International Probate

An executor is the person that the deceased has chosen to administer their estate. Someone’s executor is named in their Will.

The executor has a number of responsibilities towards the deceased’s estate and the people they’ve chosen to leave assets to in their Will (these people are known as beneficiaries).

If someone has died without a Will, the person that administers their estate is called an administrator and is chosen according to the Intestacy Rules.

Read more about how probate works if there is no will.

If you’ve lost a loved one who was a UK national with assets abroad or a foreign national with UK assets, our international probate solicitors can help manage their estate. The basic Probate process for an executor is:

1. Gather the full details of the estate’s assets and debts
2. Our solicitors will prepare the probate papers based on this information
3. You receive a Grant of Probate
4. Complete an inheritance tax return and pay any tax due
5. Repay any of the deceased’s outstanding debts
6. Distribute the rest of the estate according to the instructions left in the Will.

This process can change depending on which country the deceased had connections with (e.g. their ‘tax domicile’) and which countries their assets are in.

Different countries have different probate and intestacy laws. Conflicts between these laws can complicate probate when an estate has assets in different countries. Inheritance tax laws also differ between countries which can cause extra difficulties.

Probate will take between six months and two years for most estates. The exact amount of time will depend on the size and complexity of the estate. Disputes between the executor, beneficiaries, tax authorities, and creditors can also cause delays.

Our solicitors can advise on or help with any stage of the probate process. We can help if disputes are stopping you from making progress or can even take over your duties as executor entirely.

Someone who dies without leaving a Will is known as ‘intestate’ and their estate is in intestacy. Their property is distributed according to the rules of intestacy since there is no Will to determine the deceased’s wishes.

The rules of intestacy also set out who can administer the estate in place of a named executor. This person is known as an administrator.

This also applies if someone leaves a Will but it is invalid.

We offer a highly personalised service for each of our customers. For a straightforward UK estate, whether or not there is a valid will, please see the fees outlined on our prices page. These fees are for dealing with the whole estate administration.

When dealing with complex international probate this may involve boarder jurisdictions and international properties so we will give you a better idea of costs when you get in touch.

If you only need us for specific parts of the administration the fee will vary depending on how much work needs to be done. When you speak to one of our team, we’ll judge how much work is involved based on your requirements and the size of the estate. We’ll give you an estimate for our fees before starting any work and – wherever possible – quote a fixed-fee cost for your peace of mind.

Domicile under English law is a complex concept. Your domicile will often be the jurisdiction where you have your closest personal and financial connections.

You can live in one country but have a domicile elsewhere – people who live in the UK but are domiciled abroad are known as non-domiciled residents or ‘non-doms’.

HMRC will treat someone as being domiciled in the UK (for tax purposes only) if they have:

• Lived in the UK for 15 of the last 20 years
• Had their permanent home in the UK at any time in the last three years of their life.

Someone’s domicile can impact the tax that they and their estate have to pay.

UK resident non-doms, for example, may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income or capital gains (e.g. from selling a second home abroad). They may have to pay inheritance tax on their UK assets.

When you are administering someone’s estate, you’ll need to find out their domicile to make sure that you pay the correct taxes.

Our lawyers can help and advise with all the issues that tax domicile can present for international estates, whether the deceased was a UK resident non-dom or was UK-domiciled and lived elsewhere.

UK and foreign assets are treated differently by HMRC when calculating the UK inheritance tax that an estate must pay. It’s important to record the value of any foreign assets correctly in order to pay the right amount of tax.

• Foreign assets might include:
• Property, such as holiday homes
• Valuable possessions such cars, art, or jewellery
• Bank accounts
• Shares
• Businesses
• Investments.

We can help you track down details of all an estate’s foreign assets and get them accurately valued. We can also help you get local authorisation to access the assets so you can pass them on to the deceased’s successors