciled in the United States. Any tax owed is a separate calculation involving deductions, credits, treaties and asset classification.

Does my country's income-tax treaty cover U.S. estate tax?

Not necessarily. Only a limited number of countries have estate or gift tax treaties with the United States, and an income-tax treaty does not by itself give estate-tax relief.

Can you handle the part of my matter in another country?

No. Our firm is licensed only in New York and advises on New York and related federal questions. For another country's law or tax, we coordinate with counsel qualified there and with your tax adviser.

Speak with the firm

Call (212) 518-3868, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM, or request a Free Consultation. We will help you decide what comes first.

Prefer Russian? Read our Russian-language guide for immigrant families.

Attorney Advertising. This page is general information, not individualized legal or tax advice. Reading it or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.

International Services

Non-Resident Alien Tax Planning in New York

Estate and gift tax planning for non-resident aliens with U.S. assets: domicile, situs, treaties and FIRPTA. Free Consultation (212) 518-3868.

Foreign Estates with New York Assets

When someone who lived abroad dies owning New York assets: court authority, non-probate transfers and Form 706-NA. Free Consultation (212) 518-3868.

Foreign trusts

U.S. tax treatment and IRS reporting of foreign trusts, for settlors and beneficiaries with U.S. ties. Schwartsman Law Group, New York.

Cross-border marriages

Estate planning for couples where one spouse is not a U.S. citizen: the marital deduction, QDOTs, and lifetime gifting.

LLCs and partnerships

How LLC and partnership interests are taxed and passed to heirs: pass-through treatment, basis adjustments, and estate planning for business owners.

Guardianship of Minors in New York, Including Parents Living Abroad

Guardianship planning for minors in New York when parents live or travel abroad. Nominations, court review, and property. Free Consultation (212)…

Country notes: questions to raise in a consultation

Which other country is in the picture often changes the plan. These are questions to bring to a Free Consultation, not answers for every family. Schwartsman Law Group practices New York law only. Where another country's law may matter, we coordinate with counsel abroad. Call (212) 518-3868.

Is there a U.S. estate or gift tax treaty? Most countries have none. As of the IRS list reviewed on November 8, 2026, the United States has estate and/or gift tax treaty provisions with Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Canada's estate provisions sit in Article XXIX B of the U.S.–Canada income tax treaty. Each treaty works differently. Check the current IRS estate and gift tax treaties page before relying on any country.
Does a document need an apostille or consular legalization? That depends on whether both the country that issued the paper and the country that will use it are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, with the Convention in force between them and without a relevant objection. Membership alone is not enough. Check the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention. An apostille authenticates the origin, signature, capacity, and seal of a public document. It does not prove the contents are true, that the document is valid under local law, or that a New York court or clerk will accept it.
Does the other country reserve fixed shares for family (forced heirship) or treat trusts differently? Many civil-law countries do. For property situated in New York, a will made by someone not domiciled in New York may, in some cases, elect New York law under EPTL 3-5.1(h). New York's highest court has applied such an election to reject a foreign forced-heirship claim to New York assets (Matter of Renard, 56 NY2d 973 (1982)). Results depend on the facts, and the election does not control property abroad. Foreign counsel should review the home-country side.
Will an heir or beneficiary living abroad receive a New York share without court conditions? Under SCPA 2218, if a noncitizen beneficiary lives in a country to which U.S. government checks cannot be sent under federal rules, the court directs that the share be paid into court until a later court order. The court may also do so in some other cases, such as where a beneficiary would not have the benefit, use, or control of the money, or where a foreign country's laws effectively deny New York residents that benefit. Where it appears a noncitizen beneficiary may not have the benefit, use, or control of the share, that person generally has the burden of showing that they will. These questions turn on facts, not on nationality alone. The U.S. Supreme Court held an Oregon reciprocity statute unconstitutional as applied, because probing foreign regimes intruded on the federal foreign-affairs power (Zschernig v. Miller, 389 U.S. 429 (1968)).