Planning for the future is an essential part of managing one’s personal affairs, and this takes on additional complexities for individuals who live part-time abroad. Whether you divide your residency between two countries for work, retirement, or personal preferences, writing a will under such circumstances requires careful consideration of legal, financial, and practical issues that go beyond the standard process of drafting a will in a single jurisdiction.
Understanding the significance of creating a comprehensive and well-structured estate plan becomes especially important when your life spans multiple borders. With legal systems, inheritance laws, and tax structures varying significantly from one country to another, ensuring that your wishes are respected and your assets are distributed according to your intentions requires thoughtful planning.
The starting point for anyone living part-time abroad and wishing to draw up a will is understanding the legal concepts of residency and domicile. While these terms might seem synonymous in everyday language, they carry distinct meanings in legal contexts, with far-reaching implications for succession laws and tax liability.
Legal residency typically refers to where you live for a certain period of time each year and may be linked to visa or immigration status in one or more countries. Domicile, however, is more complex and involves the place you consider your permanent home, where you intend to return and remain indefinitely. Most countries use domicile as the basis for determining which succession laws apply and which assets are subject to inheritance tax.
For individuals who split their time between, say, the United Kingdom and France, or Spain and Australia, domicile can become a contentious issue. The UK recognises different types of domicile—domicile of origin, domicile of choice, and domicile of dependency—which influence how your estate is taxed and administered. Establishing your true domicile through clear documentation and declarations can help your executors avoid costly legal disputes and confusion after your death.
One of the most significant issues for individuals with cross-border lives is determining which country’s laws govern the succession of your estate. In civil law countries such as France, Spain, and Italy, forced heirship rules apply. These laws mandate that a portion of your estate must go to certain relatives, usually children or spouses, regardless of what your will states.
In contrast, common law jurisdictions such as England and Wales operate under testamentary freedom, allowing individuals much more discretion in distributing their estate as they see fit. Therefore, understanding which laws apply to which parts of your estate is critical.
In cases where you own immoveable assets—such as property—in more than one country, the succession to these assets is typically governed by the laws of the country where they are located. Movable assets, like bank accounts, stocks, and personal possessions, are usually governed by the law of your domicile at the time of death.
To navigate this complexity, many individuals choose to create multiple wills—one for each country where they hold assets. However, great caution must be exercised to ensure the wills do not inadvertently revoke or contradict each other. Consulting legal professionals familiar with cross-border estate planning is strongly advised.
The EU Succession Regulation, also known as Brussels IV, plays a critical role for UK nationals living part-time in EU countries. Although the UK formally opted out of Brussels IV, British nationals can still take advantage of it when residing or owning property in participating EU member states.
Under this regulation, an individual can elect for the law of their nationality—such as English law—to govern the succession of their entire EU estate. This election must be made explicitly in a will or other testamentary document. This offers a valuable planning tool for those who want to avoid forced heirship rules.
It must be stressed, however, that Brussels IV applies only to succession matters and not to taxation. Therefore, even if English law governs the distribution of your property, local inheritance taxes may still be due in the country where the assets are located. Thorough planning should incorporate not just succession law but also tax implications.
One of the most critical and often misunderstood aspects of cross-border estate planning is tax. Every country has its own taxation rules concerning inheritance and estate taxes. In the UK, inheritance tax is charged on the worldwide estate of an individual domiciled in the UK at the time of their death. The current threshold (as of 2024) is £325,000, with anything above typically taxed at 40%, though there are various reliefs and allowances.
Suppose you own property in France and reside there part-time. In that case, French inheritance tax rules may also apply, resulting in a scenario where tax is due in both countries. Fortunately, several double taxation treaties exist to prevent this situation from resulting in a full double tax burden. The UK has such treaties with several countries, including Ireland, the United States, France, and Italy.
Where no treaty exists, unilateral reliefs from double taxation may be granted, but these can be limited and may not fully eliminate the burden. Therefore, engaging tax specialists with experience in both jurisdictions is crucial when structuring your affairs.
Trusts are a popular mechanism in the UK for estate planning, allowing individuals to maintain control, reduce inheritance tax, or protect vulnerable beneficiaries. However, many continental countries do not recognise trusts in the same way, and the use of such tools can frequently lead to complications.
In France and other civil law countries, for example, trusts may be treated unfavourably for tax purposes and can lead to increased scrutiny by local tax authorities. The lack of recognition of common law concepts by civil law jurisdictions can cause problems in implementation and lead to unintended outcomes for your beneficiaries.
Other tools, such as lifetime giving or creating companies to hold certain assets, may offer alternatives, but again these must be carefully calibrated to account for cross-border differences. Each strategy must be evaluated according to the specific countries involved and with input from professionals familiar with local laws.
Appointing an executor—or multiple executors—who understand the complexities involved in cross-border estate administration is essential. The executor is responsible for gathering the estate, paying debts, and distributing assets in accordance with the will and applicable law.
If you own property or have substantial interests in more than one country, appointing executors in both jurisdictions might be advisable, or at least choosing one with experience in managing international matters. Linguistic, administrative, and bureaucratic barriers can create delays and additional expense if your executor is unfamiliar with the legal procedures in a foreign jurisdiction.
Additionally, it may be beneficial to appoint a professional co-executor, especially when foreign probate and tax processes are involved. Professional executors offer the capacity and experience to deal with international probate formally and competently.
Even if you are fluent in the languages of the countries you live in, legal documents must be drafted precisely and professionally. A will written in English may not be automatically accepted by authorities in non-English-speaking jurisdictions. Consequently, certified translations of the will may be necessary, or you may choose to have dual-language wills created.
However, care must be taken to avoid potential conflicts between translated versions. Words and legal concepts that exist in English law may not have precise equivalents in other languages or legal systems. For example, the concept of a “trust” or “executor” might not map exactly onto comparable roles under local law.
The usual best practice is to engage lawyers in each country—working in coordination—so that each document is legally valid within its respective jurisdiction, and there is a clear hierarchy between the documents, avoiding any unintentional revocation.
Living an international lifestyle often means having digital assets spread across global platforms—bank accounts, investment holdings, or cryptocurrency wallets. These assets may be governed not by national laws but by platform-specific policies and terms of service agreements.
A robust estate plan today must consider digital assets and provide for their access and distribution. This includes documenting login credentials, providing instructions for managing online identities, and establishing who has the right to control or terminate these accounts after death. Because laws concerning digital inheritance are still evolving, particularly in cross-border contexts, providing executors with authority and information is imperative.
While the focus of your will is the disposition of assets, those who live part-time abroad should also consider creating separate documents for healthcare decisions. In the UK, one might create a lasting power of attorney for health and welfare decisions. Similar documents may be necessary in the country where you also reside part-time.
Without recognised legal authority, foreign healthcare systems may not follow the wishes of your UK-appointed representative. Local directives, such as a living will or equivalent, should be created in the relevant jurisdiction to ensure your preferences are respected in the event you become incapacitated abroad.
An often-overlooked aspect of will-writing, especially when living abroad, is the need for regular updates. Laws change, relationships evolve, and assets grow or shift across borders. A will made five years ago may no longer reflect your circumstances or intentions.
Frequent reviews—at least every few years, or after major life events—allow you to adapt your documents to current situations. Keeping an open line of communication with your executors, beneficiaries, and legal advisors helps ensure everyone is aligned, reducing potential misunderstandings or disputes.
Additionally, notifying your loved ones about where your will is stored and who is appointed to manage your affairs is vital. In the context of cross-border estates, where delays can lead to significant complications, documentation and access play a key role in smooth administration.
It is no small task to navigate estate planning when you live between countries. The layered complexities of different legal systems, cultural expectations, and tax frameworks mean that intuition alone is not enough. But with careful thought, coordinated legal advice, and a commitment to clarity and precision, you can ensure that your estate is handled according to your wishes and with minimal burden on your loved ones.
Whether through multiple wills, legal elections under cross-border regulations, or coordinated strategies for tax efficiency and executorship, the key lies in preparation. For individuals living part-time abroad, estate planning is not simply a legal formality — it’s a vital act of care, foresight, and responsibility.
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