This inevitably raises the question of how to deal with such assets in the event of the owner’s death. A common misconception is that a Scottish Will won’t be formally valid abroad and that assets outside the UK must be dealt with by separate Wills drafted in the relevant country only.

Specific rules depend on the specific country concerned, but most European countries have adhered to the suggestions of the Ninth Hague Conference on Private Client International Law, including Italy and the UK.

In the UK, The Wills Act 1963 states that a Will shall be treated as properly executed if its execution conformed to the internal law in force in the territory where it was executed, or in the territory the testator was living at the time of their death.

Mirella Marchini is a Senior Associate at Bartys, a branch of Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP: www.wjm.co.uk.

This means that if a Scottish person signs a Will in Scotland, drafted according to Scots Law, their Will would be considered formally valid in Italy as well.

However, it’s important to be aware that having a Will in place does not necessarily mean all the provisions will be applicable if it contains anything which is in contrast with the legislation that applies to the substantial aspects of the winding up of the testator's estate.

For instance, in Scots Law, moveable assets will be dealt with in terms of the law of the place the deceased was domiciled, whereas the heritable assets such as houses and land, will be governed by the law where those assets are situated.

Accordingly, if the estate of a person domiciled in Scotland includes a house situated abroad, Scots Law will refer to the foreign rules to deal with the property.

Although a Scottish Will might be enforceable in another country, in order to do so, the foreign country will usually require to have the Will formally registered there, which usually involves a complex procedure including having the Scottish Will certified by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office via an apostille and having it formally translated into the language of the foreign country concerned.

Using a Scottish Will to deal with the entire estate will simplify certain aspects, but the complexity of the procedure and the cost to formally deposit a Will may be off-putting for some.

Some may choose to set up a separate Will drafted by a solicitor or a Notary in the foreign country to specifically deal with their assets abroad. This will simplify the process, taking away the need for translation for example, but if the testator has another Will in place in Scotland dealing with their UK-based assets, extra care should be taken to ensure that the more recent Will does not revoke any prior Will.

It is therefore advisable to inform the foreign solicitor of the existence of the Scottish Will and have specific provisions in the foreign Will to reinforce that the provisions set out in this document apply solely to the assets abroad.

International aspects can be complicated when it comes to legal affairs, so it’s always advisable to seek legal advice to prevent any problems.

Mirella Marchini is a Senior Associate at Bartys, a branch of Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP: www.wjm.co.uk.

Subscribe

Subscribe at www.scotsman.com/subscriptions

Make your home abroad as safe as houses after your death - Mirella Marchini