Question:

I am a permanent resident of the United States. Currently, I am single and thinking to add a beneficiary who is not a U.S. resident. I have called my bank about the same but we can’t add an international beneficiary. Is there any way that I can do that? If not, what is the other option of transferring funds to that person in case of any mishap? I guess there might be a will that I can get prepared.

Response:

Banks and other financial institutions are becoming increasingly difficult with respect to non-U.S. resident beneficiaries. I think the best solution would be to create a revocable trust with a U.S. resident successor trustee. Then, when the time comes, that person should be able to carry out your wishes and distribute the funds to the beneficiary.

That said, we talked in our office today about a difficulty we’re having distributing funds to an estate beneficiary living in Greece. She can’t seem to deposit a check we sent her in a Greek bank and for some reason, we can’t seem wire the money to her. On the other hand, we also administer a trust for a beneficiary in Kenya and have not had trouble wiring funds to him. In addition, there are a number of services that accommodate sending money overseas. After all, there are a lot of people who have come to the United States at least in part to support their families back home.

You could also search for another bank that is more accommodating, but the problem with that approach is that they could always change their rules. So, I’d go with the revocable trust approach.

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