Practicing estate planning law in Southern California is always interesting. I get to become the lawyer to a variety of different types of people. More and more that means that I serve as the attorney for international clients.

Recently I attended a two day seminar in the San Francisco Bay Area that was exclusively geared to representing international clients. The speakers were some of the top attorneys and certified public accountants in the field.

Topics included identifying assets that are subject to the United States transfer tax; planning ideas for the non-citizen client or couple; pre-immigration planning; choosing a guardian for minor children when all of the family is overseas; Canada’s laws and the Canadian citizen; and more!

On the estate tax and gift tax fronts, the laws and rules are different depending on whether someone is a domiciliary; non-domiciliary; or a citizen. People have to take the time to understand the law as it applies to them; have their trusts drafted accordingly; and undertake their income tax and estate planning based upon their citizenship, domicile, and plans for the future.

From time-to-time, I will write about specific international estate planning issues, but just know that it makes the planning puzzle a bit more complex.