Your client's wealth crosses borders. Will the plan hold when the family needs it most?
A U.S. property. A concentrated equity position. Heirs in several countries. Each can introduce questions of ownership, authority and succession that deserve a coordinated U.S. review. Identify the gaps while the family can still choose how to address them.
Explore the BriefingsView the Exposure MapSITUS • CONTROL • SUCCESSION
A family may reside in Dubai, bank in Geneva and invest through international custodians, yet still own U.S.-situs property. American estate-tax rules and succession mechanisms can require separate analysis from investment strategy, custody and local family governance.
Title, entity classification, liability, estate-tax situs, financing and authority on death or incapacity.
The issuer's domicile can matter more than the location of an investment account or custodian.
Concentrated positions, transfer restrictions, liquidity events and ownership succession before an exit.
Coordinate U.S. legal authority and transfer-tax exposure with family governance and foreign counsel.
Evaluate what a particular structure does—and what it does not—under relevant U.S. rules.
Explore insurance-based planning only after evaluating policy qualification, tax residency, control and other constraints.
U.S. property · Corporate equity · Private investments · Family interests
U.S. legal counsel · International tax · Local advisers · Fiduciaries · Qualified insurance specialists
The U.S. Exposure Map™ is intended as an issue-spotting discipline. It does not imply that a trust, holding company or policy automatically changes an asset's situs or produces a favorable tax result.
A useful review makes the unresolved questions visible: which asset is exposed, who owns it, who can act, which specialist must answer each question, and what must happen before the next sale, incapacity or succession event. The engagement scope determines the analysis and deliverables. Your advisory team gains a clearer basis for deciding what to do next.
An illustrated field guide to U.S. real estate, domestic-company shares, pre-IPO investments, succession planning, structural alternatives and hypothetical case scenarios.
Download Executive Briefing ↗A jurisdictional research note addressing Bermuda, Luxembourg and other regimes, distinguishing insurer acceptance of assets from policy qualification and policyholder tax outcomes. This is preliminary research, not a product endorsement or definitive tax opinion.
Download Research Memorandum ↗Educational research: These materials provide general information and are not individualized legal, tax or insurance advice. The PPLI memorandum is preliminary research. Obtain advice from qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdictions before implementing a policy or asset transfer.
James G. Burns, Esq., LL.M. (Tax), TEP, works on U.S. estate, asset protection and cross-border wealth-transfer questions as part of a coordinated specialist team. Foreign legal, tax, insurance, investment and fiduciary matters are addressed by appropriately qualified professionals.
For an initial adviser-to-adviser inquiry, describe the asset category, jurisdictions involved and the transition you are planning for. We can discuss fit, the specialists needed and the scope of a billable engagement before client-specific work begins. Please withhold client identities and sensitive records until conflict and secure intake procedures are established.