You Have a Will. It Probably Won't Work Where You Actually Live.

Your Will Only Works in One Country. You Don't.

Most US citizens living abroad have done the sensible thing. They have a will, drafted by a good attorney, that says exactly what they want. And they believe that covers everything. It almost certainly doesn't.

A will drafted in the US may be completely unenforceable where your assets actually sit. France, Germany, Spain and much of the Middle East operate under forced heirship laws that allocate fixed portions of your estate to your children regardless of what your will says. Your intent doesn't matter. The local law does.

Then there's the authority gap. The moment you die, your power of attorney becomes worthless. Banks freeze accounts. Property can't be sold. And your executor can't act until a court in each jurisdiction grants probate authority - a process that can take months while your family is locked out of everything.

And for US citizens, the reporting obligations don't pause for grief. FBAR filings, FATCA thresholds, penalties of up to 40% of unreported asset value - your surviving spouse or children may inherit not just your assets, but your compliance obligations too.

Joselyn Pfeil, Private Wealth Adviser at Skybound Wealth Management, covers the full picture of cross-border estate planning for US expats - and what needs to be in place before it's needed.

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What You'll Learn

Why a single will almost never works for US citizens with assets in multiple countries, and how one badly worded clause can accidentally invalidate another jurisdiction's document
What forced heirship laws are, which countries apply them, and how they can override your wishes entirely
The authority gap: what happens to your family's access to accounts and property in the period between death and probate
What FBAR and FATCA mean for your surviving family, and why compliance obligations don't stop at death
How mixed nationality marriages are treated fundamentally differently under the US tax code, and the specific exposure when a surviving spouse isn't a US citizen
What a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT) is, when it applies, and what it actually costs
The UAE-specific layer: Sharia law defaults, the DIFC wills service, and why you have to opt in

Who This Is For

US citizens living abroad with assets in more than one country
Mixed nationality couples where one spouse is not a US citizen
Anyone who has moved countries since their estate plan was last reviewed
US expats in the UAE who have never registered a will through the DIFC wills service
Those who have a will but have never confirmed whether it's enforceable where they actually live

Why This Matters

The cost of not planning doesn't fall on you. It falls on the people you're trying to protect - at the worst possible moment, under the worst possible conditions.

Your family shouldn't have to spend months locked out of accounts, fighting between jurisdictions, or inheriting compliance penalties they didn't know existed. The best estate plan is one they never have to fight about - documented, coordinated, and communicated before it's needed.

This session is the starting point for getting that right.

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Joselyn Pfeil

Private Wealth Adviser

Joselyn works with globally mobile families on multi-generational wealth planning and cross-border financial strategy. SEC-registered and independently regulated internationally, she established the Skybound Wealth Global Family Toolkit and works with clients across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and select European markets.