International Estate Planning: A Guide for Globally Mobile HNW Individuals

Why International Estate Planning Is Uniquely Complex

For most people, estate planning is a single-country affair. A will is drafted, executors are named, and the estate passes broadly as intended. For globally mobile high-net-worth individuals, it is rarely so straightforward. If you hold property in Spain, a brokerage account in Switzerland, a business interest in Singapore, and are resident in the United Arab Emirates — each jurisdiction has its own rules about how assets pass on death, who can inherit, what taxes apply, and which court has authority to administer the estate.

Without careful advance planning, your estate could face multiple probate processes running simultaneously, assets frozen for years while courts resolve jurisdictional conflicts, forced heirship claims overriding your stated intentions, and an inheritance tax bill in a country you may never have lived in. None of this needs to happen. Structured correctly, an international estate plan coordinates all your assets into a coherent whole — efficient, legally sound, and aligned with your wishes.

This guide explains the key concepts every globally mobile HNW individual should understand. Rules and thresholds change frequently; please treat everything here as a starting point for professional advice, not a substitute for it. All information reflects the position as of 2026.

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The Central Problem: Whose Law Applies?

The first question in any international estate is: which country's law governs? This is determined primarily by two concepts.

Domicile is the legal concept that most common-law countries (UK, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland) use to determine which succession law applies to movable property — shares, bank accounts, personal possessions. Your domicile is broadly the country you consider your permanent home. It is not the same as residence. A British person living in Dubai for twenty years may retain a UK domicile of origin if they have never formed a genuine intention to remain in the UAE permanently.

Habitual residence is the concept preferred by civil-law and European Union countries. Under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV, in force since 2015), the succession law of the country where you were habitually resident at death applies to your entire estate — unless you made a valid choice-of-law election in favour of your nationality.

Situs determines what law applies to immovable property (land and buildings). Almost universally, real estate passes under the law of the country where it is located, regardless of the owner's domicile or residence. A British citizen domiciled in the UAE who owns property in France, Thailand, and the UK will face three separate succession regimes for real estate alone.

The intersection of these rules creates genuine complexity. Getting clear advice on your domicile position, your habitual residence, and the situs of each asset class is the essential first step in any international estate plan.

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Taking Stock: The Global Asset Register

Before any planning can begin, you need a clear picture of what you own and where. A global asset register should capture:

• Real estate: country, legal form of ownership, value, mortgage or charge
• Investment accounts: custodian, country of holding, asset types
• Bank accounts: country, currency, balance
• Business interests: company, jurisdiction of incorporation, your ownership percentage
• Pension and retirement accounts: provider, country, nomination status
• Life insurance: provider, country, sum assured, trust or nomination status
• Personal property of value: art, jewellery, vehicles, yachts
• Digital assets: cryptocurrency, NFTs, digital business interests

For each asset, you need to understand the local succession rules, whether a foreign grant of probate will be recognised, and whether a trust or holding structure might simplify administration. Updating this register annually — or whenever you acquire or dispose of significant assets — is good practice.

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Residence: The Concept That Now Drives UK Inheritance Tax

Since 6 April 2025 UK inheritance tax (IHT) operates on a residence basis rather than a domicile basis. If you are a long-term UK resident (broadly, UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years), your worldwide assets are within scope at 40% above the nil-rate band (£325,000 as of 2026, with an additional residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 in qualifying circumstances). If you are not a long-term UK resident, only UK-situs assets are potentially chargeable.

Because the test is now based on a 10-of-20-years residence count, HMRC will scrutinise your pattern of UK residence over the preceding two decades. Leaving the UK does not immediately remove you from scope: a long-term UK resident who departs generally remains within the worldwide IHT net for a "tail" period (broadly up to ten years, depending on how long they were UK resident) before falling outside it. Domicile remains relevant to succession law and to some double-tax treaties, but it no longer determines UK IHT exposure.

The domicile-based system was abolished from 6 April 2025. UK inheritance tax is now determined on a residence basis: an individual who has been UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years is a "long-term UK resident" and within scope of UK IHT on their worldwide assets. The old "deemed domicile" test (UK domiciled for IHT after 15 of the previous 20 tax years of residence) and the remittance basis no longer apply. This residence-based net catches many long-term expats who believed they had escaped UK inheritance tax. See the dedicated guide on UK IHT and the non-dom reforms for the current position.

For those who are not (or not yet) long-term UK residents, settling non-UK assets into trust before becoming a long-term UK resident can keep those assets outside the UK IHT net — but, under the post-2025 rules, the IHT treatment of such trusts now follows the settlor's long-term-resident status, so timing and ongoing residence are critical. Specialist advice is essential.

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Wills: One or Several?

For a person with assets in multiple jurisdictions, the question of whether to have one will or several is a common early decision. There is no universal right answer.

A single will is simpler to maintain and less susceptible to inconsistency. Many jurisdictions will recognise a foreign will if it was validly executed in the country of execution. The 1961 Hague Convention on the form of testamentary dispositions (given effect in the UK by the Wills Act 1963) and various bilateral treaties provide frameworks for recognising the formal validity of foreign wills.

Multiple wills — one per jurisdiction — are often more practical. Each will is drafted specifically for that jurisdiction, in the local language if necessary, satisfying local formal requirements and addressing local succession rules. The risk is inconsistency: if the wills are not carefully coordinated, each may inadvertently revoke the others, or contradictory instructions may cause disputes.

Best practice is to work with coordinated legal advice across all relevant jurisdictions, use clear definitions of which will covers which assets, and ensure each will contains a non-revocation clause in relation to the others. If you have minor children, all wills should address guardianship consistently.

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Trusts as an Estate Planning Tool

Discretionary trusts settled during your lifetime can remove assets from your estate before death, provide for beneficiaries in a controlled way, and bypass forced heirship rules in many jurisdictions. For globally mobile HNW families, an offshore discretionary trust — commonly settled in Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, or the British Virgin Islands — can hold a portfolio of international assets under a single governance structure.

The trust deed defines the class of beneficiaries, the powers of the trustees, and the governing law. A letter of wishes — not legally binding but typically followed by professional trustees — sets out the settlor's intentions in more detail.

Tax treatment of trusts varies enormously by jurisdiction. In the UK, a discretionary trust settled by a UK-domiciled individual faces IHT on settlement (if above the nil-rate band), periodic charges every ten years at up to 6%, and exit charges when capital is distributed. For non-UK domiciliaries, the excluded property trust rules may offer significant relief. Always seek jurisdiction-specific advice.

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Forced Heirship: A Planning Priority

Forced heirship rules — laws that guarantee a minimum share of an estate to specified relatives regardless of what a will says — exist in varying forms across much of continental Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland all have forced heirship provisions. UAE federal law imposes Sharia-based succession rules for Muslims, and the default position for non-Muslims is not always clear.

Planning strategies to mitigate forced heirship include: holding assets in corporate structures (many forced heirship regimes apply only to directly held assets); using life insurance with designated beneficiaries; settling assets into trust before death; and selecting appropriate governing law where permitted.

The EU Succession Regulation allows EU citizens to elect for their national law to govern succession — relevant for a British national resident in France who wishes English law to apply, though post-Brexit complications have arisen and professional advice is essential.

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Reducing the Tax Burden: Key Strategies

A well-structured international estate plan may deploy several overlapping strategies:

Lifetime gifting. Giving assets away during your lifetime reduces the value of your estate. In the UK, gifts to individuals are potentially exempt transfers (PETs) — if you survive seven years from the date of the gift, the value falls outside your estate. Annual exemptions, small gift allowances, and gifts from surplus income offer additional reliefs.

Spousal exemptions. Most developed tax systems offer unlimited exemption for transfers to a spouse or civil partner. In the UK, transfers between spouses are exempt where the recipient is a long-term UK resident; where the recipient is not a long-term UK resident, a capped exemption (currently £325,000) applies, though the recipient can elect to be treated as a long-term UK resident for IHT purposes. (Before 6 April 2025 this rule was framed by reference to domicile rather than residence.)

Business and agricultural reliefs. Business property relief (BPR) and agricultural property relief (APR) can reduce or eliminate IHT on qualifying business and agricultural assets. From 6 April 2026 these reliefs were restricted: 100% relief is now capped at £2.5 million of qualifying business and agricultural property per individual (raised in December 2025 from the £1 million originally announced), with value above that cap attracting 50% relief (a 20% effective IHT rate). The £2.5 million allowance is transferable between spouses. Qualifying AIM and other unlisted shares attract 50% relief only and fall outside the £2.5 million allowance. Careful advance planning is needed.

Life assurance in trust. A whole-of-life policy written in trust can provide a tax-efficient lump sum to pay an IHT liability without the proceeds forming part of the estate. The trust must be structured correctly.

Pension planning. Many pension funds sit outside the estate. From April 2027, however, unused pension funds will be drawn into the UK IHT net. Early planning around pension nominations and contributions is important.

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Governance and Family Communication

A comprehensive estate plan is not just a set of legal documents. It includes:

• A letter of wishes to trustees and executors
• A family governance document or constitution if multiple family members are involved
• A business succession plan if you hold private company interests
• Clear beneficiary nominations on all pension and life policies
• Regular reviews — at least every three years, or after any major life event

Communicating the broad outline of your estate plan to key family members and advisers reduces the risk of surprises, disputes, and delays after death.

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How Global Investments Can Help

Global Investments works with internationally mobile high-net-worth individuals and families to design and implement comprehensive estate plans that work across multiple jurisdictions. Our advisers coordinate with local legal specialists in each relevant country, ensuring your wills, trusts, and holding structures are consistent, tax-efficient, and legally sound.

We can review your existing arrangements, identify gaps or conflicts, and help you structure your estate to pass your wealth to the people and causes you care about — in the most efficient way possible.

Contact us to arrange a confidential estate planning review.

The above is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Laws and rates change frequently. Seek professional advice appropriate to your personal circumstances before taking any action.