Can an Executor in One Country Serve for an Estate in Another Country?

Note: The following article is part of our Complimentary Articles Series, designed to provide additional insights and detailed information on specific topics within estate planning.

Alongside this article, we suggest exploring our pillar articles for a comprehensive understanding of general legal issues related to estate planning.

• Can I Challenge or Contest a Will?
• I Think a Will is Invalid. What Do I Do?
• What Are the Rules of Intestacy?
• What Makes a Will Legal?
• Can I Change My Will?

Yes, an Executor in one country can serve an Estate in another. However, you should take into account a number of factors and potential difficulties:

• Legal Recognition: The Executor needs to be legally recognised in the country where the Estate is located. You'll need to contend with a different legal system and possibly prepare additional documentation or Court approval in that country.

• Getting to Grips with Local Laws: The Executor should understand and abide by the estate laws of the country where the Estate is located. These laws may vary significantly from English laws.

• Tax Repercussions: Similar to local laws, each country will have its own tax rules. To ensure you comply with local legislation and any overseas tax obligations, you should seek professional tax advice in this area, especially when meeting any overseas Inheritance Tax obligations.

• Estate Administration Challenges: If you need to handle real estate, bank accounts, and any other overseas assets, this can be challenging, especially when it involves communicating in another language and across several time zones.

Need to know more?

If you find yourself in this situation, you're welcome to contact us for a free initial no-obligation phone call. As a professional estate planning company, we're very familiar with the complexity of managing overseas Estates. We can walk you through the options and, where required, put you in contact with our team of specialist international advisers.

Book a callback, and we'd be happy to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation discussion with you to lay out the options available.

Alternatively, call us on 01233 659 796.

Or reach out to us here.