Be Sure Your Foreign Assets Are Properly Protected

UK citizens who own a property in Italy or Spain or any other country would be well advised to draw up a will related to the country or countries in which their assets reside to ensure that it is crystal clear as to who is to be the benefactor with regard to any foreign property. Many European countries have extremely defined laws of succession that cannot be renounced other than in exceptional circumstances; unlike the UK where an individual of sound mind can leave his or her estate to anyone they choose to. Under Italian inheritance laws, for example, the procedure is very different from the equivalent of laws of other jurisdictions. The laws of succession can be relied on in some circumstances but it will be a long drawn out process for your benefactors to undergo and may present complications when transferring ownership, even in the most straightforward of inheritance.