Foreign Property and Assets in Your UK Will

Last verified: April 2026 (England & Wales)

If you own property or other assets outside England & Wales, your English Will may still be part of the answer, but it is rarely the whole answer.

The real questions are usually these: where is the asset, where are you mainly living, do you already have a foreign Will, and could local succession or administration rules affect what happens after death?

This page is about the England & Wales side of that planning. It also explains why France, Spain and Romania often need extra care, while still covering the wider issue of foreign assets generally.

Quick-read summary

• An English Will can still be useful even if you own foreign property or assets.

• Foreign property often needs local advice and sometimes a separate local Will.

• One Will should not accidentally revoke the other.

• Tax, succession rules, and estate administration are separate issues. A Will that is valid here does not remove every issue abroad.

• France, Spain and Romania are examples, not the limit of the topic.

• If your first question is whether nationality or residence stops you making an English Will, see Do you need to be a UK citizen or resident to make a Will?

Why this needs care

A foreign flat, holiday home, bank account, investment portfolio, or business interest can all create extra layers of work after death.

Sometimes the English Will can deal with the point neatly. Sometimes it should only deal with the England & Wales assets, while a separate local Will or local advice deals with the foreign side. The right answer depends on the country involved, the type of asset, and what documents already exist.

This is one of those areas where “valid” and “sensible” are not always the same thing. A document may be valid under England & Wales rules, but still create delay, confusion, or conflict elsewhere if the cross-border position has not been thought through properly.

Foreign property and foreign assets are not always the same issue

Property abroad often creates the clearest warning sign, because land and buildings are closely tied to the law and procedure of the country where they are located.

Other overseas assets can also need care, including:

• foreign bank accounts• overseas shares or investment accounts

• business interests outside England & Wales

• assets held under local law or through local institutions

So although “foreign property” is the most common starting point, the wider issue is really foreign assets and cross-border estate coordination.

One Will or two?

For many cross-border estates, the practical structure is:

• one England & Wales Will dealing with the England & Wales side

• one separate local Will dealing with the foreign property or assets

That is not automatic in every case, but it is common for a reason. It can make administration cleaner and reduce the risk of one legal system tripping over the other.

The wording matters. If the documents are handled badly, one Will can revoke the other by mistake, or both can appear to claim the same asset. That is why the England & Wales Will often needs careful scope wording and non-revocation wording where a foreign document already exists or is expected.

What your England & Wales Will may need

Depending on the situation, the England & Wales Will may need:

• wording that makes clear it does not revoke a separate foreign Will

• wording limiting its scope to England & Wales assets where appropriate

• wording that avoids overlap or contradiction with foreign planning

• enough factual context to make later administration easier

This does not replace local foreign advice. It simply makes sure your England & Wales Will is doing its own job properly.

When local foreign advice is especially likely to be needed

Local advice is especially likely to matter where:• you already live abroad

• you have dual nationality

• you already have a foreign Will

• the foreign country has its own succession rules that may affect who inherits

• the asset is real property, a local business interest, or something that usually has to be dealt with through local procedure

• tax, probate, or notarial requirements in that country may affect the estate even if your English Will is valid

Specific points for France, Spain and Romania

This guide is not limited to those countries, but these are examples I see more often than most.

France

France often needs careful coordination. A UK client with a French property will commonly need England & Wales planning on one side and French advice on the other.

The key point is not to assume that an English Will will automatically solve the French side cleanly. Local succession rules, local procedure, and local administration can still matter. In practice, this often means making sure the England & Wales Will is tightly drafted and then dealing with the French side locally.

Spain

Spain also often needs a joined-up approach rather than a one-document assumption. That can be especially important where the person already has Spanish paperwork, spends much of the year there, has dual nationality, or has moved there more permanently.

Regional variation can matter in Spain, so this is not an area for broad assumptions. The safe approach is usually to make sure the England & Wales Will only does what it should do here, while the Spanish position is checked properly on the Spanish side.

Romania

Romania can also raise cross-border succession and administration issues that an English Will does not automatically remove. If the person owns Romanian property or has Romanian succession ties that still matter, local coordination is usually sensible.

For clients who now live fully in England and keep all their assets here, the position may be much simpler. The Romania point usually becomes important where there is still property there, a local document there, or family / succession connections that still need to be checked.

Optional technical notes

For those who want the detail, there are three separate questions running in the background:

1) Will validity

An England & Wales Will may still be valid here even if the person is not British, does not live here full-time, or also has a foreign Will.

2) Succession rules

In some cross-border estates, especially EU-linked ones, habitual residence can matter. In some cases a person may also be able to choose the law of a nationality they hold. That is one reason dual nationality and an existing foreign Will can matter so much.

3) Administration and tax

Even where the Will position is workable, local administration, local notarial procedure, local reporting, and local tax can still slow things down or change the practical outcome.

Cases

“British and Spanish national living in Spain with a UK property”

He already had a Spanish Will, but his UK property was not clearly dealt with by it. The right answer was not to tear everything up and start again in one country. The better route was to make sure the England & Wales side was dealt with properly and that the English document was written so it did not cut across the Spanish one.

“Brazilian couple living in England with all assets here”

Their nationality did not stop them making England & Wales Wills. The real issue was not citizenship. It was whether anything outside England & Wales still needed coordination. Because their estate was centred here, the English Wills remained the main documents, with cross-border concerns only becoming relevant if overseas assets or foreign paperwork entered the picture.

“English couple with a holiday home in France”

Their English Wills still mattered, but they were not treated as the whole answer for the French property. The safer route was to keep the England & Wales planning clean and then make sure the French side was checked locally, with each document drafted to sit alongside the other.

“UK resident with a Spanish apartment and UK assets”

The temptation was to assume one English Will would do everything. The risk with that approach was not necessarily outright invalidity. It was confusion, delay, and the possibility of the Spanish side needing separate handling anyway. A more controlled two-document approach was usually the better fit.

“Romanian nationals settled in Warwickshire”

Their house, savings, and day-to-day life were all in England. That made the English Wills relatively straightforward. The Romania issue only became important if they still owned Romanian property or needed Romanian succession matters checked as part of the wider picture.

“UK resident with overseas bank accounts and investments”

There was no foreign house, but there were still foreign assets. That is a good example of why this is not only a property issue. Some overseas financial assets can sit within a coordinated estate plan fairly neatly. Others still benefit from local input, especially if the institution or local law creates its own hurdles.

FAQs

Can my English Will cover foreign property or assets?

Sometimes yes, but that does not automatically make it the best approach. The more important question is whether doing so is likely to create avoidable problems later.

Do I always need a second Will abroad?

No. Some estates can be coordinated without one. But where there is foreign property, an existing foreign Will, dual nationality, or a country with stricter succession or administration rules, a second local Will is often considered.

Can one Will revoke another by mistake?

Yes. That is one of the main cross-border risks. If both documents are not drafted with each other in mind, one may unintentionally cancel or undermine the other.

What if I live abroad but still own property in England or Wales?

You may still need an England & Wales Will for the UK side. The wider cross-border position then needs to be checked in light of where you are living, what nationality or nationalities you hold, and what other documents already exist.

What if I am not British but live in England and have my assets here?

In many cases, an England & Wales Will is still straightforward. Nationality alone is not usually the real obstacle. The real issue is whether anything outside England & Wales also needs coordinating.

Why does this page mention France, Spain and Romania in particular?

Because those are examples I see more often. They are examples, not limits. The same broader questions can arise with many other countries.

Does this article deal with foreign tax advice as well?

No. Tax, succession rules, and administration often overlap, but they are not the same thing. Where tax or local foreign law advice is needed, that has to come from the right local specialist.

This article is general information only, not individual advice.

If you would like help with the England & Wales side of a cross-border estate, I can make sure your Will is written to fit properly with the wider picture and, where needed, point you towards the right local advice.

For the related question of nationality and residence, see Do you need to be a UK citizen or resident to make a Will?