Recently European succession regulation went into effect for all members of the European Union except Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland. One important regulation for those considering estate planning abroad is that a person’s habitual residence at the time of their death determines the law which applies to estate determinations.

In essence, this means that US citizens who habitually lived in Paris could be bound under French law for the purposes of managing the estate. In some cases, this could be overridden if an individual selects to be bound by the laws of his or her nationality, thereby bypassing local law completely. The key is to plan ahead to examine the options given your situation and to realize that a regulation may provide unprecedented flexibility in estate decisions.

If you spend a great deal of time in Europe or elsewhere, make sure you’ve consulted with your US based estate planning attorney to factor in potential challenges or opportunities based on your living situation.