Q: What happens to my foreign bank accounts if I die in America without a valid will?
A:
If you are domiciled in Maryland at the time of your death, die without a will and an estate is opened up here, your probate property passes under the laws of intestate succession. Who gets the probate property and in what percentage depends on what relatives survive you.
Some property goes to beneficiaries by title and would not become a part of a probate estate. So it would be important to know how any bank accounts were titled. If the bank accounts had a beneficiary, presumably they would go to the persons designated on title. If the bank accounts have no beneficiary then presumably they would just become a part of your probate estate and pass under the laws of intestate succession.
A: If the foreign bank does not have a US branch (which might allow the bank to follow local probate law), then assets in foreign countries generally require estates to be opened in those countries to pass assets to the heirs, based on that country’s laws. Many countries are signatory to Hague treaty on international wills, making the same will enforceable in every signatory country, so long as it is drafted in accordance with the treaty requirements. This would avoid confusion and conflicts among different jurisdictions.
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