Legal Translation Services for Estate Planning Attorneys
We’ve blogged about professional legal interpreting and legal translation services to administer overseas trusts. It is a common scenario where two non-citizen who are U.S. residents move to the US for work and have children – who are natural-born U.S. citizens. The key for an estate planning attorney in such situations is to clearly understand what the clients want for their children and their assets – both in the U.S. and, perhaps, abroad. This is essential because, regardless of foreign language abilities, true intent can get lost in legal terminology that is not properly translated, foreign laws and cultural differences.
For example, the issue of guardians. If the proposed guardian does not reside in the U.S., then a court will likely not allow them to be taken out of the U.S. unless proper measures are taken within the estate planning.
The key for the attorney is to know the couple and know what it is they want. The first step, in many instances, is to bring in a foreign language translator to review the documents and related materials that may have been entered into in their country of origin, and to correctly translate any legal terms that are not clearly understood. It is also a good idea to review foreign estate law to ensure that no potential conflicts exist.
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