This question is a fairly common one that I receive from people living throughout Essex and up until quite recently I have always advised my clients to make separate Wills in Harlow (i.e. one for their property in the UK and one for the other country they have the other property/ies in). The reason for this is because of the fact that different countries have different succession laws that are often referred to as being ‘Forced Heirs Rules’/ With this in mind, there is a need for your Wills in Harlow and elsewhere within the UK to deal with the foreign property to have the correct wording, layout and language.
Nevertheless, although this advice has not changed for dealing with those properties that people own outside of the European Union, the position is somewhat different for those properties in the European Union. This is because a Regulation known as Brussels IV comes into force from the 17th of August 2015 that will apply to all deaths from this date (although transitional provisions permit a choice of law clause to be included in Wills from now). At the same time however, whilst the UK has opted out of the application of the Brussels IV, these countries laws may still be applied to property that are owned in those countries that adopted the Regulation so long as an election is made for this purpose via a clause in your Will.
Contact Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services today via www.andrewdouglaswills.co.uk to see how we could help you to get your affairs in order so as to then protect both yours and your loved ones best interests through the making of effective Wills in Harlow and throughout Essex.
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