Do I need a separate will for my property overseas?

Often, yes — one will per country, each drafted under local law, but coordinated so the standard revocation clause in one does not cancel the other.

Will my family pay estate tax in both countries?

Possibly: the U.S. taxes citizens and domiciliaries on worldwide assets and the other country may tax property within its borders, so check first whether an estate tax treaty covers your country.

I am not a U.S. citizen but I own a home in New York. What happens when I die?

Non-resident aliens get a far lower federal exemption on U.S. assets and a non-citizen spouse gets no automatic marital deduction, so a QDOT and careful titling should be arranged in advance.

Property Abroad? Cross-Border Estate Planning NY

An apartment in the old country, a house in Brooklyn, savings in two currencies, family on two continents — this is what success looks like for many immigrant families in New York. It also means that when you die, two legal systems show up at your family's door, each with its own courts, taxes, and rules. A standard American will was not built for that. Here is what cross-border families actually need to think about.

Two countries, two legal systems, one estate

When you die owning property in two countries, each country generally applies its own law to the assets within its borders. New York decides what happens to your Brooklyn house; the country where your apartment sits decides what happens to the apartment — and its rules may be nothing like New York's. Many countries have forced heirship, meaning children or other relatives are entitled to fixed shares regardless of what your will says. Some do not recognize trusts at all. Your family may face probate-like proceedings in both places, in two languages, on two timelines. Planning for a cross-border estate starts with mapping every asset to the legal system that will claim it.

Why one will might not be enough — and can even backfire

A single New York will can, in principle, cover worldwide assets, but foreign courts and land registries may be slow to accept it, demand certified translations and authentications, or apply local rules that override its terms. Many cross-border families use coordinated wills — one for each country, each drafted under local law for local assets. The danger is doing this without coordination: a standard will usually opens by revoking all prior wills, so a new will signed abroad can accidentally cancel your New York will, or vice versa. If you already have a will in another country, tell your New York attorney before signing anything here. The two documents must be drafted to coexist deliberately.

Estate taxes on both sides of the border

Death can trigger tax in both countries. The United States taxes citizens and domiciliaries on worldwide assets — including the foreign apartment — while the other country may tax the same property under its own inheritance or estate tax rules. The U.S. has estate tax treaties with some countries that allocate taxing rights and relieve double taxation, and foreign death taxes can sometimes be credited; whether a treaty covers your country is one of the first questions to answer. New York adds its own layer: a 2026 exclusion of $7,350,000 with a cliff at $7,717,500, above which the entire New York taxable estate is taxed. Two houses in two appreciating markets reach these numbers faster than families expect.

Non-citizens: the rules change sharply

Immigration status quietly drives estate tax outcomes. U.S. citizens and domiciliaries get the full federal exemption — $15,000,000 per person in 2026. A non-resident alien who owns U.S. assets, such as New York real estate, faces a dramatically lower exemption on those U.S. assets, exposing even a single apartment to potential federal estate tax. And leaving assets to a non-citizen spouse does not qualify for the automatic unlimited marital deduction that citizen spouses enjoy; a qualified domestic trust (QDOT) is the standard fix. Green card holders, families mid-naturalization, and couples with mixed status each sit at different points on this map. Where you and your spouse each stand determines which rules — and which planning tools — apply.

Foreign accounts and trusts: the reporting you cannot skip

Cross-border families carry reporting duties that purely domestic families never see. Foreign bank and financial accounts above certain thresholds must be reported annually on an FBAR, and interests in or transfers involving foreign trusts, plus large gifts or inheritances from abroad, can trigger Form 3520 filings. The penalties for missed filings are severe even when no tax is owed, and executors inherit these problems: an estate cannot be cleanly administered while unreported accounts surface one by one. If you have accounts, an inheritance coming, or a trust connection in another country, have a tax professional review the reporting as part of your estate plan — before, not after, someone has to sign returns under penalty of perjury.

Planning for families like yours — in your language

Cross-border planning is personal in ways a form cannot capture: parents you support abroad, siblings who stayed behind, property held informally in a relative's name, marriages that span borders, children with two passports. We work with immigrant families across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan every week, and we work in English, Spanish, and Russian — because your estate plan should be explained in the language you think in. A good cross-border plan coordinates your New York documents with local counsel where your property sits, keeps both sets of papers from colliding, and leaves your family one clear map instead of two confused court files. Start with a free consultation and an honest inventory of everything, everywhere.

If you own property in two countries, here's what happens when you die — and why a regular will might not be enough

Cross-border estates fail on surprises. These steps replace surprises with a map — of assets, laws, taxes, and the people who will handle them.

List every asset in every countryWrite down all of it: the Brooklyn house, the apartment abroad, bank accounts in both countries, pensions, land inherited from parents, property held in a relative's name. Include how each is titled and roughly what it is worth. This inventory determines which legal systems, taxes, and reporting rules your family will face — nothing can be planned without it.
Find out which law controls each assetReal estate is generally governed by the law of the country where it sits, and some countries impose forced heirship — fixed shares for children or relatives that override a will. Learn what the other country's law would do with your property there. Your New York plan must work with those rules, not pretend they do not exist.
Check your immigration status against the tax rulesCitizen, green card holder, or non-resident alien — each faces different estate tax exposure, and a non-citizen spouse does not receive the automatic marital deduction citizens get. Map where you and your spouse each stand today and where naturalization plans may take you, because the right tools, including a QDOT, depend on exactly this.
Coordinate your wills so they do not cancel each otherCoordinated situs wills — one per country, drafted to coexist — are often the cleanest structure for families with property in two places.
Get the foreign account reporting reviewedForeign accounts above reporting thresholds require annual FBAR filings, and foreign trusts, gifts, and inheritances from abroad can trigger Form 3520. Penalties for silence are severe even when no tax is due, and unresolved reporting lands on your executor. A review now is vastly cheaper than a cleanup later.
Ask whether a tax treaty covers your countryThe United States has estate tax treaties with some countries that allocate taxing rights and relieve double taxation, and foreign death taxes may generate credits. Whether your country of origin is on that list changes the planning strategy meaningfully. This is a specific, answerable question — make it one of the first you ask.
Brief your family on both systemsYour family will administer this estate in two countries, possibly in two languages. Tell them where documents are, which lawyer to call in each country, and what to expect from each process. We regularly guide families through the New York side in English, Spanish, or Russian, and coordinate with counsel abroad.
The one most people forget The one thing most cross-border families forget: the property nobody wrote downThe village house titled in a brother's name, the land inherited from grandparents and never registered, the account opened decades ago and half-remembered — informal assets are where cross-border estates unravel, because nobody in the next generation can prove anything. Document the informal holdings now, while the people who know the history are alive to explain it.

We Own Property Abroad