In 2011, I got a call from a client in Moscow. Here is what
happened. The client’s uncle (lets name him Sam) died in NY in 2009 and left a
substantial inheritance to his nephew in Russia - a house worth $750,000 and a
bank account of $250,000. Sam was a financially affluent, childless and
unmarried man, and had no other relatives. The question posed by a client was:
“how can I get it?”
It was a tricky situation, since the uncle only left a will.
If there is just a will, foreign-based relatives must hire a US attorney to
probate (validate) the will. According to US laws, each will has to go through
probate to become valid, even if no one is objecting to its validity. The
probate court’s location must be in the county of uncle’s death. While under
probate, all uncles’ assets are frozen by the court: thus, Russian nephew
cannot use a house or bank account. It could take up to a year and a half for
the process to be completed. The contestants (if any) may question the will on
many grounds – was it indeed the last and final will of the decedent, was
decedent in sound mind while executing the will etc… Again, I want to emphasize
that the will is not valid unless it passes through probate – a process by
which the court has to validate it. This process is expensive (and includes
court and attorney’s fees) and is impossible to complete without a lawyer.
On the contrary, if the uncle left a trust, nephew would be
in luck. If his nephew is a beneficiary of the revocable or irrevocable trust,
created by an uncle, then the nephew would get an inheritance without any legal
problems. It would be disbursed to the nephew by the trustee (or trustees) of
the trust, according to his uncle’s wishes, and right away. Trust would never
go to probate. The greatest thing about the trust is that it does not matter if
the beneficiary is a US or a foreign national – the assets will be transferred
to him no matter what.
Why am I spending so much time talking about this issue? If
you want to leave your assets to somebody abroad, the best way to provide
smooth transfer is to go to a reputable attorney, create a trust, and designate
your relatives abroad as trust beneficiaries. This way, after your death, your
relative would avoid wasting time and money on legal fees and will get
everything you want to leave him without any issues.
Contact our office at (718) 333-2394
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