Foreign property: estate administration
When someone dies and they have assets in more than one country, it is possible that more than one set of laws will apply to their estate, but not necessarily.
Some countries, such as Spain and Italy, like to apply one set of laws to the whole estate regardless of how many countries are involved. This usually means they apply the law of the country of which the deceased was a citizen, so if an English person has a holiday home in Spain, it will usually pass according to English law and not Spanish law.
In contrast, England and France both apply different sets of laws to different parts of the estate. Generally, land and buildings pass under the law of the country where they are situated, and everything else passes under the law of the country of domicile (which may not be the same as the country of nationality).
If you are appointed as executor where the deceased had assets abroad, it is very important that you take advice from a solicitor who understands these complexities because if you get started on the wrong track, you are likely to run up unnecessary legal costs which will lead to conflict with the beneficiaries.
Estate planning solicitors
To arrange a discussion with an estate planning solicitor click here or call us on 0800 840 4929. We are available to take your call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
