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I loro discendenti vivono all'estero.

I loro discendenti vivono all'estero.
Their descendants live abroad.
From Lesson 400:Possessives with family exceptions·Italian

Questions & Answers about I loro discendenti vivono all'estero.

Why is the definite article i used before loro discendenti? Doesn't Italian drop the article for family members?
You are remembering the rule for singular family members, like mio padre. However, this sentence hits two exceptions at once! First, plural family members always keep the article, so it would be i vostri discendenti anyway. Second, the possessive loro is a blanket exception: it always takes the definite article, even with singular family members, such as il loro padre.
Is discendente treated exactly like other family words such as madre or cugino?
Yes, grammatically it belongs to the family vocabulary. Because it ends in -e, its singular form is il discendente for a male or la discendente for a female, and the plural for a mixed group or all males is i discendenti.
Why do we use all'estero instead of in estero to say abroad?
The phrase for abroad in Italian is a fixed expression: all'estero. It uses the articulated preposition all' (which is a combined with l'). You will always use this specific combination when talking about being, living, or going abroad.
Could I use the word straniero instead of estero in this sentence?
Not for this meaning. All'estero specifically means abroad as a geographical location. Straniero is used as a noun for a foreigner or as an adjective to describe something from another country, like un paese straniero for a foreign country.

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