Cross-Border Estates: Will You Need to Apply for Probate in Multiple Countries?

No two estates are the same, and there are certain circumstances where the process of administering an estate can be exceedingly complex. This is particularly likely to be the case with cross-border estates.

An estate is defined as a ‘cross-border’ or ‘international’ estate if it incorporates assets across two or more countries. This could include having offshore bank accounts, overseas business interests and/or owning property in another country. 

If you have found yourself responsible for administering an estate of this kind, we really can’t stress enough the importance of seeking professional advice. It would likely be very difficult indeed – if not impossible – to manage the process of administering an international estate without the support of a solicitor who specialises in this area. 

What are the first steps of administering a cross-border estate?

The first thing to do if you’re responsible for administering an estate that contains assets in multiple countries is to carefully assess the situation. You’ll want to be able to produce a complete list of everything owned by the estate, including details of where each asset is based. 

You’ll also want to review any arrangements that are in place for administering the estate. Hopefully, the person who has died had a valid Will in place. It may even be the case that they have left multiple wills: one for each country in which they owned assets.  

Finally, at this point it will also be important to make sure you are clear on where the person who has died was legally domiciled. Legal domicile is a complex issue, and it is not necessarily as simple as knowing where the person was born or what country they held citizenship of. You can find out more about determining legal domicile for tax purposes here. 

Once you have a clear idea of what assets the estate owns, which countries those assets are based in, what arrangements (if any) are in place, and where the individual was legally domiciled, the next step will typically be able to seek advice from a specialist solicitor. 

Will you need to apply for probate in every country the estate holds assets in?

It is impossible to give a straight-forward answer here, because the process can differ a great deal depending on the circumstances. 

Whether you will need to apply for probate in multiple countries will typically depend on factors such as:

• Where the person who has died was legally domiciled.
• What kind of arrangements the person who has died left in their Will (or wills, if they made separate documents to cover each jurisdiction).
• What the probate laws are in the countries where the estate owns assets.
• Which combination of countries and jurisdictions are involved.
• What kind of overseas assets the estate holds.

If the person who has died was legally domiciled in the UK, as their personal representative it’s very likely that you will need to apply for a Grant of Probate here. Depending on what other countries are involved, it may be possible to apply to ‘reseal’ the UK Grant of Probate for use in those other jurisdictions too. However, depending on the probate laws in the other countries involved, it may well be necessary to apply for equivalent grants there, too.

It’s important to keep in mind that probate laws can vary considerably from country to country. Not only will the rules on whether or not you need to apply for probate be different depending on the jurisdictions involved, you’re also likely to come across differences in the thresholds for applying for probate, how the application process works, whether or not you will need to appoint a local legal professional, and how the estate will need to be distributed once probate has been granted. 

A solicitor with expertise in cross-border and international probate will be able to advise you on this matter. They will also be able to liaise on your behalf with legal professionals based in the relevant jurisdictions. Your solicitor – together with their international colleagues – will be able to determine where, when and how you will need to apply for probate in order to successfully administer the estate. 

Is there a way to simplify this process?

There isn’t necessarily a way to make the process of administering a cross-border estate simple. However, it is possible to make the process more manageable. 

If you are the personal representative of an estate, you’re likely to find the process of winding up that estate a great deal less stressful if you work with a solicitor with experience in this matter. A specialist solicitor with extensive legal contacts in other jurisdictions can make a huge difference to how smoothly the process of winding up the estate will go.  

Alternatively, if you yourself own assets overseas and are thinking ahead about how to make matters more straightforward for your personal representatives when the time comes, there are things you can do about this. We’d recommend working with a specialist solicitor to plan for the future of your estate. They will be able to advise you on whether it could be beneficial to write a separate Will to cover your interests in each country. 

Where can you find support?

Complex legal processes require significant expertise. At Roche Legal, we have many years of experience dealing with cross-border estates. We work with other overseas legal professionals to ensure your estate is managed correctly and efficiently. If you’re not sure where to start with cross-border probate, whether you’ve been appointed as a personal representative, or whether you’re thinking about estate planning, we’re here to help. 

FAQs

How do you know if you’re dealing with a cross-border estate?

An estate is considered a cross-border or international estate if it includes assets in multiple countries. For example, if someone lived mainly in the UK but owned a holiday house in France, their estate would be considered a cross-border estate. Overseas assets could also consist of offshore bank accounts or overseas business interests. 

Can you administer a cross-border estate without the help of a solicitor?

Cross-border estates can be very complex, and it would likely be extremely difficult to administer an estate of this kind without professional advice and assistance. It’s typical to need support from multiple legal professionals, one who specialises in each of the countries that are involved in the estate.  

Will you need to apply for probate in every country where assets are held?

Whether you will need to apply for probate separately in each country where the estate holds assets depends on many factors, not least which countries are involved. Every country has its own probate laws, and the combination of these laws and how well (or not) they interact will determine where it is necessary for you to apply for probate. 

How much does the process of applying for probate vary from country to country?

Every country has its own probate laws, and these can vary a great deal. The rules for whether or not you will need to apply for probate will likely be different, as will the thresholds for applying for probate, the process of applying for it and the rules for how the estate will need to be dealt with once probate has been granted.