Do I need a foreign Will?

A moment of wishful thinking

In every meeting your consultant will ask you, “Do you have any property outside of England and Wales?”

This is often met with a response of “I wish!” and so do we!

The purpose of the question is intended to lead to a discussion about any overseas assets, and advice to make a Will in each legal jurisdiction where you own property.

If you have assets in other countries or may inherit overseas assets in the future, there are common principles that hold true, regardless of where your assets or future assets are located.

Best practice is always to consider making a Will in each jurisdiction that you hold assets. Carisma Wills’ jurisdiction is England & Wales. This means if you have property in Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Mauritius (more wishful thinking!) or other countries, you may need a separate Will there.

Why do I need a foreign Will?

Some jurisdictions may advise that a second Will is not required. Some jurisdictions will advise that even if you put a Will in place, the inheritance laws of that country prevail regardless of your wishes; this happens in countries where forced heirship rules apply.

If you have assets in Europe and you would like these to pass as stated in your English/Welsh Will, you can elect for this to happen. This doesn't mean that it's not worth considering a second Will (in Spain, for example) to enable the process in that jurisdiction to be started after you die, at the same time as the English/Welsh Probate process; it simply means the same distribution of your assets can apply to your second home and local bank accounts.

You must disclose any other testamentary dispositions (Wills or other documents dealing with assets when you’re gone) to the firm drafting your new documents. This will avoid the inadvertent revocation (cancellation) of any of your existing, overseas Wills. The same applies if you are making a Will overseas. Be sure to ask the adviser not to revoke your existing English/Welsh Will.

Even though we suggest you seek advice in each jurisdiction where you own assets we understand that sometimes families prefer not to do this because of language barriers, lack of knowledge or trust, or as in 2020 and 2021 because they can’t travel to make these arrangements. In such cases, the solution is to draft a Will that expresses an intention to deal with all worldwide assets.

If your family circumstances or asset portfolio changes, a review of your Will is essential. We list the major life events as a prompt on our review postcard and e-reminder.

Get in touch here if you’d like a if you’d like to be included in the next mailing.