International estate disputes often hit the same wall: The money sits offshore, and the documents sit with a foreign bank, trustee, or professional fiduciary. In a Georgia estate fight, that can stall everything from valuation to tracing transfers and proving undue influence.

This post breaks down how the Hague Evidence Convention can help you pursue offshore bank records and trust documents when ordinary U.S. discovery tools cannot reach them.

Hague Evidence Convention Basics

The Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (1970) provides a formal, government-to-government path for collecting evidence located in another participating country. It uses a Letter of Request (sometimes called letters rogatory) that a court issues to the foreign country’s Central Authority. That Central Authority then sends the request to the local body that can execute it under that country’s procedures.

The Convention does not replace every other method. U.S. courts still treat Hague procedures as optional rather than mandatory, and they often weigh practical factors such as fairness, efficiency, and foreign legal restrictions.

Letters of Request for Offshore Records

A strong Letter of Request stays specific. The Convention requires details such as the requesting authority, the parties, the nature of the proceedings, and the evidence sought. Broad “all records” demands often fail in countries that resist U.S.-style pretrial discovery.

Offshore discovery also runs into real friction points:

  • Bank secrecy and privacy rules: Many jurisdictions limit disclosure without tight document descriptions and clear relevance.
  • Control issues: A Georgia court may order a party to produce documents within its control, even if a foreign institution holds them. At the same time, foreign law may restrict compliance, which can trigger the comity analysis courts apply after Aérospatiale.
  • Routing and execution: In the United States, the DOJ’s Office of International Judicial Assistance serves as the Central Authority for incoming Hague requests, but it does not transmit outbound requests in private U.S. litigation matters. That reality makes the filing path and local-country requirements especially important.

Talk Through Next Steps With Our Team

If you suspect offshore assets affect a Georgia estate dispute, we can evaluate discovery options and help you pursue records through Hague Convention mechanisms where they fit. Contact The Williams Litigation Group at 1-866-214-7036 or use our contact form.