U.S. Greek Estate Planning - The U.S. Estate Tax

We just finished planning a major U.S.-Greek estate by making sure that the Greek assets were gifted and/or disposed in a manner which maximized the U.S. Mutual Estate Tax Exemption; and preserved the maximum benefit vis a vis the client's U.S. and Greek assets under the current $5, 250.000 U.S. estate tax exemption. It must be remarked that the application of Greek inheritance laws must be considered in large estates since under Greek law, the surviving spouse will not get the percentage of assets raised in intestacy as under most U.S. states laws. In Greece the surviving spouse gets ¼ of the assets undivided. This may affect the application of the Federal Estate Tax Exemption; remembering that the U.S. Estate Tax Return must be filed disclosing world-well assets.