International tax, estate planning and estate administration

International and cross-border estate and tax planning can be highly complex. We help guide you through the key issues. We have developed considerable expertise in understanding and advising on succession and tax matters for international clients..

We regularly advise on, and draft wills covering, international assets. We also advise and draft wills for people living abroad who want a will for their UK assets. In both cases we help you to understand the interaction of the relevant succession and tax regimes, and consider the effect of any matrimonial property regimes or inheritance contracts that may apply.

We regularly advise on the administration of estates with international assets. We analyse which succession rules will apply to the property involved and what the effect of any will or wills might be. The interaction of inheritance or succession tax in the countries needs careful consideration.

The process of obtaining a Grant of Probate for a person dying outside the UK can be complicated and upsetting. We have significant expertise in obtaining UK Grants of Probate for people who lived outside the UK, and also in re-sealing Grants obtained in other jurisdictions. We can also advise on the possible admissibility of non-UK equivalents, such as European Certificates of Succession to make the process more straightforward.

Issues surrounding care and protection of the elderly or vulnerable in cross-border situations can become very complex and require particular compassion and sensitivity. Members of the team are experts in this field and often work together with our family and children teams to provide co-ordinated advice.

We have considerable experience dealing with cross-border matters and we often work closely with our colleagues who are French qualified lawyers. We are the sole London members of the Lexunion and Legus international legal networks which give us access to a network of expert lawyers in other jurisdictions who we can call on to assist where appropriate.

Charges are usually based on our hourly rates plus administrative charges and disbursements. We will provide you with an initial estimate of your likely legal costs and will update this as your requirements or the circumstances of the work change.

We would be pleased to discuss your requirements and produce a costs estimate accordingly based on the type and complexity of the work involved.