American Retiree: US–Brazil Estate Planning Questions
Educational planning questions, documents and legal distinctions. No client-result or tax-saving claim.
Educational scenario — not a report of a client engagement or an achieved result. This page replaces an earlier case narrative whose results and quotations were not substantiated for publication. No names, outcomes or savings below are presented as client evidence.
Situation to assess
A US citizen living in Brazil holds retirement accounts in the United States and a home in Brazil. Family members live in both countries.
What should you collect first?
Confirm each person’s citizenship, tax residence and domicile; collect wills, account beneficiary forms and property records. Send only a brief description in the initial inquiry; sensitive records belong in an agreed secure intake process after conflict checks.
What distinction changes the decision?
Retirement-account income, estate tax and Brazilian inheritance tax are separate questions. Brazil is absent from the IRS income-tax treaty list; there is no Brazil–US treaty rate of 15% for IRA distributions. US citizenship and account rules matter, so a blanket nonresident withholding rate is also unsafe.
What is the next practical step?
A US adviser should assess beneficiary designations and US reporting; Brazilian counsel should assess local succession and ITCMD. A lifetime gift can create immediate tax and restrict control; it is not automatically a saving.
Probate and tax checks
Brazilian probate eligibility depends on the facts and the current CNJ Resolution 35, including safeguards for wills and vulnerable heirs. A will is neither automatically required for notarial probate nor a guarantee of eligibility. Confirm tax, document and registry requirements before choosing a route.
The Brazilian Civil Code sets succession and family-property rules. For US-connected matters, check the IRS treaty list and current estate-tax guidance. For deaths in 2026, the US federal basic exclusion for citizens and domiciliaries is $15 million; prior gifts, filing elections, state taxes and nonresident rules require separate analysis. This does not exempt Brazilian transfers from ITCMD.
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Talk to a lawyer about your case
Every case is unique. Schedule a consultation and discover how we can help you navigate the Brazilian legal system with confidence.