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Reasons to Have a Will Unless you have no concern about the distribution of your estate after death you must make a will. If you do not you will die intestate and your assets will be disposed of in a way that may not coincide with your wishes. Your families problems will be even more complex if you own assets in more than one country. Dying intestate can cause prolonged legal battles. If you don’t have a will your family may also suffer from prolonged legal battles and transactions. In some countries the legal wrangling may go on for an extremely long time. Therefore it is very important that you make a properly valid and witnessed will. A poorly thought out will can be challenged and could be over ruled by a court if, for instance, no provision had been made for someone that was previously financial dependent on you. Most people prefer not to think about making a will. Yet have you ever considered the complications that might arise if the unthinkable happened? Your assets may not automatically go to those you would wish. Your family may have to wait a very long time to benefit from your assets when they need money to live. There are often disputes within the nicest of families over property and other assets. However with a Will, you can do the following: You can decide exactly what you want done with your property. You can appoint a professional firm of solicitors to act as your personal representatives and give them all the powers they need to effectively administer your Will. You can save your beneficiaries from paying unnecessary tax.
Tax If you live in one country but are domiciled in another, usually the country of your birth, you should have a valid will for each country. The second will to include your foreign assets. The distribution to your heirs of movable assets (such as bank deposits or investments) is governed by the law of your domicile country. The distributions to your heirs of immovable assets (such as property) are governed by local law. The ruling of a court in the country of your domicile relating to a house overseas will not be effective in the overseas country until a court in that country has approved it. The court may also require a local grant of probate or letters of administration. This procedure can take a long time and be costly. There are many differences in law between countries for example, in certain countries your children are legally entitled to inherit a specified portion of your assets and ‘inheritance tax’ liability is determined by the relationship of heirs. The often-complex administration of expatriate and overseas residents’ assets can result in trouble and legal costs payable in more than one location. However if you properly arrange your affairs in advance the problems and cost incurred by those looking after your estate will be a tiny fraction of those they would have incurred if you had not made a will. So if your assets are in more than one country you owe it to those you have trusted to look after your affairs to make proper arrangements now, even if this does mean writing several wills and consulting with several lawyers in several countries. As well as the efficiency in dealing with local assets under local law there are other important reasons for having more than one will, for example: Protect your heirs To protect your heirs’ from the full ravages of inheritance tax and estate duty it is essential for proper testamentary arrangements to be regularly reviewed. In the UK, a grant of probate or letters of administration will not be issued until any Inheritance tax has been paid. As assets will not normally be released until the grant has been made, your heirs only way to pay the tax bill maybe to borrow the money. An overseas will might hasten the release of your assets through a local probate; these can then be used to pay the tax bill hastening the release of assets. |
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