Estate Planning Consultation for Expats in Brazil

A cross-border estate planning consultation is a structured 90-minute session where an attorney licensed in Brazil analyzes your asset portfolio, family structure, tax residency, and succession exposure across jurisdictions — then delivers a written strategy memo with specific recommendations. For Americans and other foreigners with Brazilian connections, this consultation identifies the gaps between your home-country estate plan and Brazil’s mandatory succession rules before those gaps become costly probate problems.

“The most expensive estate planning is the kind done after death, during probate. Every strategy — lifetime donations, holding company formation, insurance rebalancing, will drafting — requires the asset owner to be alive and competent. That is why the consultation exists.” — Zachariah Zagol, Founding Partner, OAB/SP 351.356

Why Do Expats Need a Brazil-Specific Estate Planning Consultation?

Most foreigners living in or investing in Brazil carry significant unaddressed succession risk. A US-drafted will does not control Brazilian real estate. A trust established in Delaware has no direct legal recognition in Brazilian courts. And Brazil’s forced heirship rules under Arts. 1.845-1.846 of the Civil Code (Lei 10.406/2002) mean that at least 50% of your estate must pass to compulsory heirs — regardless of what your American documents say.

The consultation exists to map these conflicts and build a strategy that works across both legal systems. Without it, your heirs face judicial inventory proceedings that take 12-24 months, ITCMD tax bills they didn’t anticipate, and potential conflicts between contradictory testamentary instruments in different countries.

Zachariah Zagol — the first American admitted to the Brazilian Bar (OAB/SP 351.356) — conducts each consultation personally. Having navigated the US and Brazilian legal systems for over 15 years, he understands the practical friction points that textbook advice misses: the CPF requirements that block foreign heirs, the consular apostille delays, and the state-by-state ITCMD variations that can swing your tax bill by hundreds of thousands of reais.

What’s Included in the Consultation?

Every estate planning consultation includes:

• Asset inventory review — Real estate, bank accounts, investments, business interests, and retirement accounts in Brazil and abroad
• Family structure analysis — Marriage regime, children (including from prior relationships), dependents, and compulsory heir identification under CC Art. 1.829
• Tax residency determination — Whether you are tax-resident in Brazil, the US, or both, and how that affects ITCMD and US estate tax exposure
• Cross-border conflict mapping — Identification of conflicts between your existing estate documents and Brazilian law
• ITCMD exposure estimate — Projected inheritance tax liability by state, including post-LC 227/2026 progressive rate impact
• Written strategy memo — A 10-20 page document with prioritized recommendations, timelines, and cost estimates for implementation
• Follow-up Q&A — 30-day email support window for clarifying questions after you receive the memo

How Does the Consultation Process Work?

Step 1: Discovery (Before the Session)

You complete a detailed intake questionnaire covering your assets, family structure, existing estate documents, and goals. You upload copies of your current will, trust documents, property deeds, marriage certificate, and tax returns. Our team reviews these materials before the session so we arrive prepared, not learning your situation for the first time.

Step 2: Analysis (The 90-Minute Session)

The live consultation is a structured working session — not a sales pitch. We walk through your asset map jurisdiction by jurisdiction, identify forced heirship exposure under Brazilian law, flag double-taxation scenarios between Brazil and your home country, and discuss the structural options available: Brazilian wills, holding companies, donation strategies, and cross-border will coordination. You leave the session with a clear understanding of your risks and the available paths forward.

Step 3: Strategy Memo (Delivered Within 10 Business Days)

The written deliverable is the core value of the engagement. The strategy memo includes a prioritized action plan with specific recommendations, estimated costs for each phase of implementation, projected ITCMD savings from different structuring approaches, and a timeline for execution. This document becomes the blueprint for your full estate plan.

Who Should Book a Consultation?

American Expats Living in Brazil

If you hold a CPF, own property, or maintain bank accounts in Brazil, your US estate plan has a Brazilian-shaped hole in it. The consultation identifies what your US attorney missed — because they don’t know Brazilian forced heirship, ITCMD, or the LINDB (Decreto-Lei 4.657/1942) Art. 10 rules that determine which country’s succession law applies. The CNJ publishes updated guidance on extrajudicial inventory procedures for estates involving foreign heirs.

Foreign Heirs Expecting a Brazilian Inheritance

If a parent or relative has died (or will die) owning assets in Brazil, you need to understand the probate process before it starts. The consultation maps the inventory timeline, estimates ITCMD liability, identifies required documents, and flags the CPF and power-of-attorney requirements that delay foreign heirs by months.

Pre-Movers Planning a Relocation to Brazil

The highest-use moment for estate planning is before you move. Once you establish tax residency in Brazil, the ITCMD clock starts, community property defaults apply to new marriages, and your worldwide assets may fall under Brazilian succession jurisdiction. The consultation builds a pre-immigration plan that locks in advantageous structures before residency triggers new obligations.

Business Owners with Brazilian Operations

If you own equity in a Brazilian LTDA, S.A., or EIRELI — or hold shares through a holding company — succession planning affects business continuity. Brazilian corporate succession rules interact with your operating agreement, shareholder rights, and the forced heirship claims of your compulsory heirs. The consultation addresses business succession alongside personal asset planning.

How Much Does an Estate Planning Consultation Cost?

Service	Price (USD)	What’s Included
Initial Assessment	$600	90-minute consultation + written strategy memo
Full Estate Plan	$5,000 - $25,000	Complete implementation: wills, holding structures, tax optimization
Annual Review	$3,000 - $7,500/year	Ongoing compliance, legislative updates, annual strategy adjustment

The initial assessment fee is credited toward the full estate plan if you engage us for implementation within 90 days. Full estate plan pricing varies based on the number of jurisdictions involved, asset complexity, and whether holding company formation or trust advisory is required.

For detailed pricing, see our estate planning pricing page.

What Should You Prepare Before Your Consultation?

Arrive with as much of the following as possible. Missing documents don’t prevent the consultation — but completeness improves the specificity of our recommendations.

Identity & Residency Documents:

• Passport (all citizenships)
• CPF number (if you have one)
• RNE/CRNM (foreign resident card, if applicable)
• Current tax residency status (which countries you file returns in)

Estate & Family Documents:

• Current will(s) — from any jurisdiction
• Trust documents (US revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, etc.)
• Marriage certificate and prenuptial/postnuptial agreement
• Children’s birth certificates (including from prior relationships)

Asset Documentation:

• Brazilian property deeds (matrícula)
• Bank and investment account statements (Brazil and abroad)
• Business ownership documents (contrato social, stock certificates)
• Life insurance policies
• Retirement account statements (401k, IRA, PGBL/VGBL)

Tax Records:

• Most recent US tax return (Form 1040 + relevant schedules)
• Most recent Brazilian tax return (DIRPF)
• FBAR/FinCEN 114 (if applicable)

What Are the Most Common Mistakes Expats Make Without a Consultation?

Relying solely on a US trust. American expats frequently assume their US revocable living trust covers their Brazilian assets. It does not. Brazilian courts do not recognize US trusts as valid succession instruments. Your Brazilian real estate, bank accounts, and business interests require a Brazilian will and a Brazilian inventory — regardless of what your US trust documents say.

Ignoring the marriage regime default. When foreigners marry in Brazil without a prenuptial agreement (pacto antenupcial), the default regime is comunhao parcial de bens (partial community property). This means assets acquired during the marriage are automatically split 50/50 — with significant inheritance and ITCMD consequences that most Americans never anticipated.

Underestimating ITCMD. Americans are accustomed to the $13.61 million US estate tax exemption and assume inheritance taxes are irrelevant. Brazilian ITCMD applies from the first real above minimal state thresholds. An estate worth R$5 million in Sao Paulo owes R$200,000 in ITCMD at current rates — and up to R$400,000 after progressive rates take effect under LC 227/2026.

Waiting until someone dies. The most expensive estate planning is the kind done after death, during probate. Every strategy — lifetime donations, holding company formation, insurance rebalancing, will drafting — requires the asset owner to be alive and competent. The consultation exists to implement these strategies while they are still available.

How Does the Consultation Address Tax Residency Conflicts?

Many Americans in Brazil are tax-resident in both countries simultaneously. The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Brazil taxes residents on worldwide income after they establish fiscal domicile. This dual residency creates layered succession exposure: US estate tax on worldwide assets, Brazilian ITCMD on Brazilian assets (and now on foreign assets received by Brazilian domiciliaries under LC 227/2026), and potential state-level inheritance taxes in the US.

The consultation maps this exposure by analyzing your specific residency profile under both countries’ rules. We determine whether the Brazil-US income tax treaty (which exists for income tax, though NOT for estate tax) affects your residency classification, whether you have filed the required Brazilian annual tax return (DIRPF) establishing fiscal domicile, and how your tax residency status affects ITCMD jurisdiction. This analysis forms the foundation of the strategy memo.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the consultation be done remotely?

Yes. The majority of our consultations are conducted via secure video conference. Clients in Sao Paulo can meet in person at our office. The written strategy memo is delivered digitally regardless of format. There is no difference in quality or scope between remote and in-person sessions.

What if I only have assets in one country — do I still need a cross-border consultation?

If you are a foreigner with assets only in Brazil, you still face forced heirship rules, ITCMD exposure, and potential conflicts with your home-country estate plan. The consultation addresses Brazilian succession law as it applies to you specifically. If you are Brazilian with assets only in the US, we coordinate with US counsel to ensure your Brazilian heirs’ rights are protected under both systems.

How soon should I book a consultation after moving to Brazil?

Immediately. Your marriage regime defaults, tax residency status, and ITCMD exposure all activate upon establishing Brazilian residency. The longer you wait, the fewer structural options remain available — and some planning strategies (particularly donation planning at current ITCMD rates before LC 227/2026 takes full effect) are explicitly time-sensitive.

“An American’s US trust has no legal recognition in Brazilian courts. A Brazilian will does not control US assets. The consultation maps these conflicts and builds a strategy that works across both systems — before the gaps become costly probate problems.” — Zachariah Zagol, Founding Partner, OAB/SP 351.356

Why ZS Advogados for Your Estate Planning Consultation?

Estate planning for foreigners in Brazil requires an attorney who is genuinely fluent in both legal systems — not a Brazilian lawyer who “also handles international cases” and not a US attorney who outsources Brazilian questions to local counsel they’ve never met. Zachariah Zagol holds an LL.M. from USC Gould School of Law, is admitted to the Brazilian Bar as the first American member (OAB/SP 351.356), and has spent over 15 years practicing at the intersection of US and Brazilian law. Every consultation is conducted personally by Zac — not delegated to a junior associate. The strategy memo reflects direct experience with the cross-border problems that actually arise, not theoretical analysis from someone who has never filed a Brazilian inventory or coordinated dual-jurisdiction wills.

Book your consultation today or explore our comprehensive estate planning guide for more background.