International Private Client Group

Your complex international law issues regarding international taxation, business and estate planning, and probate administration require experienced legal counsel. Holland & Knight’s international estate planning lawyers are well trained to handle these issues – we tap on our network of international lawyers abroad to assist when needed.

International Estate Planning and Administration

International estate planning and cross-border wealth transfer includes coordinating your estate and gift tax planning in the United States and abroad, preparing wills and trusts in the United States, and coordinating with foreign counsel to prepare your foreign estate plans.

We also can advise you on offshore trust planning and international asset protection planning. Holland & Knight attorneys engage extensively in international probate, coordinating foreign administration and the filing of foreign estate tax returns with foreign counsel.

International Business and Tax Planning

As a U.S. entrepreneur, you and your company can depend on our advice for your foreign activities, as do foreign individuals and their companies planning investment or business activities in the United States. In these instances, we assist clients to create business entities and structure transactions that comply with applicable federal and state requirements, while minimizing the aggregate tax burden and filing requirements imposed under applicable international statutes and tax treaties.

Multinational clients also regularly seek our advice on structuring operations to minimize U.S. taxes and filing requirements as well as planning for the tax-efficient repatriation of future earnings and reallocation of capital.

Further, our lawyers assist growing U.S. companies with expanding business operations abroad. We have extensive experience in structuring cross-border financial transactions to minimize subpart F income and the applicability of the passive foreign investment company (PFIC) rules and to maximize foreign tax credit relief for non-U.S. activities.

U.S. and foreign individuals with real estate investments in the U.S. and abroad look to Holland & Knight's private wealth attorneys to guide them in all aspects of maximizing their holdings. Our lawyers coordinate with local counsels abroad regarding the purchase, structuring and taxation of real estate.

Tax Controversies

We represent clients on all types of tax deficiencies and refund claims involving income taxes, payroll taxes, excise taxes, franchise taxes, estate and gift taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, and related penalties and interest.

If you face a tax dispute, our objective is to resolve your dispute as quickly and efficiently as possible. To assist you, our network of experienced tax controversy and tax litigation lawyers across the United States appears before all federal, state and local taxing authorities, courts and other administrative tribunals.

International and Cross-Border Transactions

Clients rely on our vast practical knowledge in specialized international transactions and disputes. Our extensive cultural familiarities and foreign language capabilities improve efficiency and directly benefit our clients by avoiding expensive coordination mistakes, delays and confusion that frequently frustrate commercial law firms attempting to lead transactions outside the United States. Our lawyers engage in business counseling for foreign corporations establishing a presence in the U.S., including coordinating entry into U.S. markets, trade issues, tax efficient structuring, choice of and establishment of entity, licenses to transact business, assistance with leases, employment agreements and payroll.

Among our international business practice areas are international trade, trade litigation, tax, as well as practices focused on Europe, China, Mexico and Latin America.

Immigration

Large multinational corporations to startup companies and individual clients are served by our immigration lawyers and practitioners. We represent both foreign and domestic corporate clients, including well-known entertainers and athletes, entrepreneurs, professionals, persons who possess extraordinary ability, investors and those looking to be united with family members in the U.S. As part of our representations, we also help clients address national security and law enforcement issues that occasionally arise in the course of visa applications, denials and cancellations. In addition to helping clients obtain visas for their employees or themselves, we advise businesses on compliance with federal and state employment eligibility verification procedures as well as visa-related aspects of corporate transactions.

Leading Lawyers on Your Side

The 2021 Chambers High Net Worth guide ranked Holland & Knight as Band 1 for Private Wealth Law in Florida, Massachusetts and Oregon; Private Wealth Disputes in California; and Private Aircraft in Global-wide. In addition, the 2020 Chambers High Net Worth guide named Holland & Knight the USA Private Client Team of the Year for the East Coast. The 2019 Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business guide named Holland & Knight among the world's leading law firms in the Global-wide International Private Client category. The guide notes that our team is "fantastic for multijurisdictional clients. They get things done quickly and partners are heavily involved. ... As far as large firms go they are as good as it gets."