When someone passes away leaving behind foreign assets, the administration of their estate can become complicated.
In any probate case it is vital to identify all the assets, including those held abroad, so that the estate can be valued and any inheritance tax is calculated correctly.
But, due to the laws and rules surrounding probate differing between countries, it can make the probate process longer and more labour-intensive.
Before any action can be taken, the following should be addressed:
Where did the deceased live before they died?
How foreign assets are treated will depend on where the deceased’s legal permanent residence was before they died.
The law in England and Wales usually means that things like immovable assets (land or property for example) are subject to the laws of the country they are located in.
On the other hand, moveable assets like bank accounts are subject to the laws of the individual’s country of permanent residence.
How can Rotherham Taylor help?
At Rotherham Taylor, we have experience handling complex scenarios such as these and can reassure you that your loved one’s estate is in good hands.
For instance, we had one case in which the individual who passed away held shares in a USA company, as the value of the shares was considerable, the estate had to apply for a tax reference number in the USA in order to complete the necessary paperwork to transfer the shares into the beneficiary’s name.
Once this had been completed, we were able to gain access to the shares, transfer them into the beneficiary’s name and sell them.
As part of this case, we project managed the operations whilst cooperating with a third party who specialised in this department.
Due to the length of time that this case took to resolve, we also had to prepare tax returns for the estate to ensure our client fulfilled all of their tax obligations.
