My wife and I are danish citizens living and working in New Jersey, US on our 3rd year. We became parents recently, and as our child was bor...

Question

My wife and I are danish citizens living and working in New Jersey, US on our 3rd year. We became parents recently, and as our child was born in US, she is a US citizen. She has a US passport and will soon receive a danish passport. If my wife and I pass away simultaneously while living in US, is a standard Last Will that appoints a danish family member to be her guardian enough to ensure she will not be taken into custody by US authorities due to her citizenship?

Answer

You should absolutely have a Will and Trust to protect you daughter. A good tax and estate attorney can prepare a Will that appoints the guardian of your choice, Your daughter will not be taken by US authorities; you Will would control. You should also consider a Trust to protect and control your assets for your daughter, and also life insurance,

I hope this helps!

Ron Cappuccio

Answer

To follow up on Ron's comments, while your daughter would not be taken by US authorities, Child Protective Services would look after her until your named guardian was actually able to take her.

As an aside, you should be aware that since you are not US citizens, anything that passes between you and your spouse (or down to your daughter) in excess of $675,000 could be subject to a NJ estate tax. I strongly recommend meeting with an estate planning attorney who is familiar with planning for non-citizens.

Kevin A. Pollock, J.D., LL.M.

www.PollockAtLaw.com

P: (609) 818-1555

Licensed to practice law in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Also, visit my blog at: http://WillsTrustsEstates.blogspot.com/