After a move, families often still have a will in the old country, a flat in the new one, a pension nomination from a previous marriage, and a life policy whose beneficiaries are out of date. Each of those can send value to a different person. The review is a matter of making the map match the life, under laws that may not agree with each other.
Wills and where the assets are
One will can be the right design, or it can be a poor one, depending on whether the countries involved will accept it and whether they apply their own succession rules to local property. Some places reserve a portion for children or a spouse regardless of what the will says. That is a local rule to ask a local lawyer about. It is not a reason to assume your home will ‘wins’.
Nominations sit beside the will
Pension and life-policy beneficiary forms often pay outside the will. If they name the wrong person, the will’s careful paragraph does not repair them. Read the forms after a move, a marriage, a divorce or a birth. Ownership of the policy — you, a trust, a company — is a further question, with tax and control consequences. Do not transfer ownership as a tidy-up.
Property and the name on the title
Joint ownership, a company as owner, and a sole name are different paths on death. A structure that was chosen for a lender or for tax can surprise an heir. Ask, in the country of the property, what actually happens, and ask how that sits with the will. Forced heirship, probate and tax on the estate are three more questions, not one.
A will that was right at home may be silent on the new life
After a move, look again at what should happen to property, accounts and personal belongings if you die, and at who would have authority to act if you cannot. A will made in one country may not deal with a home in another, and a will that does deal with it may clash with local rules, including rules that reserve a share for children or a spouse. Those rules are often called forced heirship. Whether they apply, and whether you can choose otherwise, is a legal question in the country of the asset and sometimes in the country of your nationality or residence. It is not a question this guide will answer for you.
Accounts and policies have their own paperwork. A beneficiary nomination on a pension or a life policy may pass that asset outside the will, or it may not, depending on the contract and the law. Read the nomination. An old nomination in favour of someone who should no longer receive the money is a common and unpleasant discovery. Changing it is a form, and it is still worth doing with advice if the family situation is complicated.
Make the plan readable in each country where something sits
List assets by country: the home, the accounts, the company shares, the personal items that matter. Note which will, if any, mentions them, and which lawyers drew it up. Ask a lawyer qualified in each relevant country whether one will, or several, is the safer pattern for you. Ask who would handle a probate or an equivalent process, and whether your executors can act from abroad.
Tell the people who would have to find the documents where they are. A plan that exists only in a filing cabinet in a country you have left is a weak plan. Review it when a child is born, a marriage ends, a property is bought, or tax residence changes again. Those are the events that make an old will wrong, more reliably than the passage of a quiet year.
A practical checklist
- List wills, and the country of each.
- List assets by country, including policies and pensions.
- Read every beneficiary form.
- Note joint owners and company owners.
- Ask a lawyer in each country that holds a significant asset.
- Do not sign a new will that revokes the old one until both have been read together.
Questions to ask
- Will this will be recognised where the new assets are?
- Does local law reserve a share for anyone?
- Who does the pension and the life policy pay?
- What does the title say happens if I die?
- Are there two probate processes?
- What should I not change without coordinated advice?
Common mistakes
- One online will for a life in three countries.
- A nomination left from a previous relationship.
- Revoking a will by accident with a new one.
- Putting a house into a company or a trust on completion, unsupervised.
- Confusing a conversation about tax with a valid will.
WiT Access provides general information and comparison resources. Nothing on this website constitutes financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Always consider obtaining advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
