International Estate Planning: A Reference Guide - Third Edition

BARBARA HAUSER, an internationally recognized lawyer, has represented clients in Europe, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and a number of other countries. She was a Partner in two law firms (and was Special Counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP), a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, and a consultant to financial institutions and family offices. She is on the Spears’ 500 list.
    A graduate of Wellesley College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she had the honor of clerking at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received a PhD in 2022 from the University of Zurich Law School on applying the Rule of Law to family governance.

MELISSA LANGA has been a contributor to the guide since 2015 and became a co-author in 2019. She is the Managing Shareholder in the Boston Massachusetts (USA) law firm of Bove & Langa, PC. She has built her practice guiding domestic and international individuals, families, businesses, and charitable organizations in designing and implementing customized tax-efficient structures to meet their particular estate planning, business, and charitable needs.  She also assists clients in the administration of the estate of a deceased family member and advises fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts.
    Ms. Langa is an Adjunct Professor teaching estate planning in the Graduate Tax Program at Boston University School of Law. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Council (ACTEC) and Co-Founder of the local chapter of the London-based international Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Boston).  She is a member of the Estate Planning Curriculum Advisory Committee for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). She is also a past President of the Boston Estate Planning Council.  

RITA RYAN is the Chief Financial Officer and Head of the Planning Department at Madan + Associates, where she specializes in tax, business, and wealth preservation planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. She brings more than 15 years of experience as a tax attorney to advise on cross-border business activities, international investments, multi-jurisdictional estate planning, and U.S. compliance obligations.  
     Before joining Madan+, she was the founder and leader of Wolf & Co.’s International Tax Services Practice, where she focused on tax planning and compliance for international holdings of both entities and individuals. She was also an associate attorney at Vacovec, Mayotte & Singer, LLP, specializing in international and domestic taxation, estate planning, and tax controversy.
     In addition to her professional practice, she is an Adjunct Professor at Boston University School of Law, where she co-founded and co-teaches the course “Foreign Information Reporting and Withholding.” She also shares her knowledge on various international tax topics through Tax Practice Pros, LumiQ, and the National Association of Enrolled Agents.

MOLLY R. SOIFFER is a Partner in the law firm of Bove & Langa Witherell & Soiffer P.C., located in Boston, Massachusetts. Her practice is focused on estate planning, asset protection, and estate administration, which includes advising clients on wealth preservation, estate tax minimization, incapacity, domestic and international estate planning, gift transaction planning, preparation of gift and estate tax returns, business succession planning, prenuptial agreements, trust administration, and probate administration. Ms. Soiffer obtained her J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from the Boston University School of Law and is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. She has published various articles in national and international publications and has lectured in various jurisdictions around the United States. She is also a guest lecturer at the LL.M. Taxation Program at Boston University.
 

Praise for previous editions:

This is a superb work that will serve as a handy reference for both experts and novices confronted with multinational estate planning problems. The excellent organization and clearly written text assure quick and reliable answers to critical issues. The appendix is especially helpful, putting at the reader's fingertips relevant treaties and tax forms. A terrific job.

—Professor Jeffrey Schoenblum, Vanderbilt Law School, Author of Multistate and Multinational Estate Planning

I only wish this book had been written sooner. With its help I might have understood more quickly how to reconcile the concepts of civil law and United States law. I would strongly recommend it to anyone involved in estate and tax planning.

—Jean-Marc Tirard, Tirard Naudin (Paris), author and Founder of STEP France

In the area of estate planning there are hardly any publications which deal with these complicated matters in a practical manner. International Estate Planning. A Reference Guide is an exception to the rule. It explains all the difficult concepts in estate planning in an easily understandable way without simplifying matters. This is an indispensable guide for estate planners dealing with international issues.

—Frans Sonneveldt, Mazars Paardekooper Hoffman, The Netherlands and Professor at the University of Utrecht

It’s obvious from the table of contents that this book is exceptionally valuable to practitioners, whether you are just beginning to learn about international estate planning or an active professional in the field.  Extensive “NOTES” provide alerts to Public Documents, and boxed-in warnings and highlighting add to the usefulness of the book.  A number of “Factors When Choosing…” will help both practitioners and clients make decisions on such things as determining trust situs and “Variables to Consider” and “Letters to Clients” make it feel that the authors are sitting over your shoulder to give you hints and guidance.

Do you have clients who own vacation homes overseas?  Does your client have children living abroad or married to a foreign citizen in a foreign country?   Should your client consider offshore trusts?  Consider this resource essential to every law library where international estate planning is an issue.  As in so many other areas of the law, “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!” applies here. This book will alert you to the hidden pitfalls and many not so apparent opportunities in international estate planning.

—Steve Leimberg, Publisher, Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI)