Miami is one of the most international cities in the country. Families here often hold a mix of immigration statuses under one roof — a naturalized citizen, a green-card holder, a spouse on a pending petition, and U.S.-born children. When you build an estate plan in that setting, citizenship and immigration status are not side details. They change how your assets transfer, how much tax your family pays, and who is allowed to inherit. If you or a loved one is not a U.S. citizen, your plan has to account for both Florida law and federal rules that most generic templates ignore.
The Non-Citizen Spouse and the Marital Deduction Trap
Married U.S. citizens enjoy the unlimited marital deduction: one spouse can leave any amount to the other free of federal estate tax. That deduction does not automatically apply when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen. Congress was concerned that a non-citizen spouse might leave the country with untaxed assets, so transfers to a non-citizen spouse can be exposed to estate tax at the first death.
The standard solution is a Qualified Domestic Trust, or QDOT. Property passing into a properly structured QDOT qualifies for the marital deduction, deferring the tax while the surviving spouse is provided for. QDOTs carry strict requirements — at least one U.S. trustee, withholding mechanics on certain distributions, and specific drafting under the Internal Revenue Code. A QDOT can also be created or elected after death in some circumstances, but it is far cleaner to plan for it in advance. If a non-citizen spouse later becomes a citizen, the analysis shifts, which is one reason your estate plan and any pending immigration matter should be coordinated rather than handled in isolation.
Estate Tax Exposure for Non-Resident Aliens
Your exposure to U.S. estate and gift tax depends heavily on whether you are a citizen, a resident, or a non-resident alien for tax purposes — a test of domicile that is separate from your immigration status. U.S. citizens and domiciled residents are taxed on worldwide assets and receive the full unified exclusion. A non-resident alien is generally taxed only on U.S.-situated assets — such as Florida real estate and certain U.S. securities — and receives a much smaller exclusion amount. For a foreign national buying a Miami condo or vacation home, that distinction matters enormously, and the right ownership structure can change the result.
Florida Homestead, Wills, and Trusts Still Apply
Immigration status does not override Florida law — it layers on top of it. Florida’s homestead protections and the constitutional restrictions on devising homestead apply regardless of citizenship. A valid Florida will must still meet the execution formalities of section 732.502 — signed by the testator and two witnesses in each other’s presence. Revocable and irrevocable trusts are governed by the Florida Trust Code in Chapter 736, and a non-citizen can serve as a beneficiary and, in most cases, as a trustee. Inheritance rights themselves are not conditioned on a beneficiary’s immigration status: a non-citizen heir can inherit Florida property. The complications are practical and tax-driven — reporting, trustee residency, and the deduction issues above — not a bar to receiving the inheritance.
Guardianship and Powers of Attorney for Mobile Families
Two documents deserve special attention for immigrant families. First, name a guardian for your minor children. In households where the parents are non-citizens, you want a designated guardian who is reliably available in the United States, plus a backup, so a custody question is never decided by default in a courtroom. Second, put a durable power of attorney and a health care surrogate in place before anyone travels abroad. Clients frequently leave the country for a visa interview at a U.S. consulate, a biometrics appointment, or to care for family overseas. If a financial or medical matter arises while you are out of the country, those documents let a trusted agent act on your behalf without a court proceeding.
Coordinate Your Estate Plan With Your Immigration Case
The single most important point: a newcomer to Florida usually needs both an estate plan and immigration counsel, and the two should talk to each other. A pending green-card application, a marriage-based petition, or a naturalization case can change your tax domicile, your spouse’s eligibility for the marital deduction, and the timing of a QDOT. Our firm handles the estate side — the wills, trusts, QDOTs, and Florida probate planning — but we do not practice immigration law. For the immigration side, we routinely refer clients to a Florida immigration attorney who can advise on status, timelines, and petitions.
If your goal is to remove the marital-deduction limitation entirely, the path may be U.S. citizenship and naturalization — once a surviving spouse is a citizen, the QDOT restrictions fall away. Sequencing that immigration milestone alongside your estate documents is exactly the kind of coordination that protects an international family. Build the plan now, keep it aligned with your immigration case, and revisit it each time your status changes.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida probate administration. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles Medicaid asset protection trusts.
