How to Add Foreign Assets to Living Trusts

Co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD

Last Updated: December 21, 2020

You can add foreign assets to a living trust, but the process is not easy. You will need a foreign lawyer to help you transfer the foreign assets into the trust. You may also need the foreign lawyer to create a new trust for the assets located in the foreign country. To begin, identify your assets and where they are located. Then you should seek out the necessary legal and accounting help.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Finding a Foreign Attorney to Help

1
Identify your assets. You can typically add foreign assets to a living trust. However, before talking to anyone else, you should sit down and write out a list of foreign assets that you want to add to your living trust. Then identify the country where you hold the property.
- If you have personal property, such as art work or jewelry, then you can transfer it physically to the United States. This would make adding the property to your trust much easier.
- Some assets cannot be transferred. For example, you might own real estate in a foreign country.
2
Find attorneys in the countries where your assets are held. You definitely need legal help to add foreign assets to a living trust. In particular, you need to work with an attorney in the country where the asset is located. You can find a foreign attorney in the following ways:
- Contact your country’s embassy or consulate in the foreign country. The consulate can’t act as your attorney, but they may keep a list of attorneys you can contact.^{[1]
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- Ask an attorney in your own country to find a foreign lawyer. This will make the process much easier.
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3
Talk to the foreign lawyer. You or your domestic attorney should reach out to the foreign lawyer and discuss transferring property to the living trust. In particular, you need to discuss the following issues:^{[2]
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- The attorney’s experience in trust creation and administration.
- Whether living trusts are recognized in the foreign country.
- How to go about titling the assets to your living trust. Remember, the trust holds title to the assets. If you own real estate, then you will probably have to record a new deed.
- How much this process will cost. Also ask about acceptable methods of payment and whether you can get an itemized list of work performed.
- The foreign country’s rules on attorney-client confidentiality.
4
Hire the attorney to title assets to the trust. You should hire the foreign attorney to help you with the process. Make sure to get an engagement letter or fee agreement that spells out exactly what the foreign attorney will do for you and how much they will charge you.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Amending Your Trust

1
Identify the beneficiaries for the assets. You might want to leave the new foreign assets to the current beneficiary under your living trust. However, if you want to add new beneficiaries, or if there is more than one beneficiary listed, then you need to amend your trust.^{[3]
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- You can amend the trust by typing up an amendment. You can have your attorney do this for you. Alternately, you could look for forms online or in library books which you can use as guides for drafting your own amendment.
- Generally, the amendment should identify the article in the trust that is being amended and explain what new language is being added in its place.
- See Name a New Beneficiary of Your Estate for more information.
2
Add the new property to your schedule. The living trust should contain language stating that you can add new property to it.^{[4]
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Go to source} For this reason, you probably do not need to amend the trust to add the foreign assets. However, you might need to add the foreign assets to the schedule of property that is attached to your living trust.
- Take out your living trust and check whether there is a schedule. If so, then you can add the foreign assets to the schedule.
3
Have the foreign attorney draft a trust. Some countries might not honor a U.S. trust, or the process might be too complicated for transferring your assets to your domestic trust. In these situations, you can have the foreign attorney create a trust for you under the foreign country’s rules.
- Work closely with the attorney to identify a qualified trustee who can manage the foreign assets.
- Make sure to get a copy of the trust document, as well as any new deeds that were filed.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Obtaining Tax Advice

1
Find a tax professional. Before going through with the transfer of assets, you should think through the tax consequences of holding foreign property. In order to fully understand these issues, you should meet with a tax professional.
- You should talk with your lawyer about getting a referral to an accountant who is familiar with international taxation issues.
- Instead of an accountant, you could meet with a tax attorney, particularly someone with familiarity of international taxation. Many tax attorneys are also certified public accountants.
2
Draft a list of questions. Many issues arise when you own property in a foreign country and try to leave it to someone after your death. You should think through what questions you want to ask your tax professional. For example, you should ask the following:
- What kinds of foreign taxes will your heirs have to pay on the property?
- Will they face double taxation on foreign assets? Is there a tax treaty between your home country and the country where the assets are located?
- Should you turn your living trust into an irrevocable trust? If the assets are not in an irrevocable trust, then your heirs might end up paying a higher estate tax.
- If you want to create an irrevocable trust, can you create it in a state that has favorable taxation?
3
Hire the tax professional. You should meet with the tax professional to have your questions answered. Also hire them to work closely with you as you add foreign assets to the trust. The accountant can identify issues and help you resolve them.