Nobody wants to read an article like this. I didn’t particularly want to write one. But every so often, someone in our community gets the phone call nobody’s ready for. Then the family, friends, and community has to work out two countries’ worth of rules in the worst week of their lives.
So this is the guide I’d want them to have. It covers the first few days and how to bring someone home. It also covers money and property in both countries, and what happens to the visas of the family left behind. At the end, there’s a short list of things you can do now so the people you love never have to piece this together.
The short version
- Local authorities handle the death. A doctor or medical examiner certifies it, and a funeral director files the death certificate with the state.
- The Australian consulate helps, but doesn’t pay. It can explain the process and give you lists of funeral directors, but it can’t cover any costs.
- Bringing a body home is possible but expensive. Industry estimates run from about $10,000 to $20,000 or more, and US health insurance almost never covers it.
- Beneficiary designations beat your will. Your 401(k), life insurance and accounts with named beneficiaries go straight to those people.
- US estate tax depends on “domicile,” not your visa. A non-domiciled estate gets a much smaller exemption than a US-domiciled one.
- Your super isn’t covered by your will. Only a valid death benefit nomination controls it.
- Your family’s visa status may end with yours. E-3D spouses and children depend on the E-3 holder’s status, so they need advice fast.
What happens in the first few days after you die in the US
When someone dies in the US, the attending doctor or a medical examiner (or coroner, depending on the state) certifies the death. The funeral director then files the death certificate with the local registrar. That’s the standard process set out by the CDC, although each state runs its own system.
A medical examiner gets involved when a death is sudden, unexpected, violent or unattended by a doctor. New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner must be told about accidents and the sudden death of someone in apparent good health. It must also be told about any death where the family intends to cremate, which can add time to a cremation. In California, the coroner investigates violent, sudden, unusual and unattended deaths, along with suspected suicides and deaths after an injury or accident.
Families can sometimes object to an autopsy. In New York, a relative or friend can lodge a religious objection. The autopsy can then only go ahead if there’s a “compelling public necessity,” such as a homicide investigation or a court order. California works differently. The objection has to come from a certificate of religious belief the person signed before death, in front of two witnesses. If family members tell the coroner one exists, the coroner must wait 48 hours for it to be produced. A suspected crime, a contagious disease or a court order can still override it.
Getting death certificates
You’ll need certified copies of the death certificate for almost everything that follows. Banks, insurers, super funds, the ATO and courts in both countries will all ask for one.
Costs vary by state. A certificate in New York City costs $15 plus a processing fee, while New York State charges $30 by mail or $45 online. In California, a certified copy from the state health department costs $24, and county fees are similar. Only close family members or the person handling the funeral can order certified copies, and it’s easier to order several at once.
Some Australian institutions may want the certificate apostilled, which is an international certification of a public document. Each state’s Secretary of State handles this. In New York, the Department of State only apostilles documents signed by a state official or county clerk. A New York City certificate needs an extra certification step first. California’s Secretary of State charges $20 per apostille, and a certificate signed by a county health officer may first need certification from the county clerk. Ask the Australian bank, fund or court what it needs before you pay for one.
Who decides what happens to your body
In the US, the right to decide what happens to a body follows a set order under state law. Your will usually isn’t the document that decides it.
In New York, the order of priority starts with an agent you’ve appointed in writing. After that, it’s your spouse, then your domestic partner, then adult children, parents and siblings, and then more distant relatives and friends. California follows a similar order, starting with the agent named in your health care power of attorney.
For many Australians, their closest family lives on the other side of the world. If you want a specific person to make these decisions, especially if you’re not married, appoint them in writing now. In New York, the form must be signed by you and your agent and witnessed by two adults. In California, you name that person in an advance health care directive, which puts them first in line.
How the Australian consulate helps when a non-citizen dies in the US
The Australian embassy and consulates in the US can help, but their role has limits. According to Smartraveller’s death overseas factsheet, consular staff can:
- explain the local legal and administrative processes
- give you lists of local funeral directors, lawyers and translators
- give an estimate of the cost of a local burial, a local cremation or transport back to Australia
- advise on how to transfer money from Australia
They can’t pay for or organize a funeral, pay to bring the person or their belongings home, pay debts, recommend a particular funeral director, investigate the death or give legal advice.
The 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre is on +61 2 6261 3305, or 1300 555 135 from within Australia. For more on what the consulate does day to day, see our session on how the Australian consulate can help.
Registering the death and canceling the passport
Australia doesn’t issue its own death certificate when someone dies overseas. The US certificate is the official record. Some states will register an overseas death if the person lived there or owned property there. Victoria, for example, says you usually don’t need to, but it can accept a registration in some cases. Western Australia warns that an overseas certificate may not be accepted when dealing with an estate there. Check early.
To cancel the Australian passport, myGov’s checklist says you can do it at an Australia Post office with the death certificate. From the US, contact the nearest consulate.
Bringing a body home to Australia
Repatriating a body is possible, and families do it every year. It’s also the most complicated and expensive option.
On the US side, there are surprisingly few federal rules. The CDC says it has no requirements for exporting human remains, so the rules come from states and airlines. New York, for example, requires a body carried by a common carrier to be in a rigid, leakproof container. Airlines set their own requirements on top of that, and an international funeral director will handle them.
On the Australian side, the Department of Health’s biosecurity rules say you must work with a funeral director or customs broker. The remains need official documents, such as a death certificate, an embalming certificate if the body was embalmed, and a doctor’s statement about certain diseases. Anything not in English needs a certified translation. The Australian Border Force may also ask for flight details and next of kin information.
How long it takes and what it costs
Smartraveller says the process can take several weeks, and longer if there’s an autopsy or coronial inquiry.
The Australian government doesn’t publish a cost. Industry estimates, such as this one from International Insurance, put repatriation at roughly $10,000 to $20,000, and sometimes more. For comparison, the US State Department requires J-1 exchange visitors to carry at least $25,000 in repatriation cover.
Cremation in the US and bringing ashes home
Many families choose cremation in the US and bring the ashes home, and it’s far simpler.
No US state requires routine embalming, and a direct cremation doesn’t need it, according to the FTC’s Funeral Rule. The person with the legal right to control the remains has to authorize the cremation.
Australia has no restrictions on importing cremated remains. You don’t need a permit, a death certificate or a cremation certificate at the border. If the urn is wooden, declare it on your Incoming Passenger Card, because wood is a biosecurity item. Health recommends ceramic, metal or plastic urns instead.
You can carry ashes on a flight, but check your airline’s rules and the TSA’s screening requirements before you go. Choose an urn that can go through an X-ray machine. You can also post ashes from the US, but only with USPS Priority Mail Express International.
What a funeral costs in the US
The National Funeral Directors Association’s 2023 study put the median cost of a funeral with a viewing and burial at $8,300. With a viewing and cremation, it was $6,280. Neither figure includes cemetery costs or a headstone.
Who pays to bring you home if you die in the US?
Most US health insurance doesn’t cover repatriation of remains. Boston University, for example, tells its international scholars that its health plans don’t cover it, and ACA-compliant plans typically don’t either.
Cover usually comes from one of these:
- Travel insurance, for visitors and people on trips. It won’t cover you once you live here.
- International health insurance, which sometimes includes repatriation of mortal remains as a separate benefit. Check the policy wording. Our guide to comparing international health insurance covers what to look for.
- Employer travel assistance programs, which some companies bundle with life insurance. These often come with conditions, such as only applying while you’re traveling for work.
- Life insurance, which doesn’t pay for repatriation directly but gives your family money to cover it.
What happens to your money if you die in the US as a non-citizen
US assets pass in one of two ways: outside the court process, or through probate.
Assets that skip probate go straight to the named person. These include joint accounts with right of survivorship and bank or brokerage accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary. Retirement accounts and life insurance with a named beneficiary skip probate too. If a beneficiary designation conflicts with your will, the designation wins. Check them regularly, because an old designation can send money to an ex-partner.
Everything else goes through probate in the state where you lived. Real estate is handled in the state where it sits, so property in a second state can mean a second court process.
For estates that cross borders, the starting point is your domicile, meaning your permanent home. New York estate planning attorney Shannon McNulty explained in our webinar that someone here temporarily on an E-3 is often treated as domiciled in Australia. Australia then runs the main proceeding, and the US process becomes “ancillary,” or secondary. With only one will, the second country usually has to wait for the first to finish.
None of this is quick. Shannon’s rule of thumb is at least six months for a simple estate in one place, and “well over a year” once another country is involved.
Using a trust to avoid probate if you die in the US
Because probate is slow, many US estate planners recommend a revocable living trust. It works a lot like a will, but assets held in the trust skip the court process, so your family can reach money quickly. That’s useful when a friend is suddenly caring for your kids and needs funds to do it.
A trust usually sits alongside a short “pour-over” will that catches anything left outside it. A few points from Shannon:
- A revocable trust doesn’t reduce estate tax.
- US planners generally keep the trust to US assets, because putting Australian assets into a US trust can create tax problems in Australia.
- New York co-ops are hard to put into a trust, especially with a mortgage.
Smaller estates
Small estates can often use a simpler process:
- New York: personal property of $50,000 or less
- New Jersey: an affidavit for up to $50,000 for a surviving spouse or domestic partner, or $20,000 for other next of kin
- California: up to $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025
If you die without a will
State law decides who inherits. In New York, if you leave a spouse and children, your spouse gets the first $50,000 plus half of the rest. Your children share the remainder. If you leave a spouse and no children, your spouse inherits everything.
California splits it by property type. Your spouse gets all of your community property, meaning most of what either of you earned while married. Your separate property is shared: your spouse gets half if you have one child, and a third if you have more than one. The children share the rest.
Either way, that may not be what you’d choose, especially if you’d want parents or siblings in Australia to receive something.
There’s a second problem with young children. A child’s share is generally held under court supervision until they turn 18. As Shannon put it, even a surviving parent may have to “ask the court for permission to use the money for their own children.”
Can family in Australia be your executor if you die in the US?
Sometimes, but it depends on the state. In New York, a non-resident non-citizen generally can’t serve alone and needs a co-executor who lives in New York. Florida only allows non-residents who are close relatives. Texas requires a non-resident executor to appoint a resident agent. California allows non-resident executors, but the court may require a bond, and a non-resident executor automatically appoints the California Secretary of State as their agent to receive legal papers. New Jersey may also require a bond. If you’re naming someone overseas, name a US-based backup too.
US estate tax for non-citizens
US estate tax doesn’t depend on your visa. It depends on whether you were domiciled in the US, which means living here with no definite plan to leave. According to the IRS instructions for Form 706-NA, you can acquire domicile by living here “for even a brief period of time” with that intention. A green card points strongly toward domicile, but neither a green card nor a temporary visa settles it. Courts look at all the facts, including family ties, where your assets are and what you’ve said about your plans.
According to Shannon, the shift usually happens when you go from planning to leave to planning to stay, even before a green card arrives. Applying for one, or preparing to, is the kind of evidence that counts. If your plans change, update your estate plan at the same time.
If you were US-domiciled, your estate gets the same exemption as a citizen’s. For deaths in 2026, that’s $15 million, so most families won’t owe federal estate tax.
If you weren’t US-domiciled, only your US assets are taxed, but the exemption is tiny: a credit that covers about $60,000, not indexed for inflation. US assets include US real estate and shares in US companies. Ordinary US bank deposits and life insurance on your own life generally don’t count.
The 1953 US–Australia estate tax treaty is still in force, and it helps here. It lets a non-domiciled Australian claim a share of the full citizen exemption, based on how much of their worldwide estate sat in the US. To claim it, your executor has to disclose your worldwide assets on Form 706-NA, which is due nine months after death. With modest overall wealth, that can shelter far more than $60,000. Shannon called it “a very generous treaty,” with the catch that “you still have to file a tax return and claim a treaty benefit.”
State estate taxes
Some states have their own estate tax with a much lower threshold. New York’s exemption is $7.35 million for 2026. It has a “cliff”: once the taxable estate goes above 105% of the exemption, the whole estate becomes taxable. Non-residents can owe New York estate tax on real estate in the state. California has no estate tax for deaths since January 1, 2005. New Jersey has had no estate tax for deaths since 2018, and spouses and children are exempt from its inheritance tax.
If your spouse isn’t a US citizen
American couples can leave everything to each other tax-free. That unlimited marital deduction only applies if the surviving spouse is a US citizen. For a non-citizen spouse, property needs to pass through a special trust called a qualified domestic trust (QDOT) to defer the tax. During your lifetime, you can give a non-citizen spouse up to $194,000 a year tax-free in 2026.
For most young families on an E-3, none of this will produce a tax bill. For anyone with a US home, a big share portfolio or a green card, it’s worth a conversation with a cross-border adviser.
Retirement accounts, life insurance and Social Security
401(k)s and IRAs
These go to whoever is named on the account, regardless of your will. A surviving spouse can usually roll the money into their own account. Most other beneficiaries must empty an inherited account within 10 years.
Payments to beneficiaries living in Australia face 30% US withholding by default. A beneficiary can usually reduce that by giving the plan a Form W-8BEN to claim treaty benefits. How the US–Australia tax treaty applies to inherited retirement money isn’t simple, so get advice before taking a lump sum.
Life insurance
Life insurance paid because of a death is generally free of US income tax. Many employers include group life cover, typically one or two times your salary. It usually ends when your job does, so don’t count on it as your only cover.
Social Security
If you’ve worked and paid Social Security, your spouse and children may be eligible for survivors benefits, plus a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment. Non-citizen survivors living abroad usually need five years of US residence to receive payments, but residents of Australia are exempt from that rule. The US–Australia totalization agreement can also combine work credits from both countries. More on the basics in our Social Security guide.
The final tax returns
The executor usually files a final US tax return for the year of death. That’s a Form 1040, or a 1040-NR for someone who was a non-resident for tax purposes. The estate will also need its own tax ID number (EIN) to open accounts and file returns.
What happens to your super and Australian assets
Who gets your super if you die overseas
Your super isn’t automatically part of your estate, so your will doesn’t control it. According to Moneysmart, only a valid death benefit nomination tells your fund who to pay:
- Binding lapsing: the fund must follow it, but it expires after three years unless renewed.
- Binding non-lapsing: the fund must follow it, and it doesn’t expire.
- Non-binding: the fund takes your wishes into account but makes the final decision.
The tax depends on who receives it. Payments to a “dependant” for tax purposes, such as a spouse or a child under 18, are generally tax-free. Payments to others, including adult children, are taxed. The taxable component is taxed at 15% for the taxed element and 30% for the untaxed element, plus the Medicare levy for Australian residents.
By law, funds cancel insurance on accounts with no contributions for 16 months, unless you’ve told them in writing to keep it. If you stopped contributing when you moved, the life cover you think you have may be gone. Our article on drawing on your super as an expat covers more on managing super from here.
Australian property, probate and tax
Australia has no inheritance or estate tax. Capital gains tax may still apply when inherited assets are sold. Expats should also know about the main residence exemption. If you’d been a foreign resident for more than six years when you died, your beneficiaries lose any exemption you’d built up on an Australian home.
Australian assets generally need an Australian grant of probate. A US grant can’t simply be resealed in NSW, because only grants from certain Commonwealth countries qualify. Your family would apply for a new grant. NSW also keeps the original will once it’s filed.
That’s why many advisers recommend a separate will in each country, drafted so neither one cancels the other. Shannon walked through how that works in our Expert Q&A on estate planning for Australian expats, and there’s more in do I need a will in my new home country?
The executor also needs to tell the ATO and lodge a final “date of death” return if one is needed. The ATO’s deceased estates checklist warns that an executor can be personally liable for tax if they distribute assets before settling it.
Your family’s visa status if you die in the US
E-3D spouses and children depend on the E-3 holder’s status. If the principal dies, the family’s lawful status is likely to end too. Federal rules give some workers and their dependents up to 60 days when employment ends. Our guide to the 10-day and 60-day rules explains how that works, but it isn’t settled whether it applies after a death. Options can include the spouse moving to their own visa, such as their own E-3, or a change to visitor status (B-1/B-2) to wind things up. Speak to an immigration attorney within days, not weeks.
Sometimes a green card application is already underway. Surviving family members who lived in the US at the time of the death may be able to continue under a protection known as section 204(l). There’s no separate form or fee. If the family hasn’t filed for adjustment of status yet, though, they need to keep a valid visa in the meantime.
A widow or widower of a US citizen can still apply for a green card within two years of the death, if they weren’t divorced or separated at the time. A conditional resident whose spouse dies can file to remove conditions on their own with the death certificate.
Planning for your children
If you have children, name a guardian in your will. Without one, a US court decides who raises them. In New York, a guardian named in a will only takes over after a Surrogate’s Court approves it. You can also name a standby guardian to step in sooner. In California, a parent can nominate a guardian in a signed document, including a will, and the nomination can be set to take effect on death. The probate court still makes the appointment based on the child’s best interests, usually after an investigation.
One misconception comes up again and again: that a sister or grandparent can simply fly over and take the kids home. Shannon was blunt about it in our webinar. Without legal authority, a relative “can’t go anywhere with this kid,” and without a plan, children can end up in temporary foster care while a court appoints a guardian. That appointment can take six months to a year.
Plenty of Australians want their kids raised by family back home. You can name a guardian in Australia, but courts decide based on the child’s best interests. The children may also have to wait in the US while it’s sorted out. The usual fix is to name your Australian family as first choice and a US-based guardian as the temporary backup until the overseas appointment is approved. Family isn’t the only option for that role. Friends in your local Aussie community, who may be in the same position, can do it too.
It also helps to leave notes your guardian will need, such as allergies, schools and routines.
What to do now so your family is ready
None of this needs to happen in one weekend. But each step you tick off is one less thing your family has to do in the worst week of their lives.
- Write a will in the US and a will in Australia, drafted to work together
- Name a guardian for your children, plus a US-based backup
- Check every beneficiary designation: 401(k), IRA, life insurance and bank accounts
- Make a binding death benefit nomination for your super, and diarize the renewal if it lapses
- Check that your insurance inside super hasn’t been canceled
- Check whether any policy you hold covers repatriation of remains
- Appoint an agent to control your remains, a health care proxy (called an advance health care directive in California) and a financial power of attorney
- Write down what you’d want: burial or cremation, here or at home
- Keep a list of your accounts, policies and passwords somewhere your executor can find it
- Keep your original signed wills somewhere safe, such as a fireproof bag or safe, because courts don’t accept copies
- Consolidate small accounts in other countries where you can, since every extra country adds cost and time
- Review your plan whenever you change visas, move countries or have a child
- Keep copies of your passport, visa and I-94 with your important papers
- Tell someone where all of this is
FAQ
Local US authorities certify the death and issue a death certificate, and a funeral director handles the body. The Australian consulate can explain the process and give the family lists of funeral directors, but it can’t pay any costs. Family members then decide whether to bury or cremate in the US or bring the person home.
The Australian government doesn’t publish a figure. Industry estimates put it at roughly $10,000 to $20,000, and sometimes more. Bringing ashes home is much cheaper, and Australia has no import restrictions on cremated remains.
Most US health insurance doesn’t. Cover usually comes from travel insurance, some international health insurance plans, or employer travel assistance programs. Life insurance can also give your family the money to cover it.
It depends on whether you were domiciled in the US. A US-domiciled estate has a $15 million exemption in 2026. A non-domiciled estate is taxed only on US assets, with an exemption of about $60,000, although the US–Australia estate tax treaty can increase that for Australians.
No. Super isn’t automatically part of your estate. Only a valid death benefit nomination with your fund controls who receives it.
There’s no US tax on receiving an inheritance from a foreign person. If you’re a US tax resident, though, you must report gifts and bequests from foreign individuals or estates totaling more than $100,000 in a year on Form 3520. The penalty for not reporting can reach 25% of the amount.
E-3D status depends on the E-3 holder’s status, so it’s likely to end. Your spouse may have options, such as their own visa, but should speak to an immigration attorney straight away.
This article is dedicated to the friends, families and communities of those Aussies who have passed away while living away from their home country.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws differ between US states and Australian states, and they change. Speak to a qualified estate planning attorney, tax adviser or immigration attorney about your situation.
