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Ashford International Law PC
International estate and tax law advisors to UHNWIs, financial institutions and family businesses
A law firm for cross-border estate planning, the administration of estates and trusts, and the taxation of estates, trusts and payments that cross a border.
Licensing
Licensed to practice law
- California
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Washington DC
- Germany
- National tax practice
Six books
The Cross-Border Advisor Series
- 1.Tax and Estate Planning for Non-Citizens in the United States
- 2.U.S. Assets of Nonresident Aliens
- 3.Withholding on Payments to Foreign Persons
- 4.Foreign Beneficiaries of U.S. Estates and Trusts
- 5.Americans Living Abroad
- 6.The Cross-Border Estate
Tax compliance
Tax returns prepared in-house
The estate, gift, trust and income tax returns that follow from the firm’s advice are prepared within the firm.
Planning, administration and filing are handled by the same law firm, without a hand-off to an outside preparer.
How an engagement works →Other websites
Other websites of the firm
- If you are an American with ties to Germany, please visit www.GermanyUSAlawtaxfinance.com.
- If you are an American with ties to France, please visit www.FranceUSAlawtaxfinance.com.
- Our German-language site is Vermoegen-USA.com.
- Our French-language site is patrimoine-americain.com.
- The law firm’s own site is AshfordInternationalLaw.com.
Choose Your Situation
Fourteen situations the firm’s attorneys handle regularly, grouped by profile. Each page sets out what is happening, what has to happen and in what order, how the firm helps, and what documents to prepare for the initial consultation.
Foreign Nationals Abroad with US Assets
Someone living abroad has died, leaving assets in the United StatesThe firm prepares Form 706-NA, obtains the transfer certificate and secures the release of the U.S. assets.
Living abroad with assets in the United StatesThe firm measures the U.S. estate tax exposure under the treaty and structures the holdings.
Selling U.S. real estate owned from abroadThe firm handles the FIRPTA withholding and the withholding certificate and advises through the closing.Profile overview →American Expats Living Abroad
Americans living abroadThe firm puts the U.S. returns, the reporting and the estate plan in order for life in another country.
Retiring abroad with U.S. retirement accountsThe firm sets out how the treaty taxes the accounts abroad and plans distributions and beneficiaries.
Giving up U.S. citizenship or a green cardThe firm determines whether the exit tax applies and prepares the expatriation and its filings.Profile overview →Foreign Nationals Living in the United States
Moving to the United StatesThe firm plans the years before US residence begins: asset structuring, gifts, companies and timing.
Living in the United States without U.S. citizenshipThe firm prepares the estate plan, settles questions of domicile and puts the reporting of foreign assets in order.
A spouse who is not a U.S. citizenThe firm plans around the limits on the marital deduction: the QDOT, lifetime gifts and joint property.Profile overview →Americans with Assets Abroad
Americans with property and accounts abroadThe firm brings the foreign assets into the U.S. estate plan and coordinates foreign wills and the reporting.Profile overview →Americans with Adult Children Abroad
Americans whose adult children live abroadThe firm plans the gifts, the trusts and the fiduciaries with the tax of the child’s country in view.Profile overview →Foreign Heirs of US Estates
An estate in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia or California has heirs abroadThe firm administers the estate from probate to the final distribution to the heirs abroad.
An estate or trust is paying a beneficiary abroadThe firm determines the withholding and the treaty position and prepares the forms before the payment.
Your situation is not listed? Describe it in a few lines; the firm replies with what it needs and how it would proceed. Where the other country is Germany or France, see GermanyUSAlawtaxfinance.com or FranceUSAlawtaxfinance.com.
Describe your situation
The Cross-Border Advisor Series
Six books for professionals who advise clients with assets, residences, heirs or trusts in more than one country. Each book addresses one client situation, is written for the advisors who handle it, and is sold on its own. By Caroline E. Ashford, PhD, JD. Published by Clarison Press.
- 1Tax and Estate Planning for Non-Citizens in the United StatesA Guide for Financial Advisors, Tax Advisors and Estate Planners · Mid-December 2026USD 225
- 2U.S. Assets of Nonresident AliensA Guide for Financial Advisors · Mid-December 2026USD 225
- 3Withholding on Payments to Foreign PersonsA Guide for Custodians and Other Withholding Agents · Mid-January 2027USD 150
- 4Foreign Beneficiaries of U.S. Estates and TrustsA Guide for Trustees and Executors · In preparationUSD 200
- 5Americans Living AbroadA Guide for Wealth Managers and Tax Advisors · In preparationUSD 150
- 6The Cross-Border EstateA Guide for Estate Attorneys · In preparationUSD 250
Books 1 and 2 in mid-December 2026, Book 3 in mid-January 2027; Books 4 to 6 in preparation. USD 150 to USD 250 a book.
Choose Your Profile
Each overview collects the situations, topics and guides that matter to one kind of reader, and opens the library already filtered.
Financial Institutions and Corporate Trustees
Deceased foreign account holders, payments and distributions abroad, documentation and withholding.
Overview →
Advisors
CPAs, attorneys and wealth advisors with a foreign element in a client file.
Overview →
Foreign Nationals Living in the United States
Green card and visa holders, spouses who are not citizens, diplomats and staff of international organizations.
Overview →
Foreign Nationals Abroad with US Assets
US securities, real estate and accounts held from abroad, and the estate tax and withholding that follow.
Overview →Foreign Heirs of US Estates
Heirs and beneficiaries abroad of estates and trusts in the United States: withholding, treaty claims and the release of the inheritance.
Overview →Americans with Assets Abroad
US citizens and residents with real estate, accounts, funds or companies outside the United States.
Overview →
Americans with Adult Children Abroad
Parents whose sons and daughters have settled in another country: gifts, trusts and fiduciaries.
Overview →American Expats Living Abroad
US citizens who live and work abroad: the exclusion or the credit, reporting, state residence and the estate plan.
Overview →
Family Businesses with a US Subsidiary
Western European family companies that form and run a US subsidiary, with the firm as outside counsel.
Overview →Dedicated websites for matters related to Germany and France
The firm publishes its German-American and French-American material on four dedicated websites, two in English and two in the language of the country.
French matters
FranceUSAlawtaxfinance.comIn English, for Americans with ties to France and their advisors patrimoine-americain.comIn French, for residents of France with assets in the United StatesThe firm advises on the American side and on the two France-United States conventions. French law is handled by the client’s own advisers in France or, if needed, by notaires, avocats and tax advisers from the firm’s network.
Articles, explainers, guides and webinars
Filter by reader, practice area, country or state, and format. Several choices within one group widen the result; choices in different groups narrow it.
Treaty countries and the rest
The United States has estate tax conventions with fourteen countries, and Article XXIX B of the income tax convention with Canada adds a fifteenth. The firm treats the convention as the rule and the statutory regime as the exception.
| Country | Type of convention | Gifts covered |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Situs type | Yes |
| Austria | Domicile type | Yes |
| Canada | Income tax convention, Art. XXIX B | No |
| Denmark | Domicile type | Yes |
| Finland | Situs type | No |
| France FranceUSAlawtaxfinance.com | Domicile type | Yes |
| Germany GermanyUSAlawtaxfinance.com | Domicile type | Yes |
| Greece | Situs type | No |
| Ireland | Situs type | No |
| Italy | Situs type | No |
| Japan | Situs type | Yes |
| Netherlands | Domicile type | No |
| South Africa | Situs type | No |
| Switzerland | Situs type | No |
| United Kingdom | Domicile type | Yes |
Where no convention applies, for example for Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Portugal, Monaco or Israel, the statutory regime applies without modification.
Twelve practice areas
Every topic page states the rule, the treaty position and the forms, and lists the material in the library on that subject.
Tax treaties
Estate, gift and income tax conventions read against the Code.
Estate and gift tax
Situs, exemptions, the marital deduction and credits.
Income tax and withholding
FDAP income, effectively connected income and treaty rates.
Reporting and compliance
FBAR and Forms 8938, 3520, 5471 and 1042-S.
Trusts and distributions
Classification, beneficiaries abroad and fiduciary liability.
Estate settlement and probate
Ancillary probate, Form 706-NA and the transfer certificate.
Estate planning and wills
Wills, revocable trusts and documents for two countries.
Real estate and FIRPTA
Purchase, holding structures, sale and the estate.
Retirement accounts
IRAs, 401(k) plans and foreign pensions across borders.
Spouses and marital property
Spouses who are not citizens, QDOTs and foreign marital regimes.
Residence, immigration and expatriation
Domicile, green cards, the pre-immigration window and the exit tax.
Family businesses and holding structures
US subsidiaries, blocker structures and succession.
Guides for professionals and families
Some guides are free against an email address; others are purchased. Each guide has a public summary page.
Covered Expatriate Status and the Section 877A Exit Tax
36 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Download PDF →Withholding and Fiduciary Liability on Distributions to Foreign Beneficiaries
23 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Purchase $100 →
QDOT and Other Transfers to a Non-Citizen Spouse
30 pages. Updated in September 2026.
Purchase $100 →So You Are the Executor: A Guide to a Cross-Border Estate
8 pages. Updated in August 2026.
Download PDF →Coming webinars
Each webinar treats one question. USD 300 per webinar.
Paying It Out: Foreign Beneficiaries, Fiduciary Liability and the Cross-Border Compliance Suite
Register →Renouncing US Citizenship or the Green Card, or Returning to the United States
Register →
Who Is a US Person for Income Tax Purposes, and Separately for Transfer Tax Purposes?
Register →
The USD 60,000 Trap: US Estate and Gift Tax on Nonresident Clients
Register →Matters the firm has handled
American trusts with beneficiaries in Germany and France
A Virginia resident held her wealth in a revocable trust and several irrevocable trusts. The firm reviewed the instruments, advised on withholding and reporting for distributions abroad, and restructured the trusts for beneficiaries in three countries.
A fraudulent codicil in a Washington DC estate
During the administration of an estate of about USD 70 million, a codicil appeared that left a distant relative USD 8 million. The firm challenged it for the heirs, who live in Germany, and concluded the litigation for them.
Residences in Germany and the United States
Both countries claimed the right to tax. The firm administered the estate on both sides and coordinated the filings so that treaty and credit relief were preserved, and regularized open lifetime tax matters in the same engagement.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
How an engagement works
Initial consultation
The firm reviews the documents, identifies the questions that need an answer and sets out the scope of the work. Fees are quoted upon reviewing the scope of the initial consultation, and depend on the complexity of the matter.
Flat fees for defined projects
Estate planning documents, treaty analyses and defined tax filings are carried out for a flat fee agreed before the work begins.
Hourly fees for other work
Estate settlements, litigation, ongoing counsel to institutions and other open-ended work are billed by the hour, with an estimate at the outset.
Ashford International Law PC
The firm advises on estate planning, tax planning, trust administration and estate settlements between the United States and Western Europe, and acts as outside counsel to the US subsidiaries of European family businesses.
The firm is led by attorney Caroline Esche Ashford, PhD, JD. A graduate of Columbia University Law School, her practice focuses on international estate planning and the cross-border taxation and administration of estates and trusts, including the estates of nonresidents with assets held at US institutions. Dr. Ashford is also licensed to practice law in Germany. She advises in French and German as well as English.
Team and admissions →
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