Most people think estate planning is about assets. It’s not. It’s about control — over your wealth, your family’s future, and how decisions get made when you’re no longer around to make them.
For internationally mobile families, control can slip away fast.
One child lives in Singapore. Another in the U.S. Your investments are held through a company in Hong Kong. Your home is in Vietnam. You’re healthy, successful — and unprepared.
Why? Because most estate plans fall apart at borders.
Traditional estate plans — even ones drafted by excellent lawyers — often assume your life fits neatly into one jurisdiction. One set of laws. One tax system.
But for expats and international families, that’s rarely true. Here’s what that creates:
A generic will from your home country isn’t enough. And an “expat will” that doesn’t coordinate across systems can do more harm than good.
We’ve seen cases where:
These aren’t mistakes you can afford to fix after the fact. The structure must work while you’re alive — and stay strong when you’re not.
An effective international estate plan starts with clarity. You need to know:
This clarity shapes everything that follows.
Here’s how international families protect their legacies:
It can be appropriate to have a separate will in each country where major assets are held. But they must be drafted carefully — each should:
A poorly written second will can override your first without meaning to.
Sometimes, owning assets directly invites tax and legal risk. Alternatives include:
These vehicles can help manage succession, reduce taxes, and simplify inheritance — if properly structured.
Life insurance held by a properly structured offshore trust or company can provide:
It’s not just about risk protection — it’s a financial planning tool.
Most estate plans focus on what happens when you die. But incapacity planning matters just as much.
If you’re in Vietnam and your medical power of attorney is only recognized in Australia, what happens if you’re unconscious after a motorbike accident?
Every jurisdiction where you spend time should have a local, valid directive — ideally translated and recognized.
If your children are citizens or residents of different countries, the complexity increases. You may face:
Key actions to take:
Your plan should not just pass assets down. It should pass control and clarity.
Many countries (Vietnam included) have forced heirship rules — laws that require a portion of your estate to go to certain heirs, regardless of your will. These can override your intentions.
In civil law countries like France or Spain, for example, children may be entitled to a set share — you can’t disinherit them.
Similarly, in community property regimes, what you think of as “yours” might be legally considered “ours” with your spouse.
This becomes especially tricky with second marriages or blended families.
Solution: Consider prenuptial or postnuptial agreements where legally valid, and use structuring to separate personal and joint assets.
Vietnam’s laws are evolving, but there are critical points to understand:
For Vietnamese nationals or Việt Kiều families, estate planning often also touches on land use rights, business ownership restrictions, and tax treatment on inherited assets held abroad.
A bilingual, jurisdictionally aligned plan is critical.
High-net-worth individuals often face estate or inheritance taxes in more than one jurisdiction. For example:
Some countries offer step-up in basis on death (like the U.S.), while others apply flat inheritance taxes (like Japan or Korea).
Get this wrong, and your estate might be taxed twice — once in the source country, and again where your heirs reside.
Legacy isn’t just about money. It’s about clarity, relationships, and long-term stewardship.
That’s why we often recommend:
Good estate planning isn’t about legal documents. It’s about outcomes.
If you’ve lived in multiple countries, hold assets globally, or have family members with different citizenships, you need more than a will. You need a strategy that respects the legal and cultural complexity of your life — without adding unnecessary risk or delay.
This is about protecting your family from uncertainty. Not just when you’re gone — but while you’re still here to make the decisions.
If this is something you’re dealing with, we’re available for a confidential conversation.
A: It’s the process of coordinating your estate plan across multiple countries — including your will, tax strategy, and asset structures — to protect your family and legacy.
A: Possibly. If you hold assets in multiple countries, separate wills — one per jurisdiction — may help, but they must be carefully coordinated to avoid conflict.
A: Often not automatically. Vietnam has strict requirements for recognizing foreign wills, especially regarding real estate. Local legal advice is critical.
A: U.S. citizens are taxed on worldwide assets. Planning tools like offshore life insurance or foreign grantor trusts may help mitigate exposure — if structured correctly.
A: An expat will is a legal document tailored to international lifestyles. It accounts for multiple jurisdictions, local laws, and the complexity of cross-border assets and heirs.
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If you’ve already made it - and now want to make it count - we should talk.
We work quietly with a small number of families, founders, and executives each year to simplify complexity, protect what matters, and bring clarity to what comes next.