Can Non-US Citizens be Beneficiaries of a Trust?
Question:
My sister-in-law, age 79, just lost her 90-year-old husband. They held everything jointly, so there’s no problem now. But they didn’t have children and she is considering making a living trust to distribute her assets when she passes. Can she name her non-US citizen nieces and nephews as beneficiaries?
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Response:
Yes, there isn’t a problem with doing so. There can be some issues with having non-U.S. citizen trustees of trusts and more often issues with non-U.S. resident trustees, whether or not they’re citizens. Many investment houses, such as Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, etc., require that all trustees are United States residents. But that restriction does not apply to beneficiaries.
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Can I leave my estate to a person who is in the US illegally?
Yes. The rules regarding wills and inheritance are state laws that have nothing to do with immigration status. However, anything left under a will is public information in the probate court. It might be wise to consider using a trust to keep everything private.
Can a Canadian lawyer send me an inheritance from Canada to Illinois legally?
Gina,
While this is really more a question of Canadian law than American law, I don’t see why not.
Harry