Sandy Springs International Estate Planning Lawyer

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Sandy Springs is one of the most internationally connected communities in the Atlanta metro area. Residents here come from all over the world, and many hold assets across multiple countries. Whether you moved to Georgia from abroad, married a foreign national, or built a business with ties to other countries, your estate plan must account for every jurisdiction where you have property, accounts, or family. At Atlanta estate planning lawyer Slowik Estate Planning, we work with Sandy Springs residents to build estate plans that address both U.S. law and the real-world challenges of cross-border asset ownership.

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What International Estate Planning Actually Covers

International estate planning is not just for the ultra-wealthy. If you own a vacation home in another country, hold a foreign bank account, have beneficiaries living outside the United States, or are a non-U.S. citizen living in Georgia, you have international estate planning needs. The core goal is the same as any estate plan: making sure your assets go to the right people, at the right time, with as little tax burden and legal friction as possible. The difference is that you are working across more than one legal system at once.

Georgia’s own rules under O.C.G.A. Title 53 govern how wills, trusts, and estates are handled within the state. But Georgia courts also follow the principle that the disposition of personal property is governed by the law of the owner’s domicile. Under Georgia Code § 1-3-9, Georgia courts generally apply the law of the state or country where a personal representative was appointed when distributing assets of a deceased person. That means where you are domiciled at death matters enormously for how your estate gets distributed. For real property, the law of the country where the property sits typically controls.

Sandy Springs sits just north of the I-285 perimeter, close to major corporate corridors along GA-400 and Roswell Road. Many residents here work in global industries, hold equity compensation tied to foreign companies, or maintain financial ties to their home countries. These connections create estate planning questions that a standard Georgia will simply cannot answer on its own. A plan built only around domestic law leaves serious gaps when foreign assets are involved.

Slowik Estate Planning, located in Atlanta, Georgia, helps clients think through every layer of their international situation, from identifying which assets are subject to which laws, to structuring ownership in a way that protects your family across borders.

The Federal Tax Rules That Apply to International Families

Federal tax law treats U.S. citizens and non-citizens very differently when it comes to estate and gift taxes. For U.S. citizens and green card holders, the unified estate and gift tax exemption is permanently set at $15 million per individual, or $30 million for married couples, beginning January 1, 2026, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). This is a significant number, and it means most American families will not owe federal estate tax. But for non-citizens, the rules are far harsher.

A non-U.S. individual who is not domiciled in the United States has a U.S. estate tax exemption fixed at just $60,000. This disparity makes proper structuring of U.S. investments critical for international families to avoid significant tax exposure. If you are a foreign national who owns a home near Abernathy Road or holds a U.S. brokerage account, your estate could face a 40% federal estate tax on everything above that $60,000 threshold. That is a devastating outcome that proper planning can prevent.

For 2026, the federal annual gift tax exclusion remains $19,000 per recipient. This amount may be gifted to any number of recipients each year without using any portion of the lifetime exemption or requiring the filing of a federal gift tax return. For married couples, this doubles through gift-splitting. However, gifts to a non-citizen spouse carry different rules. For calendar year 2026, the annual exclusion for gifts to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen has increased to $194,000. Gifts beyond that amount require careful reporting and planning.

One tool that works well for non-citizen spouses is the Qualified Domestic Trust, or QDOT. A QDOT allows a non-citizen surviving spouse to defer estate tax on inherited assets, provided the trust meets specific IRS requirements. Without a QDOT in place, the unlimited marital deduction that U.S. citizen spouses enjoy simply does not apply. Working with an estate tax planning lawyer who understands these federal rules is essential for any Sandy Springs family with cross-border ties.

How Georgia Law Intersects With Foreign Assets

Georgia’s probate process, governed by O.C.G.A. Title 53, applies to assets physically located in Georgia or administered through a Georgia court. But when a Georgia resident dies owning property in another country, that foreign property typically must go through probate in that country as well. This means your family could face simultaneous probate proceedings in multiple jurisdictions, each with its own timeline, costs, and legal requirements.

Wills executed in Georgia may not be automatically recognized abroad. Some countries have forced heirship laws that override your wishes entirely, requiring a set portion of your estate to pass to certain relatives regardless of what your will says. France, for example, has such rules. So does much of Latin America and the Middle East. If you have property in one of these countries and your Georgia estate plan does not account for local law, your beneficiaries may receive far less than you intended.

One of the most effective ways to address this is through a revocable living trust, which can hold Georgia-based assets and help avoid the state’s probate process entirely. Under O.C.G.A. Title 53, Chapter 12, Georgia recognizes revocable trusts as valid estate planning vehicles. A well-funded trust keeps your Georgia assets out of probate court at the Fulton County Courthouse on Pryor Street, which saves your family time and money. But the trust itself must be carefully coordinated with any foreign assets and foreign legal structures you maintain abroad.

Slowik Estate Planning helps Sandy Springs clients think through these cross-border ownership structures and build a plan that works under Georgia law while accounting for the realities of foreign property ownership.

Key Tools for Cross-Border Estate Planning in Sandy Springs

Several legal tools work together to protect families with international assets. Understanding each one helps you ask the right questions when you sit down with your attorney.

A Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) is the primary tool for protecting a non-citizen surviving spouse from immediate federal estate tax. The trust must have at least one U.S. trustee, and distributions of principal are subject to estate tax unless an exception applies. Structuring a QDOT correctly requires precision, and errors can be costly.

A foreign grantor trust can hold overseas assets in a structure that is recognized under U.S. tax law. These trusts come with strict IRS reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6048 and 6677. Failure to report a foreign trust can result in penalties equal to 35% of the amount transferred. That is not a number you want to discover after the fact.

For families with significant U.S.-based wealth, a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) offers another option. A SLAT is one of the most powerful tools available to married couples under current law. With the federal exemption now at $15 million per person, one spouse transfers assets into an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the other spouse. Because the beneficiary spouse can receive distributions from the trust, the couple retains indirect access to the wealth while the assets, and their future appreciation, are removed from the donor’s taxable estate.

Revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, and healthcare directives also play a role in any international plan. If you become incapacitated while abroad, a Georgia power of attorney may not be recognized in another country. Having documents prepared under local law in the countries where you spend significant time adds an important layer of protection. A trust attorney at Slowik Estate Planning can help you identify which documents you need and in which jurisdictions they should be prepared.

Why Sandy Springs Residents Need a Locally Grounded International Plan

Sandy Springs is home to a large and diverse international community. The city’s proximity to major employers along the GA-400 corridor, including corporate headquarters near Perimeter Center, draws professionals from around the world. Many residents maintain ties to countries in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. Some own investment properties abroad. Others have family members who are not U.S. citizens and who will inherit under their estate plan.

An estate plan built only for a domestic situation leaves these families exposed. The goal is not just to have a will and a trust. The goal is to have a coordinated plan that accounts for every country where you have a legal footprint. That means working with an attorney who understands Georgia law, federal tax law, and the practical realities of cross-border asset ownership.

Slowik Estate Planning serves clients throughout the Sandy Springs and greater Atlanta area from its Atlanta, Georgia office. Our firm handles estate planning matters, and we work collaboratively with foreign legal counsel when a client’s situation requires local expertise in another jurisdiction. We are transparent about when a matter requires coordination with attorneys in other countries, and we help you build that team when needed.

Every family’s situation is different. The right plan for a U.S. citizen with a vacation home in Mexico looks very different from the right plan for a foreign national who moved to Sandy Springs five years ago and owns property in both Georgia and their home country. What both situations share is the need for careful, informed planning done before a crisis arises. If you have international ties and have not reviewed your estate plan recently, now is the right time to start that conversation with Slowik Estate Planning.

FAQs About Sandy Springs International Estate Planning

Does Georgia recognize a will that was written in another country?

Georgia may recognize a foreign will if it was validly executed under the laws of the country where it was made, but recognition is not automatic. Under O.C.G.A. Title 53, Georgia courts have discretion in how they handle foreign testamentary documents. A foreign will that conflicts with Georgia public policy may not be enforced. If you have a will from another country and live in Georgia, you should have a Georgia attorney review it to determine whether it is sufficient or whether a new Georgia will is needed.

What happens to my foreign property when I die if I live in Georgia?

Your foreign property will generally be subject to the laws of the country where it is located. Georgia law governs assets within the state, but real property abroad is controlled by the local laws of that country. This often means your family must open a separate probate or estate administration proceeding in the foreign country. To avoid this, some families use foreign holding companies or local trusts to hold overseas property, allowing for a smoother transfer at death without a full probate process in that jurisdiction.

I am not a U.S. citizen. How does that affect my estate taxes?

It affects them significantly. A non-U.S. citizen who is not domiciled in the United States has a federal estate tax exemption of only $60,000 on U.S.-situs assets, compared to the $15 million exemption available to U.S. citizens and domiciliaries in 2026. This means a non-citizen who owns a home, bank accounts, or investment accounts in the United States could face a 40% federal estate tax on everything above $60,000. Proper planning, including the use of Qualified Domestic Trusts and careful ownership structures, can significantly reduce or eliminate this exposure.

Can I leave assets to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen without paying estate tax?

The unlimited marital deduction that applies between U.S. citizen spouses does not automatically apply when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Without special planning, assets passing to a non-citizen spouse above the applicable exemption amount are subject to federal estate tax. A Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) is the primary tool used to defer estate tax in this situation. The QDOT must meet specific IRS requirements, including having at least one U.S. trustee. It is important to have this structure in place before death, as it cannot be created after the fact.

Do I need separate estate planning documents for each country where I own property?

In many cases, yes. A Georgia will or trust controls assets in Georgia, but it may not be recognized or enforceable in another country. Some countries require that real property be transferred through documents prepared under local law. Others have forced heirship rules that override foreign wills entirely. The safest approach for anyone with significant assets in multiple countries is to work with attorneys in each relevant jurisdiction to prepare locally valid documents, while making sure those documents are coordinated so they do not accidentally revoke or conflict with each other.

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