As we continue to address the historic mortgage issues which face thousands of foreign property owners in the UK, we have in recent days successfully settled another French mortgage issue for one of our clients. After many years of worry and anxiety for our...
Inheritance often works very differently in other countries to what you may be used to in the UK. This applies to everything from rules around who can inherit and how Wills work, to inheritance tax rules and the probate process.
If you have property or other assets abroad that form part of your estate or need to deal with an estate containing foreign assets where someone has passed away, it can be confusing and stressful.
Getting expert legal advice can help to ensure that you understand any foreign inheritance rules that apply and take the right steps with your inheritance planning or when administering an estate.
Judicare Law International is a leading international property law firm. Together with the trusted law firms we work with around the world we provide clients with specialist global legal advice related to investments in property and land overseas. As well as assisting with buying and selling foreign property, Regularly assisting clients with overseas inheritance planning and probate abroad.
Our inheritance legal team can assist with all areas of your inheritance planning and estate administration, including:
- Advice on overseas inheritance laws and how they apply to your estate (to make sure the right people inherit from you)
- Making a foreign Will (including clear advice on the benefits of doing so)
- International inheritance tax planning (to minimise the tax burden on your estate)
- Foreign Powers of Attorney (to empower someone else to act for you abroad)
- Probate in another country (including handling the process for you)
Our legal team can offer specific expertise on inheritance and probate for a wide range of countries, including:
Judicare are headquartered in the UK, meaning we offer the security of dealing with UK-regulated solicitors, combined with the comprehensive knowledge of foreign inheritance and probate rules across a range of jurisdictions via the trusted law firms we work with..
For specific advice on overseas inheritance and probate matters tailored to your needs, please get in touch with our friendly, expert international inheritance legal team.
Call: 01438 840 258 Email: admin@judicaregroup.com
How Judicare can help with overseas inheritance and probate
Advice on overseas inheritance laws
If you own property or other assets abroad, are dealing with an estate containing property abroad or have inherited foreign property, you need to make sure you fully understand the relevant inheritance rules.
Our combined international inheritance team can advise you on how the inheritance rules in the relevant country will impact the assets in question and what steps you need to take. Depending on your situation, this might involve:
- Creating a foreign Will to account for assets abroad
- Guiding you through overseas probate rules
- Advising you on inheritance tax and other issues when inheriting foreign property
Our aim is to give you all of the information you need to make the right choice for you, your estate and your loved ones.
Making a foreign Will
If you have property or other assets abroad, is it likely you will benefit from making a foreign Will. While you might think you can just account for overseas property in your UK Will, there are often very good reasons for making a separate Will for the jurisdiction where your property is located.
Because other countries often have very different inheritance rules, a UK Will may not be compatible and may not be enforceable e.g. where another country has strict rules about who can inherit.
Our combines team of overseas inheritance lawyers can help you draft both a UK Will and a foreign Will that work effectively together to ensure your estate will be dealt with exactly as you intend when the time comes.
Find out more about our expertise with foreign Wills.
International Inheritance Tax Planning
Inheritance tax is one of the most important reasons to ensure your estate is properly planned in advance. Other countries have very different inheritance tax rules to the UK, so the way your estate is planned can have a big impact on exactly how much of your estate ultimately passes to your heirs.
Our overseas inheritance lawyers can advise you on the steps you can take to ensure your estate is as tax efficient as possible, making sure your heirs receive the maximum benefit.
Foreign Powers of Attorney
In many cases, it is not desirable to travel to another country to deal with inheritance matters, such as registering documents or handling probate. Fortunately, it is usually possible to avoid this by using a Power of Attorney to empower someone else in another country to act for you.
Creating a Power of Attorney gives someone else the legal authority to take actions for you, such as signing documents or attending legal proceedings. You can stay in the UK while ensuring your estate or an estate you are involved with can be dealt with effectively.
Foreign Powers of Attorney often grant much broader powers that UK Powers of Attorney, so it is essential that they are drafted carefully to give the person acting for you only as much leeway as is strictly required.
Our team can assist with drafting effective Powers of Attorney to match your needs, ensuring your representative can do everything you need them to and nothing more.
Probate in another country
Dealing with the estate of someone who has passed away can be complicated and stressful at the best of times. Where that estate includes property or other assets abroad, it can make things even more challenging.
Our team of international probate lawyers can assist with probate and estate administration for estates containing overseas assets, ensuring every stage of the probate process is handled correctly while making this as easy as possible for you.
International inheritance and probate costs
The costs involved with inheritance planning and probate can vary significantly from country to country. Fees will reflect the complexity of the work you require assistance with.
We will be happy to provide an upfront quote for the costs involved with your matter, including our fees and any third-party costs (such as court fees).
Once a price has been agreed, we would only deviate from this in exceptional circumstances. Should any additional expenditure be required, we will always explain this to you and secure your approval before any billable work is carried out.
For more information, please take a look at our pricing.
Why use Judicare for inheritance and probate abroad?
International inheritance law expertise. Plain English advice.
Our combined legal team includes experts in the inheritance laws of many different countries who are fluent in a range of languages. This means you can be confident that no detail is overlooked and everything will be handled the right way.
At the same time, as UK-based lawyers, we can answer your questions and keep you informed in plain English, with no unnecessary legal jargon.
UK-regulated solicitors. Real peace of mind.
As UK law firm, we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This means you can be confident we will adhere to the strict standards expected of UK lawyers.
Complete understanding of how inheritance laws in different jurisdictions interact
While a law firm in, for example, Spain might be able to help with Spanish inheritance law, what happens if an estate has assets in both the UK and Spain? Or even spread over three or more jurisdictions?
Understanding both UK inheritance law and the inheritance laws in many other jurisdictions, our team are perfectly placed to advise on what happens when you need to deal with the inheritance rules in more than one jurisdiction at once.
AIPP membership
Property is one of the most common assets people have overseas, so working with a law firm with strong international property expertise is usually a good idea when dealing with foreign inheritance. This is one area where Judicare particularly excels.
We are a member of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP), which was set up to improve standards of professionalism in a largely unregulated overseas property market. As AIPP members, we have signed up to a Code of Conduct that assures we adhere to the highest standards of honesty and professional integrity.
Decades of collective experience
Our international inheritance team have many years of experience dealing with all aspects of overseas inheritance planning and estate administration. This means that together we know all of the issues you need to consider, exactly what needs to be done and all of the common problems you can run into (and the not so common ones).
Drawing on our collective experience, we can help you to plan effectively and make sure every stage of your inheritance planning or estate administration goes ahead as smoothly as possible.
Need expert help with overseas inheritance and probate?
Looking for a highly experienced, trustworthy and reliable team of UK and foreign inheritance lawyers in the UK?
Need expert guidance and plain English advice on any aspect of inheritance planning and estate administration?
Want peace of mind that everything has been properly taken care of?
Then get in touch with Judicare today!
Call: 01438 840 258 Email: admin@judicaregroup.com