International Estate Planning Strategies

A green card makes someone a spouse in every way but one: the unlimited marital deduction. Thomas Kopelman and Lisa Weigel are joined by Chris Nason, head of private wealth at Wealth.com and a longtime international estate planning attorney, to unpack the cross-border problems hiding inside ordinary American plans — the non-citizen spouse who needs a QDOT, the child whose move abroad quietly converts a domestic trust, and the unreported foreign account that can cost half its value in a single year. They also cover expatriation, the exit tax, and who counts as a covered expatriate. Whether or not a client lives abroad, this episode shows advisors where the tripwires sit and when to call a specialist.