Wills

Wills and Powers of Attorney

An international will is necessary for those who have assets in more than one country, including offshore assets.

A will is only valid in the country in which it was written – and as the laws of probate vary from country to country, without an international will, the distribution of your assets could be a complex and lengthy business. For example, while the law of England and Wales decides on how assets will be passed on according to domicile, other countries may consider the deceased’s nationality or where they held assets in considering how an estate should be distributed.

Different countries also have varying positions on the distribution of moveable assets (valuables or possessions), as well as those considered to be immoveable, such as property or land.

Making an international will resolves the problem of holding assets in different jurisdictions.

It is probably highly likely that you are already starting to accumulate wealth, which will undoubtedly only increase over time. To protect your estate and ensure that only those people that you wish benefit from this estate, wills are essential.

Temporary Legal Guardianship

If you have children wills are even more important. If both parents were to die, who would look after the children? Whoever gets to look after the children will be nominated their legal guardian and will therefore have total control over all the assets that you leave them!

You may already have arranged a will, in which case congratulations. However, it is likely that if you have children, the nominated guardian may be in another country. In which case it is important to have a “Temporary Guardian” nominated, so in the unfortunate situation of both parents dying, there is someone locally who can collect and look after the children until the nominated guardian arrives. The alternative could be that the children are put into care until the guardian comes and claims them.

Lasting Power of Attorney

We also recommend that our clients should consider the ramifications of becoming unable to look after their affairs through; accident, old age or mental illness. Arranging a “Lasting Power of Attorney” basically nominates, and gives the legal authority to someone, for example; a partner (or a company i.e. firm of lawyers) to look after you, your affairs and finances should you be deemed incapable. This could be more important than a will if you hold substantial assets in one name only.

Less than 5% of the people we meet have tackled this most basic area of financial planning. We can help you draft your wills and have professional connections experts in writing multi-jurisdiction wills.