Estate Planning Before You Move Overseas: A Checklist for Americans Moving Abroad
8 minute read
Oct 12, 2026 · Annie Baldridge
More Americans are moving abroad than at any point in decades, and many of them leave without updating their estate plans. A May 2026 Boston Globe report describes an estimated 180,000 U.S. citizens emigrating in 2025, the largest outbound migration of citizens in decades. The U.S. government does not track how many Americans move abroad, so every figure is an estimate. The Association of Americans Resident Overseas puts the number living abroad at about 5.5 million as of October 2024, up from 5.4 million in 2023, according to the same report.
If you or a family member is planning a move, your estate plan needs attention before you go. A will, trust or power of attorney that works well in Virginia or Maryland may not work the way you expect once you live in another country. This guide covers what an estate planning attorney in the DC area or Northern Virginia would review with you before you leave.
Why Moving Abroad Changes Your Estate Plan
Moving overseas does not end your U.S. tax obligations, but it adds a second legal system that may apply to your property and your heirs. A U.S. citizen remains subject to federal estate and gift tax wherever they live. For 2026 the federal exemption is $15 million per person, or $30 million for a married couple.
The new country may also have its own rules on inheritance, taxes and who must receive a share of your estate. Some countries have historically not recognized trusts, so a U.S. trust may need to be supported by local documents.
Finally, the practical side changes. Banks and brokerages may restrict accounts once you list a foreign address, and the people you named as agents may have trouble acting for you from another country. Planning for these problems before you leave is far easier than fixing them afterward.
Update Your Core Documents Before You Leave
Sign new or updated documents while you are still in Virginia, where you can meet with your attorney, use witnesses and a notary, and fix problems on the spot. The core set is:
• A will. It names your executor and guardians for minor children. A will that does not account for assets in another country may leave part of your estate unplanned.
• A revocable living trust. It can avoid probate in Virginia and give a successor trustee authority to manage your assets if you cannot. Funding it matters as much as signing it.
• A durable financial power of attorney. Virginia requires only your signature, but notarizing it gives it a presumption of genuineness and is standard practice. Ask whether banks and other institutions abroad will accept a U.S. power of attorney, and consider a separate local one if needed.
• An advance medical directive. Virginia requires this to be signed in front of two witnesses. Foreign hospitals may not follow a Virginia form, so ask about a local health care proxy in your new country.
Signing documents from overseas can be slower and harder, so complete them before you go. Plan to review them again after you settle, especially if you will be a long-term resident.
Choose Your Fiduciaries With the Move in Mind
The people you name as executor, trustee and agent need to be able to act from where they live, and some choices can carry tax or court consequences.
• Executor. In Virginia, a personal representative who is not a Virginia resident generally has to post a bond with a surety company, even if the will tries to waive it. If you are leaving, naming a Virginia or U.S. resident as executor or successor avoids that cost.
• Trustee. A U.S. person as trustee generally helps keep a revocable trust treated as a domestic trust for U.S. tax purposes. Naming a trustee who lives abroad, including yourself after you move, can change reporting. Confirm this with a cross-border tax advisor.
• Agent under your power of attorney. Choose someone who is easy to reach and can deal with U.S. banks in person. Name a backup, and consider a corporate trustee or professional for larger estates.
Tell each person where your documents are and what they would need to do. A fiduciary who cannot find the paperwork cannot help you.
Fund Your Trust and Review Your U.S. Accounts
A trust only controls the assets titled in its name, so retitle your accounts before you move. Moving a taxable brokerage account into your own revocable trust is generally not a sale and does not create a tax bill. Do not retitle IRAs, 401(k)s or similar retirement accounts into the trust. Update their beneficiary designations instead.
Your address is the next issue. One expat tax firm reports that most U.S. banks let you keep accounts after you move abroad, but some brokerages restrict trading, block new purchases or close accounts once you update to a foreign address. Mutual fund purchases, options and margin are the features most often limited.
A U.S. mailing address can help you receive mail, but it should not be your only address. Federal rules require a broker-dealer to collect an individual's residential or business street address, so you should give your real residence and ask whether a separate U.S. mailing address is allowed.
Before you leave:
1. Ask each institution in writing what changes when your address changes to the new country.
2. Move your accounts into the trust and confirm the new registration.
3. Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.
4. Open a bank account in your new country if you will need one, and ask your tax advisor about the reporting that comes with it.
Taxes: What Changes and What Does Not
A U.S. citizen stays subject to U.S. income, estate and gift tax after moving abroad. The new country may add its own taxes on top. Many countries tax residents on worldwide income, and some charge inheritance or transfer taxes. Relief from double taxation is limited: one financial planning firm notes that the U.S. and Portugal have no estate, inheritance or gift tax treaty, so you should check whether your destination has one.
Three areas deserve attention before you move:
• Reporting. Foreign bank and brokerage accounts can trigger FBAR and Form 8938 filings. Your U.S. accounts generally do not.
• Foreign funds. Mutual funds and ETFs bought abroad are often treated as PFICs, which are taxed harshly for U.S. persons. Keeping investments in a U.S. brokerage can avoid this.
• Virginia. Virginia has no estate or inheritance tax. Whether you stop being a Virginia resident for income tax purposes depends on your intent and your ties, so ask your CPA before you file your last Virginia return.
Tax rules differ by country and change often. A cross-border CPA and a lawyer in the new country should review your plan.
Property and Foreign Succession Law
If you move to a European Union country, the law of your new country of residence may decide who inherits from you. Under the EU Succession Regulation, the law applicable to a succession as a whole is by default the law of the state where the deceased had habitual residence at death. The regulation applies in every EU country except Denmark and Ireland, according to one legal reference.
The regulation also lets a person choose the law of their own nationality to govern the whole estate, and the choice must be made in the will. For an American, that can be a way to avoid forced-heirship rules, which reserve part of an estate for certain relatives in many civil-law countries. This is a technical choice, and you should make it only with advice from a lawyer in your destination country.
Other property questions to settle before you go:
• Your U.S. home. Decide whether to sell, rent or keep it, and review the mortgage, insurance and who will manage it. Retitling a mortgaged home can give the lender a right to call the loan, so check first.
• Real estate you buy abroad. Local law usually controls it. Plan to have a will prepared in that country for local assets, drafted to work with your U.S. documents.
• Tenancy by the entirety. Married couples who own a home this way should have it reviewed before it is retitled into a trust.
Pre-Departure Estate Planning Checklist
1. Meet with an estate planning attorney several months before your move, not the week before.
2. Update your will and revocable trust, and confirm who your executor, trustee and agents are.
3. Sign a durable financial power of attorney and an advance medical directive in Virginia, with the required witnesses and notary.
4. Retitle your taxable accounts into the trust, and update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.
5. Ask each bank and brokerage in writing how a foreign address affects your accounts, and give your true residence.
6. Choose fiduciaries who can act from the United States, and tell them where your documents are.
7. Review your U.S. home, mortgage and insurance before you leave.
8. Hire a cross-border tax advisor and a lawyer in your new country to review your U.S. plan.
9. Ask whether you need a local will, and whether to choose your nationality's law to govern your estate.
10. Keep copies of your documents in a secure place that your family and agents can reach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does moving abroad cancel my Virginia will or trust?
No. They generally stay valid, but they may not work the way you expect in your new country, and they may need local support.
Do I still owe U.S. estate tax if I live overseas?
A U.S. citizen remains subject to federal estate and gift tax wherever they live. The federal exemption is $15 million per person for 2026.
Will a Virginia power of attorney work abroad?
Sometimes, but banks and other institutions in another country may not accept it. Ask about a local power of attorney as well.
Should I update my plan before or after I move?
Before. Signing in Virginia is easier, and you can fix problems with your attorney in person. Review it again after you settle.
Talk With an Estate Planning Attorney in Northern Virginia
GoldBridge Law helps families in McLean, Arlington and across Northern Virginia update wills and trusts, plan for probate and prepare estate plans before a move abroad. Contact us to schedule a consultation.
Sources
• Boston Globe, "A record number of Americans are leaving the country" (May 2026)
• Morgan Lewis, 2026 gift and estate tax amounts
• Creative Planning, considerations for Americans in Portugal
• Greenback Expat Tax Services, keeping U.S. accounts abroad
• 31 C.F.R. § 1023.220, broker-dealer customer identification
• Regulation (EU) No 650/2012, applicable law
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and tax figures change, statistics on Americans abroad are estimates, and every situation is different. Consult an attorney and a cross-border tax advisor about your circumstances.
