Do I Need To Make A Foreign Will For My Holiday Home Abroad?

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.

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.