My husband is set to receive some money from his father's estate. We are both in US but his father lived in, and was a citizen of, England. The estate was set up there and taxed accordingly. Hubby is executor and will need to send funds back to England for his niece and nephew. Will we need to set up another estate here and be taxed again?

As long as his father was not a US citizen there will be no US estate.

All the money that your husband received as a bequest is tax free to him in the US.

There may be UK tax issues on payments he makes to beneficiaries in the UK but that is the responsibility of the beneficiaries. I suggest they get professional assistance in the UK.

As long as his father was not a US citizen there will be no US estate.

All the money that your husband received as a bequest is tax free to him in the US.

There may be UK tax issues on payments he makes to beneficiaries in the UK but that is the responsibility of the beneficiaries. I suggest they get professional assistance in the UK.


Thank you for the good news Five Rings.:) Dealing with an estate in another country is a pain. I was hoping to avoid going through it here too. We have a solicitor in UK but she didn't know the answer.

If you are getting money as gift or inheritance from a foreign country, you may be required to file Form 3520. For more information, read: Your U.S. Tax Return: Tax on Inheritances (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/02/tax-on-inheritances.html)

If the bequest was for more than a $100,000 you will need to file Form 3520. Get it here:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3520.pdf

Check "initial return" and "individual" and check the last box if you did not get the money from a foreign trust. Then fill in all your personal data. If a trust was not involved go right to part IV, fill that in and send it off.

Thank you both for the helpful information. Now I need to find the instructions for Form 3520 Part IV line 54: Special rules regarding related donors. You guys are a great help! Thanks :)