Are You A Digital Nomad?
Do you work when you want and where you want?
The rise of remote work has fundamentally reshaped how—and where—people live and work. As of 2025, millions of professionals (an estimated 21% of the total US workforce!) are no longer tied to a single location, choosing instead to live as digital nomads, often crossing state or international borders throughout the year.
And while the freedom is thrilling, the legal complexities of estate planning for a mobile lifestyle are often overlooked. If you live a borderless life, your estate plan needs to be anything but vague.
Here’s what remote workers and digital nomads need to know about jurisdictional and legal challenges when it comes to estate planning:
Your State or Country of Legal Residence Matters
Even if you’re rarely “home,” you still have a domicile—a legal home base. This matters because:
- State laws govern wills, trusts, and probate procedures.
- Estate or inheritance taxes can vary significantly by state.
- If you own property in multiple states or countries, your estate may need to go through multiple probate processes.
Tip: Work with an estate planning attorney to clarify and document your legal residence, and ensure your plan complies with the relevant laws of that jurisdiction.
Owning Property in Multiple Places Triggers Complexity
If you’re a nomad who owns real estate in more than one state—or country—your estate plan should anticipate:
- Ancillary probate: A secondary probate process in each state, other than your domiciliary state, where your own where real property.
- Foreign laws: If you own property abroad, local inheritance laws might override your will unless you’ve structured ownership properly.
- Treaties and tax issues: Some countries impose their own estate or inheritance taxes, even on U.S. citizens.
Solution: Consider using revocable living trusts or international holding companies to minimize multi-jurisdictional probate and simplify transfers.
Digital Assets Are Now a Key Part of Your Estate
Many nomads have income streams from:
- Online businesses
- Cryptocurrency wallets
- Royalties from digital content
- AI-generated assets or NFTs
Why this matters: Most of these assets exist entirely online and may be inaccessible by your those handling your estate without proper planning.
Action Step: Include a digital asset directive in your estate plan that lists your digital accounts, provides login instructions or keys (securely), and names a digital executor.
Remote Work and International Residency Can Affect Your Taxes
Working from different countries for extended periods may trigger:
- Tax residency status
- FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act)/FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) reporting requirements for foreign accounts
- Potential double taxation without proper planning
Even your retirement accounts and life insurance polies could be taxed differently abroad.
Best Practice: Consult with an estate planning attorney and tax accountant who understand cross-border tax and estate issues – especially if you’re living abroad more than 183 days per year.
Family Planning Gets More Complicated on the Move
If your children are born or adopted while abroad, or you share custody across borders, you’ll need to plan for:
- Guardianship arrangements that are enforceable in both home and host countries
- International custody considerations
- Ensuring U.S. citizenship and legal protections for children born overseas
Always Keep Documents Digitized and Accessible
When you’re mobile, paper documents are risky. Your estate plan should be:
- Digitally stored in a secure, cloud-based vault
- Shared with trusted contacts and attorney
- Accompanied by a written plan for how to access these files if something happens to you.
Make sure your health care directive and power of attorney are recognized in every place you reside for any length of time. You may need to have one for each location where you reside.
Final Thoughts on Estate Planning for a Mobile Life
Estate planning used to assume stability: one home, one job, one state. But if your lifestyle defies that model, your estate plan needs to keep up.
Whether you’re hopping Airbnb’s around Europe, maintaining dual citizenship, or simply spending winters in Costa Rica, you deserve an estate plan that moves with you.
