West Palm Beach is home to a growing community of international families: spouses with different citizenships, parents raising children across two countries, and newcomers who have invested in Florida real estate or businesses. For these households, an estate plan is rarely just a Florida matter. Citizenship and immigration status shape who can inherit, how much tax the IRS may claim, and whether your wishes survive a move, a death, or a visa interview abroad. Below are the places where Florida estate law and U.S. immigration law genuinely intersect, and why expatriate families usually need counsel on both sides.
The Non-Citizen Spouse and the Marital Deduction Trap
Most married couples assume that anything left to a surviving spouse passes free of federal estate tax under the unlimited marital deduction. That assumption breaks when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Federal law denies the unlimited marital deduction to a non-citizen spouse, because Congress worried that a non-citizen could inherit a large estate and then leave the country before any tax is ever collected.
The standard solution is a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT). Property passes into the QDOT for the surviving spouse’s benefit, the marital deduction is preserved, and the estate tax is deferred until principal is distributed or the survivor dies. A QDOT must have at least one U.S. trustee, and larger trusts face additional security requirements. For a West Palm Beach couple where one spouse holds a green card or a foreign passport, building a QDOT option into the plan now avoids a costly surprise later. If the surviving spouse later naturalizes before the estate tax return is filed, the QDOT may no longer be necessary, which is one of many reasons estate and immigration timelines should be coordinated.
Non-Resident Aliens and U.S.-Situated Assets
Estate tax exposure also depends on residency for tax purposes, not just citizenship. A non-resident alien who owns U.S.-situated assets, including Florida real estate and shares in U.S. companies, can be subject to federal estate tax on those assets with only a very small exemption, far below what U.S. citizens and domiciliaries receive. Many foreign investors who buy a condo in Palm Beach County or fund a Florida LLC have no idea this exposure exists. Proper structuring, sometimes through entities or trusts, should be designed before the purchase, with input from both estate and tax advisors.
How Immigration Status Affects Beneficiaries and Guardians
Your beneficiaries’ immigration status matters too. Leaving assets outright to a beneficiary who is undocumented or who lives abroad can create practical and tax complications; a properly drafted trust under Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes can hold and manage those assets responsibly. For parents, naming a guardian for minor children is critical when extended family lives overseas. If you want a relative abroad to raise your children, that wish should be documented clearly, while understanding that a Florida court still decides guardianship based on the child’s best interests. These are decisions immigrant families should not leave to chance.
Wills, Homestead, and Florida Formalities
Whatever your citizenship, a Florida will must meet the execution requirements of Florida Statutes §732.502: signed by the testator and two witnesses, all present together. Foreign wills and handwritten (holographic) wills often fail these formalities. Florida’s homestead protections add another layer: the state constitution restricts how a homestead can be devised when there is a surviving spouse or minor child, regardless of immigration status. A plan drafted abroad rarely accounts for these Florida-specific rules.
Powers of Attorney for Travel and Pending Cases
Immigration matters often require travel. A client may spend weeks at a U.S. consulate abroad for an immigrant visa, or be unreachable during processing. A durable power of attorney and a designated health care surrogate ensure that finances and medical decisions can be handled in your absence. If you have a pending green-card or naturalization case, your estate plan should be reviewed alongside it, because a change in status can change the entire tax and beneficiary picture.
Why You Need Both Estate and Immigration Counsel
Our firm focuses on Florida estate planning, not immigration. We regularly coordinate with a Florida immigration attorney so that the two plans align rather than collide. Families building their future here through E-2 and EB-5 investor visas especially benefit from this teamwork, since the business structures behind those visas carry real estate-tax and succession consequences. If you are new to West Palm Beach, or your family spans more than one country, get both an estate plan and immigration counsel in place. Contact our West Palm Beach office to start building a plan that protects your family on both sides of the border.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate and estate administration in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles Article 81 guardianship in New York.
