Non-citizen spouses are treated differently than that of citizen spouses. The estate of the deceased spouse is entitled to an unlimited deduction for estate taxes for amounts left to the surviving citizen spouse. In order to achieve the same result for a non-citizen spouse, the deceased spouse’s Will must provide for use of a qualified domestic trust into which the bequest to the non-citizen spouse is placed to achieve an unlimited marital deduction, and thus saving estate tax liability. The qualified domestic trust must be drafted to comply with the complicated estate tax rules to obtain favorable tax treatment.

Thomas E. Raines, PC represents clients throughout the Atlanta metro area: Fulton County, Cobb County, Clayton County, Dekalb County, Forsyth County, and Gwinnett County, including the cities of Norcross, Alpharetta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Marietta, Decatur, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, and Cumming. Contact Thomas E. Raines, PC today.