Financial planning support for US estate planning attorneys
US estate planning can become materially more complicated when the client, spouse, beneficiaries or assets have international connections.
A family may combine US and non-US citizenship, hold assets across several countries, own US-situs investments, maintain retirement accounts in the United States or have beneficiaries living overseas.
Josh Clancey works alongside US estate planning attorneys where the legal and tax framework needs to be reflected in the client's investments, pensions, beneficiary arrangements, liquidity and wider financial plan.
Connecting the estate plan with the client's financial assets
The estate planning attorney remains responsible for legal advice, estate and gift tax planning, wills, trusts and the appropriate legal structures.
Josh's role is financial planning.
That may include reviewing US and overseas investment accounts, retirement assets, beneficiary arrangements, insurance, estate liquidity and how the client's assets support their lifetime and succession objectives.
For internationally connected families, the financial arrangements should not be considered independently from the legal and tax work.
Where specialist US estate or tax advice is required before a financial recommendation can be implemented, Josh can work from that advice rather than attempting to replace it.
Client situations where US estate planning and financial planning commonly intersect
A non-US client owns significant US-situs assets
US securities, real estate and other relevant US assets may create estate-tax considerations for a client who is neither a US citizen nor US domiciled for estate-tax purposes.
Once the attorney or tax specialist has established the exposure, the client may need to consider the investment and liquidity implications.
A family includes US and non-US spouses
Differences in citizenship can affect estate planning, ownership, gifting, investments and beneficiary arrangements.
The client's financial plan may need to reflect the legal structure developed by the estate planning attorney.
A US person is a beneficiary of a non-US trust
Trust distributions, ownership and reporting may require specialist legal and tax analysis before investment or other financial decisions are taken.
US retirement accounts have non-US beneficiaries
A client's IRA, Roth IRA or 401(k) may form an important part of family wealth but operate under separate beneficiary and distribution rules.
A US citizen holds substantial assets outside the United States
Non-US investments, pensions and ownership structures can create additional coordination requirements within the family's wider estate plan.
A client is considering expatriation
Renunciation of US citizenship or relinquishment of a long-term Green Card can involve specialist tax and legal analysis as well as longer-term decisions around investments, retirement accounts and beneficiaries.
Questions that may indicate a wider financial-planning need
What is the client's US status?
Citizenship, domicile, Green Card history and residence may be relevant in different ways and should be established by the appropriate professional.
What US-situs assets are held?
The legal and estate-tax analysis may highlight assets that then need to be reviewed from an investment or planning perspective.
Is the spouse a US citizen?
A non-US citizen spouse can create additional estate-planning considerations that should be reflected in the wider financial plan.
Who are the beneficiaries and where do they live?
US and non-US beneficiaries may have materially different planning considerations.
What retirement accounts does the client hold?
401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs and other retirement arrangements may have beneficiary designations and distribution rules that need to be coordinated with the wider estate plan.
Does the client hold trusts or entities outside the United States?
These should be reviewed by the relevant legal and tax professionals before financial recommendations are implemented.
Is sufficient estate liquidity available?
A substantial estate can still create practical difficulties if too little accessible capital is available when required.
Professional resources for US estate planning attorneys
The Document Centre includes technical briefs, professional guides and practical checklists covering US-situs assets, non-US spouses and beneficiaries, retirement accounts, non-US trusts, cross-border estate planning and internationally held investments.
These resources are designed to help identify where estate planning may create a separate investment, pension, liquidity or financial-planning requirement.
Useful resources for US estate planning attorneys
The Professional Adviser's Guide to US-Situs Assets and Estate Tax Exposure
A broader guide to the issues affecting non-US clients who hold assets potentially exposed to US estate tax.
US Estate Tax Exposure for Non-US Persons With US-Situs Assets
A focused technical brief covering an important estate-planning issue for internationally mobile non-US clients.
The Professional Adviser's Guide to Mixed US and Non-US Families
A practical guide to the financial-planning issues that can arise where citizenship, assets and beneficiaries cross US and non-US systems.
US Retirement Accounts and Non-US Beneficiaries
A technical brief covering planning considerations where beneficiaries of US retirement assets live outside the United States.
US Persons as Beneficiaries of Non-US Trusts
A professional resource covering the financial-planning considerations that may arise where a US person benefits from a non-US trust.
US Person and Non-US Trust Red Flag Checklist
A practical checklist for recognising circumstances where specialist tax, legal and financial-planning coordination may be required.
US-situs assets and international families
For non-US clients, ownership of US assets can create a different estate-tax analysis from that applying to US citizens and US-domiciled individuals.
That makes asset identification important before investment decisions are made.
The estate planning attorney or tax specialist can determine the relevant exposure, treaty position and appropriate legal response.
Josh can then help address the financial-planning implications.
That may include reviewing investment concentration, portfolio construction, asset location, liquidity, retirement funding and whether the client's existing arrangements remain suitable within the legal framework that has been established.
The objective is not simply to reduce one tax exposure. Any change should still make sense within the client's overall financial plan.
Spouses, beneficiaries and retirement assets
International estate planning becomes particularly important where different family members have different US connections.
A US citizen may be married to a non-US citizen. Children or other beneficiaries may live abroad. Retirement accounts may have beneficiaries in another jurisdiction. Trusts may have both US and non-US persons involved.
Where the attorney has established the appropriate legal structure, Josh can help review whether the underlying financial arrangements support it.
For example:
- the attorney advises on planning for a non-US citizen spouse, while Josh reviews investment ownership, beneficiary arrangements and liquidity
- the attorney establishes the estate plan, while Josh reviews IRA, Roth IRA and 401(k) beneficiary designations
- the attorney advises on a non-US trust, while Josh considers the client's personal investments separately within that framework
- the attorney identifies US estate-tax exposure, while Josh reviews the investment portfolio and available estate liquidity
- the attorney coordinates succession across jurisdictions, while Josh reviews pensions, investments and insurance
Josh does not draft estate-planning documents, establish trusts or provide US legal or specialist estate-tax advice.
Where a financial recommendation depends on those matters, the relevant attorney or tax professional should establish the position first.
Technical briefings for US estate planning teams
Josh can provide focused briefings for US estate planning and private client teams dealing with internationally connected families.
Topics can include US-situs assets, mixed US/non-US families, overseas retirement accounts, non-US trusts, beneficiaries abroad and cross-border financial planning.
Have a client case you would like to discuss?
If an international estate-planning matter has highlighted an investment, retirement-account, beneficiary, liquidity or wider financial-planning issue, an initial discussion can help establish whether Josh is likely to add value.
There is no requirement to make a formal introduction simply to determine whether the case falls within his remit.