What Moving Abroad Can Mean for Your Will and Estate

You move abroad and keep your UK house, open a new bank account and buy a property in the destination. Your existing will was written years before the move. It names your chosen executors and describes how you want the estate divided. The review now needs to establish which assets the will covers, who can act in each country and what taxes or procedures the estate may face. Start with the ownership of each asset and the place where someone would need to deal with it.

A will is one document in that plan. You may also have a power of attorney, pension nominations, joint ownership terms and company agreements. Some of these matter while you are alive. Others affect how people deal with the estate after death. Give the advisers the full set of documents, then ask which can operate as intended in each jurisdiction.

Draw an asset map for the people who may need it

List the things you own, the country connected to each asset and how it is held. Include bank accounts, investment accounts, property, company shares, loans owed to you and any interests in trusts. Record whether each is held personally, jointly or through a company. For jointly held property, obtain the title information rather than assuming what happens on death. Keep pensions, life insurance and any beneficiaries named on them in a separate section so the adviser can check how those arrangements fit the estate plan.

Write down where the records are held and which professional can help. There is no need to put passwords in the list. A useful record gives an executor the name of the institution, the type of asset, the relevant adviser and the location of the original documents. A founder should add company records and any agreement that governs what happens to the shares when a shareholder dies.

Ask which law applies and who can act

Give the lawyers your citizenships, current and previous homes, family details and the asset list. Ask how the destination treats a will signed in another country, which law may govern succession and whether family members have rights you need to account for. Local processes can differ even if two countries recognise the same document. Ask what proof an executor would need to sell a property, close an account or deal with a company.

In participating EU countries, the European Commission’s cross-border succession guidance explains the general use of habitual residence and the possibility of choosing the law of nationality in certain circumstances. Denmark and Ireland do not participate in that regulation. Ask a qualified lawyer whether a choice is available and what it would achieve for your estate. The rules determining succession and the rules imposing estate or inheritance tax are separate questions.

Confirm who will act if you become unable to handle your affairs while alive. The Office of the Public Guardian’s guide for England and Wales advises considering legal advice when a power of attorney needs to have effect elsewhere. Ask your destination lawyer what an institution there will recognise and whether it needs a locally made document, translation or proof of authority. Give both lawyers the instructions they need to make the arrangements work together.

Put tax and administration on separate lines

Ask the adviser to assess where inheritance or estate taxes may apply and who will have to file or pay them. Since 6 April 2025 the UK uses long-term residence rules for the scope of Inheritance Tax on overseas assets, with detailed conditions and transitional provisions. HMRC explains that exposure can continue after a person leaves the UK. UK assets and assets held in trusts may raise separate questions. Give the adviser your residence history and ownership details rather than assuming the current home address settles the answer.

If two countries may tax the same assets, ask which relief is available and how to claim it. HMRC has specific guidance on Inheritance Tax double taxation relief. A treaty covering income tax should be checked for scope before anyone relies on it for an estate. Record who would prepare the filings and where funds would come from if tax or administration costs are due before assets can be sold or released.

• Law. Which law governs the disposition of each asset, and do any local family rights or ownership arrangements affect the plan?
• Authority. Who can act during incapacity and after death, and which documents will they need in each place?
• Tax. Which jurisdictions may tax the assets, what relief may apply and when would filings or payments be due?
• Access. Who knows where the originals are, and how would an executor obtain statements or evidence from another country?

Review the effect on the business

Read the company documents with the lawyers if a large part of the estate is in shares. Ask whether the articles or a shareholders’ agreement restrict a transfer, give another owner an option to purchase or require a valuation. Check who can make decisions while an estate is being administered and which responsibilities depended on you personally. If the business has no other person who can deal with its bank, staff or customers, ask its advisers to review continuity alongside the estate work.

Where there is a buyout arrangement or insurance intended to fund it, ask how it works in the circumstances you are planning for. Give the adviser the policy, beneficiary details and the exact ownership of the shares. Check which steps require the executor, other owners or the insurer to act and how long they may take. Keep any review of the company’s valuation separate from money the family can access for bills. A solvent company can still be an asset that the estate needs time and authority to deal with.

Test the plan with a realistic scenario

Suppose a founder dies while living overseas and still holds UK company shares. Their partner needs money for ordinary bills, the executors need to value the shares and a surviving business partner wants to know whether the shares can be bought. Ask the advisers to walk through who can access cash, who deals with the business documents and what proof each institution will require. The exercise can reveal a gap between the estate’s overall value and the money available to pay immediate costs.

1. Prepare the inventory. Give the lawyers an up-to-date asset list, wills, ownership documents and any existing powers or nominations.
2. Ask the advisers to coordinate. Have advisers in each relevant jurisdiction review which documents apply and how they interact. Ask for a short written explanation of what changed.
3. Make the record accessible. Tell the people who may need to act where the originals and professional contact details are held. Keep financial details secure.
4. Choose review dates. Revisit the plan after a move, a property purchase, a new business or a change to family circumstances. Check the residence and tax position alongside the documents.

Write down the decisions still open after the review. You may be waiting for an ownership record, a local lawyer’s answer or confirmation about a pension nomination. Give each one an owner and a date. That makes it easier to finish the work and gives the people you have asked to act a reliable account of what has been arranged.