Your UK Will May Not Cover the House Abroad: Planning an Estate That Spans Two Countries

Most British owners assume that a carefully drafted will back home will do the job wherever their assets happen to sit. It is an understandable assumption, and an expensive one. Land is governed by the law of the country in which it lies, and most civil-law jurisdictions insist on their own procedure — a notarial deed, a court order, a local tax filing — before title can pass to anyone. A Spanish notary cannot act on an English grant of probate. A French notaire will want a French document, in French, produced in a French way.

That single fact reshapes how you should plan.

Why a Will Drafted in England Rarely Travels Well

A will made in England and Wales is generally recognised in principle across Europe, but recognition is not the same as usability. In practice, your executors will need to open a separate procedure in the country where the property sits, and the local authority will usually require a will made, or at least re-made, in local form. Add language barriers, certified translations and differing rules about who may act as executor, and the gap between principle and practice becomes clear.

The practical answer for most couples is two sets of documents: one for the UK estate and one for the overseas property. If you take that route, insist that each will contains a clause stating expressly that it does not revoke the other. Without that safeguard, a later Spanish will can accidentally cancel an earlier English one, or vice versa, and the resulting mess can take years to unpick.

Mirror Wills, Local Wills, or a Structure?

There are three broad approaches and none of them is universally right.

Mirror wills made in the UK are cheap and familiar, but they deal only with assets that the UK courts can reach. They are not a solution for the house in the Algarve.

Separate local wills are the conventional answer. Each jurisdiction deals with the assets within its reach, and the two documents are drafted to dovetail rather than compete. This costs more and requires coordination, but it is the arrangement most expatriate advisers recommend.

Owning through a company, a trust or a local equivalent is occasionally appropriate — particularly for high-value property or where several generations are involved — but it brings annual filing obligations, accountancy fees and, in some countries, adverse tax treatment. It is not a shortcut.

Forced Heirship: The Rule That Catches British Owners Out

Much of continental Europe operates some form of forced heirship. In France the réserve héréditaire reserves a proportion of the estate to children. Spain's legítima works differently again and varies between autonomous communities. Italy, Portugal and Greece all have comparable protections. The effect is that you may not be free to leave the overseas house to whomever you please, however clear your intentions.

This is where British owners most often receive a shock, usually at the worst possible moment: after a death, when the family is grieving and the notary explains that the property must be divided in a way nobody anticipated.

The EU Succession Choice, Used Properly

The EU Succession Regulation — often called Brussels IV — allows a person to choose the law of their nationality to govern their whole succession. For a British national, that can mean electing the law of England and Wales instead of the law of the country where the property is located, potentially disapplying forced heirship for that property.

The choice is not automatic. It must be made expressly, in a will or similar instrument, and it must be drafted in a form the local authorities will accept. It also does not apply in Ireland or Denmark, which are outside the Regulation, and it does nothing about tax. Used well, it is a powerful tool. Used carelessly — dropped into a document by a well-meaning generalist — it can create more problems than it solves.

What to Put in Front of Each Adviser

Your UK solicitor needs a schedule of overseas assets with current valuations, copies of any local will, the names and addresses of the local lawyers, and a clear statement of your domicile position. Inheritance tax in the UK reaches worldwide assets where domicile applies, so this is not a formality.

Your local notary or abogado needs certified translations of the UK will, your passports, your tax identification number in that country, the title deeds and land registry reference, details of your marital property regime — which can matter enormously in civil-law countries — and the names and addresses of your heirs.

Do not assume the two will speak to one another. Someone has to carry the information between them, and that someone is you.

What to Tell Your Adult Children Now

• Where both wills are kept, and who holds the originals.
• The name, firm and telephone number of the UK solicitor and the local notary.
• That the overseas property cannot simply be sold by the surviving spouse without a local procedure.
• That a local inheritance tax return may be required, sometimes within six months of death, with penalties for lateness.
• Where the deeds, insurance policies and utility contracts are kept.
• Which bank accounts exist in each country and how they are held.
• Any wishes about burial or repatriation.
• That probate in two countries runs on two clocks, and patience will be required.

Costs and Timescales Worth Budgeting For

A straightforward UK will costs roughly £300 to £600 per person. A local will in Spain might be €400 to €900 including translation; a French testament authentique rather less. Administering an estate in Spain commonly takes six to twelve months and can absorb a few per cent of the property's value in notary, registry and tax costs. France is often slower. UK probate, where an IHT400 is needed, typically runs three to nine months.

None of this is cheap. All of it is cheaper than an intestate dispute between siblings in two languages.