Miami is built by immigrants who arrive, work hard, and build something that lasts — a restaurant on Calle Ocho, a logistics company in Doral, a family business in Sunny Isles. If you are a foreign-born business owner in South Florida, your estate plan cannot be a copy-and-paste document. Your citizenship status, your spouse’s status, and any pending immigration case all change how Florida and federal law treat your assets. Getting this right protects your family; getting it wrong can trigger taxes and probate complications that a U.S.-citizen neighbor would never face.
This is where estate planning and immigration law intersect — two distinct fields that have to be coordinated. Our firm handles the estate side; we do not practice immigration law, so for the immigration questions below we recommend you work with dedicated immigration counsel.
The non-citizen spouse problem: why a standard will may not protect your husband or wife
Most married couples rely on the unlimited marital deduction, which lets one spouse leave any amount to the other free of federal estate tax. But that deduction is generally not available when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen — even a green-card holder. Congress was concerned that a non-citizen spouse could inherit assets and then leave the country before any tax was ever collected.
The standard solution is a Qualified Domestic Trust, or QDOT. Property passes into the QDOT for the surviving non-citizen spouse, the marital deduction is preserved, and the trust follows specific federal rules (including a U.S. trustee requirement) so the IRS can still reach the assets later. A QDOT has to be drafted deliberately under the trust provisions of Florida law in Chapter 736 — it is not something a generic online will produces. If your spouse is on a path to citizenship, the analysis can change once naturalization is complete, which is exactly why your estate plan and immigration timeline belong in the same conversation.
Estate tax exposure is different for non-resident and non-citizen owners
Federal estate tax treats people very differently depending on status. U.S. citizens and domiciliaries are taxed on their worldwide estate but enjoy a large lifetime exemption. A non-resident, non-citizen who owns U.S.-situated property — such as Florida real estate or shares in a U.S. company — is taxed only on those U.S. assets, but with a dramatically smaller exemption. For a Miami business owner who has not yet established U.S. domicile, that gap matters enormously, and it shapes how you should title property and structure ownership of the business.
Homestead, your most valuable Florida asset
Florida’s homestead protection shields your primary residence from most creditors and gives surviving spouses and minor children powerful inheritance rights. Homestead is available to non-citizens who make Florida their permanent residence, but the constitutional rules on how it passes at death are strict and can override what your will says. Immigrant families with children, blended households, or property held jointly with relatives abroad need their homestead handled carefully so it does not accidentally derail the rest of the plan.
Make sure your documents are actually valid — and reachable
A Florida will must meet the execution formalities of section 732.502: signed by you and witnessed by two people who sign in your presence and each other’s. A document validly made in another country does not automatically satisfy these rules, so newcomers should have a fresh Florida will prepared.
Equally important is a durable power of attorney. Immigrant business owners frequently travel abroad — for a consular interview, to gather civil documents, or to handle a visa matter at a U.S. embassy. If you are out of the country when a bank, a closing, or a payroll decision needs a signature, a properly drafted Florida power of attorney lets a trusted person act on your behalf so your business does not stall. Pair it with a health care surrogate so someone can speak for you medically while you are away.
Guardianship for your children and beneficiaries with immigration concerns
Naming a guardian for minor children is essential for every parent, but it carries extra weight for immigrant families. Your chosen guardian may live in another state or another country, and the relatives you would naturally turn to may have their own status questions. Spell out your wishes clearly in your estate documents. Likewise, leaving assets to a beneficiary who is undocumented or mid-process should be structured thoughtfully — often through a trust — so an inheritance does not create unintended complications.
Coordinate the two cases — don’t run them in parallel silos
If you have a pending green-card or naturalization case, your estate plan should be drafted with that timeline in mind, and revisited once your status changes. A spouse becoming a citizen, for example, can remove the need for a QDOT. For the immigration side — whether that’s marriage-based green cards or a more complex matter — we recommend you retain experienced immigration counsel. Many of our South Florida clients prefer to work with a Russian-speaking immigration attorney, and we are glad to coordinate so both halves of your plan move together.
The bottom line for newcomers to Miami: you need both an estate plan and immigration counsel, working in concert. We handle the estate, trust, and probate side under Florida law; your immigration attorney handles status. Together, that’s how you protect the business and the family you came here to build.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
