By establishing a trust in South Dakota, international clients can gain powerful protection against forced heirship claims in their resident country.
The law of a foreign country may prohibit or not recognize the concept of a trust, thus preventing clients from civil law jurisdictions to leave assets in trust to beneficiaries of their choice. South Dakota law specifically excludes forced heirship claims from a foreign jurisdiction so that no disposition of property from a South Dakota trust is void, voidable, liable to be set aside, or defective.
