Global mobility has resulted in far more people having real estate assets in more than one country, particularly across Europe. The dramatic changes on the way in Europe as a result of Brexit will inevitably touch on many aspects relating to individuals both in their business and personal lives. An often overlooked factor is that of inheritance, from country to country laws vary as well as the rules that govern which law prevails in the event of a conflict.

The legal landscape in Europe post-Brexit is not entirely clear, however, it is safe to say that it will be fragmented as there will no longer be the over-arching EU umbrella of reciprocal arrangements between countries. In the absence of the protective mutual agreements between European countries, the patchwork of different laws that exist across Europe will have to be applied, depending on such things as which agreements and treaties a given country has subscribed to, not all countries have signed up to all treaties. The lawyers in Legal Law Limited’s wills & probate team warn that, as with any unknown quantity, the best course of action is to take the maximum steps available to protect your benefactors and their legacies, particularly as there is so little clarity at the present time.

The latest law enacted in Europe related to inheritance in Europe is the EU Succession Regulation, often referred to as the Brussels IV, which became binding on all EU member states except for the UK, Ireland and Denmark on 17 August 2015. In many European countries the laws of succession, applied in the absence of a will, follow a different route to those in England & Wales. In Spain and Italy, for example, if the laws of succession are to be applied to the deceased’s estate there will be apportionment in accordance with strictly defined percentages, dependent on the family relationship to the deceased e.g. a child of the deceased will receive a different proportion of the estate compared to that of a brother. If there is a will the beneficiaries’ proportions of the estate can be defined by the testator (the person whose estate it is).

It would be extremely prudent to review all aspects of your foreign assets together with your estate planning to ensure that there are no overlooked areas that have the potential to cause a problem to your benefactors. Many people adopt the precaution of drafting more than one will for each country in which they have assets in order to be completely sure that their estate goes to the benefactors of choice and not, for some unforeseen reason, to a distant relative. If there is no will and you have been resident in a foreign country for a number of years your estate will be disposed of under the laws of succession in that country.

Making sure your estate planning and legacies have been clearly defined becomes all the more imperative for modern families where, for example, step and half-siblings are common and families, in some cases, are created differently with the use of surrogacy. Legal battles have frequently been known to erode an estate to such a degree that there is no longer an inheritance to claim. The vast majority of people would be aghast to think that their own oversight has created a legal minefield for their loved ones, when it could have been avoided by the simple expedient of commissioning well-drafted wills for each of the countries in which they have assets.