If you are domiciled (see below for further details) in England, you can make a Will that deals with your worldwide assets.
However, suppose you own a property abroad, such as a holiday home.
In that case, there are potential benefits to making a Will in the foreign country where your assets are situated, such as dealing only with those assets.
Your English Will can then deal with your remaining assets.
Our Wills, Trusts and Probate Lawyers explore why making a Will in the country where your holiday home is situated can be beneficial.
Managing Multiple Wills Across Jurisdictions
If you make more than one Will, you must ensure that your latest Will does not cancel the earlier Will(s) out.
You must take appropriate advice from your lawyer in each country to ensure the relevant clause is inserted into your Wills to avoid this issue.
It is helpful to notify each lawyer of the existence of the other Will and to even provide a copy (translated if necessary) of the other Will(s) so that they know the contents and look out for any conflicting clauses.
The benefits of making a foreign Will
Different process
Each jurisdiction has laws on how an estate should be distributed, the tax, and the process of administering an estate.
Different legal concepts
Having an English Will that deals with your foreign assets can be a practical issue, as certain countries do not recognise concepts such as trusts (e.g., Spain and France).
Speed and efficiency
If there are separate Wills for each country, then your lawyers in those jurisdictions can deal with the administration of your estate more swiftly and will not need to arrange for documents to be sent overseas.
If only one Will covers your assets in England and your property abroad, there will likely be delays. Your Will would need to be processed by the probate registry in England, which can take several months.
Once the grant of probate has been issued, this grant will then need to be processed by the foreign court, which usually involves a notary to notarise/legalise the grant for it to be accepted by the foreign court, resulting in further delays in dealing with the estate.
Freedom to choose who benefits
When it comes to distributing your estate, different rules apply depending on the country where your holiday home is situated, particularly in Middle Eastern and many European countries.
For example, forced heirship rules could apply to your holiday home in France. These rules may differ from who you would like to benefit from your estate.
In England and Wales, you are free to leave your estate to whomever you choose in your Will (although certain individuals could make a claim against your estate after you have died if they have been excluded, e.g. a cohabitee or a child who you are maintaining).
Validity and costs
In light of the different rules in each country, there is a risk that your English Will may not be deemed valid by the foreign jurisdiction about your foreign assets.
This could lead to a dispute after your death, likely increasing the costs of dealing with the estate administration.
Religious or cultural beliefs
As you are free to leave your estate (in your Will) in the UK as you wish, you can leave your estate in accordance with your religious or cultural beliefs.
For example, many Middle Eastern countries follow Sharia Law. You can make a Sharia-compliant Will in the UK.
If this interests you, please get in touch with us; we have specialists who can help you.
Inheritance Tax (IHT) and domicile
Liability for UK IHT depends on a person’s domicile.
An individual who is UK-domiciled or deemed domiciled will be subject to Inheritance Tax on all their worldwide assets.
If you are not UK-domiciled, you will only be liable for IHT on the assets located in the UK. Therefore, if you are not domiciled in the UK and own assets outside of the UK, you will not pay IHT on those non-UK assets.
Currently, domicile is not the same as residence. The concept of domicile is determined by what you treat as your permanent home and not merely by where you live.
It considers many factors, including where you were born, where you have lived, where you were educated, where your assets are, where your family is based, and where you wish to be buried.
Proposed Changes To Inheritance Tax
Although IHT is currently a domicile-based system, the government has announced plans to move to a residence-based system, subject to consultation. This would apply from 6th April 2025.
The previous Conservative government indicated that these new rules will involve charging IHT on worldwide assets when a person has been resident in the UK for 10 years, with a provision to keep a person in scope for 10 years after leaving the UK.
However, since the general election on the 4th July, this will likely be shelved until the new government reviews the proposals. We will be keeping an eye on the outcome of the consultation, which may affect many people.
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Aalia Ijaz
Senior Associate
Aalia has 8 years of experience acting as a Wills, Trusts, and Probate solicitor. Aalia has specialist expertise in Wills, estate administration, Lasting Powers of Attorney, and Trusts.
About Aalia Ijaz