FileAbroad

Foreign inheritance consultation

Received an Inheritance From Abroad? Map the U.S. Tax and Reporting Before You Move or Sell the Assets.

An inheritance is not automatically taxable income, but that does not settle the U.S. filing. The decedent’s status, estate or trust, receipt date, asset type, value and basis, foreign tax, and what happened after the transfer can lead to different U.S. questions. In a paid consultation, I review those facts and prior filings to identify the next reporting, preparation, or referral step.

Start My Inheritance Intake

Send a free inquiry first. I review it personally and explain whether a paid assessment is appropriate before you book or pay.

30 minutes · $100 · directly with Chip

The consultation

What we'll review

The consultation focuses on the facts that determine what needs further attention.

Decedent and recipient status

The date and country of death, the decedent’s citizenship, residence, U.S. citizenship or green-card history, your relationship, and your U.S. tax status when the inheritance arose and was received.

Estate, trust, and transfer path

Whether the property passed directly, through a foreign estate, trust, foundation, beneficiary designation, or entity, and which will, succession, estate, or distribution records support that path.

Dates, values, and basis records

The death, entitlement, distribution, and title-transfer dates; the values and currencies used; and the records needed to distinguish receipt-value reporting from inherited-property basis analysis.

Inherited assets and later events

Cash, accounts, securities, funds, real estate, pensions, insurance, businesses, trusts, and other property, plus later income, rent, sales, exchanges, transfers, and foreign taxes that may create separate U.S. questions.

Prior reporting and next scope

Prior income-tax returns, Forms 3520 or 8938, FBARs, and other filings; any missing years or deadlines; and whether preparation, research, valuation, legal advice, or a specialist referral is the appropriate next step.

After the call

What you leave with

By the end of the consultation, you'll have a clear map of the issues that need attention and the next practical step.

  • The transfer path and status facts that control whether the matter begins as a foreign-estate bequest, trust distribution, covered-expatriate receipt, entity transfer, or another transaction.
  • The years, receipt dates, asset events, and U.S. reporting questions that may require separately scoped work.
  • The estate, valuation, basis, account, foreign-tax, and prior-filing records needed next, with secure-document instructions only after intake.
  • Whether FileAbroad can accept the next stage, what that engagement would cover, or which estate, legal, valuation, or tax specialist is needed.
  • Foreign-country legal, tax, valuation, banking, remittance, title, and local-filing conclusions are outside FileAbroad's scope; confirm those with the relevant foreign authority and a licensed local professional.

You are not required to hire FileAbroad for preparation after the consultation.

Scope

What the consultation does not include

The consultation is a review and scoping session. It does not include preparation or filing of a tax return, FBAR, information return, amended return, or Streamlined submission.

It also does not create an open-ended support engagement. Additional research, document review, preparation, or follow-up work is included only when it is specifically agreed or purchased.

FileAbroad does not provide legal advice or tax litigation services.

Current pricing

Optional $100 scope assessment

30-Minute Expat Tax Scope Assessment

$100

Focused review of your filing situation with a written list of the years and forms that need attention, a document checklist, key scope flags, and an exact preparation quote when FileAbroad can accept the work.

Preparation is priced separately. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed; it is not required for every preparation engagement. Straightforward tax-year-2025 federal expat returns start at $575, and standalone current-year FBAR preparation starts at $100. Prior-year, delinquent, amended, entity, trust, partnership, PFIC, Streamlined, and other complex international work is quoted after review.

See preparation services and pricing

The process

How the paid assessment works

  1. 1

    Start the intake.

    Tell me the broad facts of your situation without uploading sensitive tax documents through the public form.

  2. 2

    I review the inquiry.

    I personally review the intake to determine whether a FileAbroad consultation appears appropriate.

  3. 3

    Book the consultation.

    If the situation fits, you'll receive the scheduling and payment link for the $100 30-minute consultation.

  4. 4

    We review the situation together.

    We use the call to identify the relevant filing questions, missing information, and next practical step.

  5. 5

    Preparation is separate.

    If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you receive the written scope and price before preparation begins.

Before you book

Questions we'll use to map your foreign inheritance

Who died, when and in which country, what was your relationship, what were the decedent’s citizenship, residence, and U.S. citizenship or green-card history if known, and what was your U.S. tax status at the time?
How did or will you receive the property — directly under a will or succession order, from an estate, through a trust or foundation, by beneficiary designation, or through an entity — and which broad records explain that transfer?
What assets did you inherit, what were their approximate values and currencies, and on what dates did the death, legal entitlement, estate distribution, account transfer, or title transfer occur?
Since the death or transfer, has any asset earned income, been rented, sold, exchanged, moved to another account, or produced a pension, insurance, business, estate, or trust payment; and was foreign tax paid or withheld?
Which U.S. returns, Forms 3520 or 8938, FBARs, or other international forms have been filed for the relevant years, what valuation or basis records exist, and is any filing, distribution, or sale deadline approaching?
Do I need a paid assessment before hiring FileAbroad?

Not for every engagement. Start with a brief intake to discuss needs, timing, process, and pricing. Straightforward preparation can proceed directly to an accepted written scope. A paid assessment is offered when substantive review is needed, with the fee explained before you decide.

What should I send before the consultation?

Start with the public intake and describe the broad facts of your situation. Do not send Social Security numbers, tax returns, bank statements, or other sensitive tax documents through the public intake form. If documents are needed later, I will provide secure upload instructions.

Will you tell me exactly what I need to file?

The consultation is designed to identify the filing issues that need attention and the information required to determine the next step. Some questions can be resolved during the call; others may require records, additional research, or preparation work outside the consultation.

Do I have to hire FileAbroad afterward?

No. The consultation stands on its own. If FileAbroad can accept preparation work, you can decide whether to proceed after the scope and price are confirmed.

Can you review documents during the consultation?

Limited document review may be possible when agreed in advance, but the consultation is not a substitute for a full document review or tax-preparation engagement.

Related paths

If this is not the right starting point

Foreign inheritance U.S. tax guide

Review the distinction between the receipt, later income, reporting, valuation, and basis before applying it to your facts.

Foreign spouse inherited accounts

Start with the account-specific records when a spouse’s death transferred a foreign bank or investment account.

Form 3520 overview

Review the separate gift, bequest, and foreign-trust branches before assuming Part IV applies.

Foreign trust consultation

Use this path when the governing documents show that a foreign trust made the distribution or holds the inherited interest.

PFIC consultation

Use this path when inherited foreign funds or shares make PFIC classification and Form 8621 the established primary issue.

FBAR catch-up consultation

Use this path when inherited foreign accounts may have created historical FBAR gaps after ownership or authority began.

Expat tax filing

See the broader preparation service when inherited assets and later income are part of an accepted U.S. return engagement.

Inherited foreign property sale guide

Use this guide when the inheritance included foreign real estate that was sold or may be sold, or the proceeds sit in a foreign bank account.

Moving money to the U.S. guide

Review whether transferring or wiring the inheritance proceeds to the U.S. creates income, gift, or account-reporting questions.

Start here

Tell me what's going on.

You don't need to know which form, filing procedure, or service you need. Start with the broad facts, and I'll review whether intake or a paid assessment is the appropriate next step.

Start My Inheritance Intake

Prefer email? info@fileabroad.com

Do not send sensitive tax documents through the public intake form or ordinary email.