Expert advice on your US/UK cross-border matters
When you have personal and financial connections in both the US and the UK, you are forced to navigate two very different and complex tax regimes. Where there are transatlantic ties, whether through the location or origin of assets or family members, it is essential to obtain integrated advice in relation to tax and reporting requirements. In order to plan effectively, it is vital to receive guidance from advisors that have a clear understanding of the interaction between the two regimes.
Forsters’ Private Wealth practice has a team of specialist UK lawyers who are experienced in advising on US/UK cross-border matters, including personal tax, trust and estate planning. We have a strong understanding of US tax issues and how they interact with UK taxation.
Our deliberately independent model means that we have the flexibility to work either with your existing US advisors, or with selected firms with which we have well established relationships. Our US/UK team travel to the US regularly to meet clients and intermediaries.
We can help with the following US/UK issues:
Estate and succession planning
- Drafting wills and providing integrated estate planning advice that takes account of exposure to UK inheritance tax and US estate taxes
- Formation, administration and taxation of succession planning structures for US-connected families, including trusts and family partnerships
- Tax-efficient structuring of US estate plans for the benefit of UK resident beneficiaries
- Creation and use of life insurance trusts for UK resident US persons
Trusts
- Ascertaining the character of US revocable trusts for UK tax purposes
- Mitigating double tax risks associated with trusts that have US and UK tax connections
- Disputes involving trusts with US and UK connections
Moving from the US to the UK
- Pre-arrival tax planning
- Acquiring UK residential property and tax-efficient holding structures
- UK immigration
- Review of nuptial agreements
- Ongoing cross-border tax advice with reference to US-UK double tax treaties
Incapacity
- Putting in place UK lasting powers of attorney
- Application and enforcement of US powers of attorney in the UK
- Applications for deputyships (agreed or contested)
- Applications to the Court of Protection in respect of property and financial affairs or cross-border relocation (agreed or contested)
Probate and estate administration
- Administration of international estates that include US and UK assets
- Obtaining UK grant of probate for administration of UK estate (including under US wills)
- Will and estate administration disputes, and financial provision claims involving US and UK estates
Charitable giving
- Tax-efficient charitable giving where these is a dual exposure to US and UK taxation.
Business
- Cross-border restructuring of private businesses with entities that are resident in both the UK and US
- Mitigating the risk of double taxation on receipt of income by UK residents from US LLCs
Family
- International pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements for spouses who have connections with or are living between the UK and US
- Preparation of Cohabitation agreements outlining the rights and responsibilities of each partner during cohabitation and in the event of the breakdown of a relationship
- Collaborating with our network of professional advisors to resolve cross-border financial issues on divorce or separation, including in respect of enforcement issues
- Resolving issues relating to children in the event of divorce or separation, such as relocating or wrongfully retaining a child in the UK or the US
Your guide to US-UK cross-border planning
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Track record
Trust disputes
We acted for the protector of a Cayman trust with US and non-US beneficiaries, in relation to the variation of the trust to better meet the interests of the class as a whole.
Recovering debts
We acted for a creditor of a US/UK estate, to successfully enforce a substantial US debt against the deceased’s English assets, following closure of the US probate.
Trust restructuring
We advised on a once in a generation restructuring of a family’s trust structure holding several billion US dollars with interests across multiple jurisdictions.
Cross-border estate planning
We advised a dual Swiss and UK citizen and tax resident on cross-border estate planning, which included advice on the conflict of laws between these jurisdictions (and how to manage them) and the application of the Swiss/UK inheritance tax treaty.
Pre-US residence tax planning
We advised a UK entrepreneur regarding his pre-US residence tax planning. This included the creation of a family limited partnership structure to facilitate tax-efficient lifetime gifts to his children in a controlled fashion.
Tax-efficient financial provision for child
We advised a US resident parent on making tax-efficient financial provision for his UK resident child, including through an existing US trust settled by the parent. Advice included amending the terms of the trust to optimise access to relief from double taxation under the US-UK treaty, as well as exploring opportunities to provide for the child through outright gifts and loans.
Administration and tax treatment of an estate
We advised on the administration and tax treatment of the estate of a deceased American entrepreneur, which included substantial real and personal property in the US, UK and Italy. A lack of lifetime planning led to complex conflict of law and inheritance issues across three jurisdictions, which were settled to allow the administration of the estate.
Estate planning in the US and the UK
We carried out estate planning for a married couple with one US citizen spouse and assets in the US and the UK. This included putting in place US and English wills, which were designed to enable access to spousal exemptions from estate taxes on the first death, and advising the non-US spouse on funding a trust that would constitute an ‘excluded property trust’ for UK inheritance tax purposes and a ‘foreign grantor trust’ for US income tax purposes.
Pre-arrival tax planning advice
We provided pre-arrival tax planning advice to a British husband and his American wife, who were moving to the UK. This included advising on their UK tax status and restructuring the ownership and composition of their assets to optimise their global tax position. We also reviewed and updated their estate plans, put UK incapacity documents in place, advised on the purchase of a UK residential property and assisted with obtaining a UK spousal visa for the wife.
Meet our team
Emma Gillies
Partner, Private Client
Xavier Nicholas
Partner, Head of Private Client
George Mitchell
Partner, Private Client
Jeremy Robertson
Partner, Private Client
Charles Miéville
Partner, Residential Property
Rosie Schumm
Partner, Family
Dickon Ceadel
Partner, Family
Hannah Mantle
Partner, Trust and Estate Disputes
Lucie Bennett
Senior Associate, Private Client
Emma Jones
Senior Associate, Private Client
Rebecca Anstey
Senior Associate, Private Client
