Originally published in Insights Legal Affairs.

Do you own a vacation home in Mexico? Have a bank account in Hong Kong? Has your spouse retained Canadian citizenship? Are you a long-term U.S. resident who was born in the U.K.? Is your brother-inlaw, who is a citizen and resident of Ireland, the successor trustee of your revocable trust?

Each of these scenarios raises complex tax issues that, without proper planning, could have disastrous and costly consequences.

Smart Business spoke to Laura A. Zwicker, chair of Greenberg Glusker’s Family/Strategic Wealth Planning Group, about how to stay out of the IRS’s crosshairs by being aware.