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If you have a Will in the UK......

If you have a Will in the UK......

Old Apr 20th 2008, 10:00 am
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Default If you have a Will in the UK......

Just a thought....


If you have made a will in the UK and then move to Australia permanently is your existing will in the UK still legally valid or must you make a new will in Australia?
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 10:27 am
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

We had to make new, identical, wills when we got here.

Cost $120 for each will.

Like UK, Post Offices sell 'will kits', but we thought it was worth $240 for us to pay a solicitor to save any hassle.

Hope this helps.

M
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 10:49 am
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

Originally Posted by Machiavelli
We had to make new, identical, wills when we got here.

Cost $120 for each will.

Like UK, Post Offices sell 'will kits', but we thought it was worth $240 for us to pay a solicitor to save any hassle.

Hope this helps.

M
Why?

If I was to be Oz on holiday and the worst happend, my will would be valid. Why would it change because I'm living here?
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 11:46 am
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

because you wouldn't be "UK resident"
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 12:20 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

It is still your last wishes and so should be acted upon. Is there some format I don't know about? I thought I could write it on a piece of A4 and as long as it bears my signature then it is more valid than not having one. A will drawn up in the UK by a solicitor and correctly witnessed has to be a valid document.

AIH, we did go to a solicitor and were told our UK wills were valid.

Mike.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 12:41 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

apparently you can't leave property that is located outside England and Wales in a UK will - so for someone owning property in Australia it makes far more sense to have an Australian will. youo can get an aussie will online for less than $70 (for a couple of mirror wills for spouses)

Also you need to think through inheritance tax implications - in the event of your death where do you want your estate to be assessed for tax/probate etc? Australia doesn't have inheritance tax (although there is capital gains tax to pay on property inherited), whereas the UK does have inheritance tax.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 1:06 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

I have been informed many times that if you are an Australian resident (permanent or citizen) that any assets I had in Australia are not covered by a UK will.

I can not find anything to confirm or deny this!

However, like an insurance policy, you will always find someone (especially family), who will exploit this to their benefit and you will not be around to contest.

If you have assets in Oz, get an Oz will and likewise in the UK.!

ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN!

Last edited by Sharpy67; Apr 20th 2008 at 1:07 pm. Reason: edit
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 1:13 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

Originally Posted by donovandenese
apparently you can't leave property that is located outside England and Wales in a UK will - so for someone owning property in Australia it makes far more sense to have an Australian will. youo can get an aussie will online for less than $70 (for a couple of mirror wills for spouses)

Please explain the difference between a UK and an Aus will? Aren't they both pieces of paper with your last wishes on them?

Also you need to think through inheritance tax implications - in the event of your death where do you want your estate to be assessed for tax/probate etc? Australia doesn't have inheritance tax (although there is capital gains tax to pay on property inherited), whereas the UK does have inheritance tax.
Surely, where the piece of paper was written can not decide the outcome?
If I get shipwrecked and scrawl a will on a banana leaf in blood, are you saying it will not be valid and will not be acted upon?

BTW, isn't the default (no will) that it goes to your spouse and then to your children? The default works for me.

Mike.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 2:18 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

if you were shipwrecked you'd need at least 2 witnesses with you to sign the banana leaf to make it a valid will (and neither of them could be beneficiaries)!!

a will written and signed in the UK is valid under the law of England and Wales. I would assume a will written in Oz is valid under Oz law.

In the UK if you die intestate (without making a will) and you have no spouse or blood relatives, your entire estate will go to the Taxman
If you do have blood relatives or a spouse, they will have to apply to the courts to administer your Estate - a far more lengthy and costly process than if you had written a Will - and your Inheritance Tax bill could be higher.
You forfeit the right to 'ring-fence' some or all of your estate such that your spouse can benefit from it but a Local Authority can't (if he/she has to go into long-term care)
If you have children under 18, and the other parent is also dead, then you have given up the right to decide who looks after them
If you have a co-habiting partner, he/she will get none of your estate even if you have been together for 50 years or more
The Government effectively writes a Will for you - the proportions which will be given to spouse/children depends on the value of your estate

re UK inheritance tax - simply moving to another country doesn't remove you from the scope of UK inheritance tax - its quite a complicated topic and probably worth getting professional advice on
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 4:34 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

And in Aus?

Mike.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 4:42 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

Originally Posted by donovandenese
apparently you can't leave property that is located outside England and Wales in a UK will
No bar under England and Wales law. As for Australian law, many jurisdictions do allow out of jurisdiction wills to be accepted for probate.

Incidentally, the U.K. and "England and Wales" are not the same thing. In case you are not aware, Scotland and Northern Ireland have always had different laws on this.

- so for someone owning property in Australia it makes far more sense to have an Australian will.
Usually yes. But if you retain property in the U.K. you will need to work out how to deal with that.

Last edited by JAJ; Apr 20th 2008 at 4:45 pm.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 4:44 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

Originally Posted by Sharpy67
I have been informed many times that if you are an Australian resident (permanent or citizen) that any assets I had in Australia are not covered by a UK will.

I can not find anything to confirm or deny this!

Informed by whom? This area of law is rich in urban mythology (most of what is posted on this thread is wrong). what you need to do is take advice from an experienced legal practitioner in your state/territory as to whether out of jurisdiction wills are accepted for probate.

Of course, it's only relevant if you have assets in that jurisdiction.
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 5:08 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

agree with JAJ - if you've got assets in different jurisdictions eg property in different countries - you need to get legal advice from each of the relevant places. My example would be that in England and Wales your will would only cover E&W immoveable assets (eg house) and moveable assets (eg bank accounts) from any country - foreign immoveable assets eg property cannot be gifted under an E&W will, you would need separate provisions for that.

(that said as a UK tax advisor - getting advice at the outset can save you dealing with problems, and potentially paying unnecessary IHT in the future)
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 6:08 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

Originally Posted by donovandenese
foreign immoveable assets eg property cannot be gifted under an E&W will,

On what basis do you make that statement?
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Old Apr 20th 2008, 9:29 pm
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Default Re: If you have a Will in the UK......

because the rules of the country the immoveable property is situated in take precedence over the rules of the country your will is drafted in. always advisable to get professional advice when you have assets in different countries, and if necessary have two wills - to cover the assets specific to each country - this will ensure any inheritance taxes are minimised in each place.
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