Modern Post-mortem Estate Planning for Noncitizen Spouses: Why Qualified Domestic Trusts Are a Risky Proposition

Trusts are an Essential part of estate planning. These legal “creatures” often mystify laypersons as obscure vehicles offering tax saving opportunities to the rich. While there is often some truth to this, administering certain types of trusts can be a matter of enormous complexity, even for the most qualified advisers, and careless planning can lead to catastrophic consequences. The qualified domestic trust (QDOT) is perhaps the most complex of these estate planning vehicles. Qualified domestic trusts are born by the interplay of (a) the distinction between income and wealth, and (b) the jurisdictional limitations on the reach of U.S. tax laws on the wealth of noncitizens