A family home in Spain, an investment portfolio in the UK, a pension held in a former employer scheme and children living in different countries can create far more than an administrative challenge. Without careful inheritance tax planning overseas, the wealth you intend to pass on may face tax in more than one jurisdiction, delays in probate, or distribution rules that do not reflect your wishes.
For internationally mobile families, estate planning is not a document to put in a drawer. It is an ongoing process that should evolve with your residence, assets, family circumstances and the rules of every country connected to your estate.
1. Establish which country considers you within its tax net
The first question is not where your will was signed or where your bank account sits. It is where you are considered resident, domiciled, or otherwise sufficiently connected for inheritance tax purposes at the time of death or when a gift is made.
For UK inheritance tax, the rules changed from 6 April 2025. The previous domicile-based framework was replaced by a long-term UK residence test. Broadly, people who have been UK resident for 10 of the previous 20 tax years may fall within the UK inheritance tax net on their worldwide assets. A period of UK inheritance tax exposure can also continue after departure, with the length depending on the individual’s UK residence history.
This matters greatly for a UK national living in Portugal, Spain or the UAE. Leaving the UK does not automatically remove UK inheritance tax exposure, and holding overseas assets does not necessarily place them beyond HMRC’s reach. Equally, the country in which you now live may levy its own inheritance, succession, estate or gift taxes.
Residence tests are technical and fact-specific. Days spent in a country, the location of your home, family ties and the timing of a move can all matter. A plan based on assumptions rather than confirmed status can leave your family exposed.
2. Map every asset, not only the obvious ones
An effective cross-border estate plan begins with a complete picture of ownership. This should include property, investment portfolios, bank accounts, pensions, private company shares, life assurance, trusts, valuable personal possessions and digital assets.
Each asset may be governed differently. A UK property can remain subject to UK inheritance tax even when its owner lives abroad. Property in France, Spain or Portugal may bring local succession procedures and regional tax considerations. Shares, funds and business interests can also have their own situs rules, which determine where an asset is treated as being located for tax purposes.
Ownership is just as important as location. An account held jointly may pass automatically to the surviving holder in one jurisdiction, but still create tax consequences. A property owned through a company or partnership can change the analysis again. If an asset is held in trust, the trust deed, governing law and tax treatment must be reviewed together rather than in isolation.
A clear asset register gives your advisers and executors the information needed to act quickly. It also reveals where a modest change in ownership, structure or beneficiary designation could materially improve the outcome.
3. Do not assume your UK will works abroad
A carefully drafted UK will is essential, but it may not deal efficiently with assets held overseas. Some countries recognise foreign wills readily. Others require translation, notarisation, local probate steps or additional evidence before an executor can act.
Succession law can be more significant than tax. In several European jurisdictions, forced-heirship rules may reserve a proportion of an estate for children or other close relatives, limiting the freedom to distribute assets as you wish. This can surprise a couple who expected a surviving spouse to inherit everything outright.
For expatriates with assets in multiple jurisdictions, there may be a case for a coordinated will strategy. In some situations, separate wills for separate countries can make administration more straightforward. In others, multiple wills create a risk that one revokes another or produces inconsistent instructions. The right answer depends on the countries involved, the nature of the assets and your intended beneficiaries.
Your will should also be reviewed after marriage, divorce, a bereavement, the birth of a child, a significant relocation or the purchase of overseas property. Estate plans often fail not because they were poorly prepared, but because they were never revisited.
4. Consider gifts as part of a wider lifetime plan
Giving wealth during your lifetime can be valuable, both financially and personally. It allows you to see the benefit your family receives and may reduce the value of an estate exposed to inheritance tax. Yet a gift is not automatically tax-free because it is made abroad or paid from an overseas account.
Under UK rules, certain gifts can remain relevant for seven years. The treatment may depend on your long-term UK residence position, the recipient, the asset gifted and whether you continue to benefit from it. Giving away a home while continuing to live there, for example, can undermine the intended inheritance tax outcome.
Local rules can introduce further complexity. Spain has regional variations in inheritance and gift taxation. France and other countries may apply different allowances and rates according to the recipient’s relationship to the donor. The UAE may not impose a conventional inheritance tax, but succession, probate and home-country tax exposure still require consideration.
The strongest gifting strategies are usually planned, documented and affordable. They should preserve your own retirement security, liquidity and independence rather than transfer assets simply to meet an arbitrary tax deadline.
5. Review pensions, protection policies and beneficiary nominations
Pensions are often among the largest assets in an expatriate family’s estate, and they require particular care. The treatment of death benefits varies between schemes, jurisdictions and beneficiary options. A pension may sit outside an estate for certain legal purposes, but this does not mean it is irrelevant to tax planning or succession planning.
Scheme nominations should be current and aligned with your will. If a pension administrator retains discretion over who receives death benefits, a properly completed expression of wishes can be as important as the will itself. Where a SIPP, QROPS, QNUPS or other international retirement arrangement is involved, specialist advice is essential before making assumptions about tax treatment, access or death benefits.
Life assurance can provide a practical source of liquidity when a family faces inheritance tax, legal fees or property-related costs after death. However, the policy ownership, trust arrangements and beneficiary designation must be suitable for the jurisdictional position. A policy that appears straightforward in one country may be less effective after an international move.
6. Use trusts and holding structures carefully
Trusts can help some families control how wealth is passed to younger beneficiaries, protect vulnerable family members or manage complex business and property interests. They are not, however, a universal inheritance tax solution.
Tax charges may arise when assets enter a trust, while the trust is running, or when beneficiaries receive capital or income. Reporting obligations can be substantial. In a cross-border setting, a trust may be taxed differently in the country where the settlor lives, where the trustees are based and where beneficiaries reside.
The same caution applies to offshore companies and other holding structures. These can have legitimate commercial, investment or succession purposes, but should never be created solely on the expectation of a simple tax saving. Transparency, proper governance and clear records are essential.
For discerning families, the value of a structure often lies in control and continuity as much as tax. The question is whether it supports your wider objectives: protecting wealth, providing for the right people and giving your executors a workable route through administration.
7. Coordinate advisers before a life event forces the issue
Inheritance tax planning overseas works best when investment, pension, insurance, tax and legal advice are considered together. A tax-efficient proposal may be unsuitable if it weakens investment diversification. A technically valid will may be impractical if it conflicts with a pension nomination or local succession rules.
A coordinated review should examine your current residence position, expected future moves, worldwide asset register, wills, powers of attorney, pension nominations, protection arrangements and intended gifts. It should also identify which local legal and tax advice is needed in each relevant jurisdiction.
At Elysium Wealth Advisers, this joined-up approach helps clients protect, grow and preserve their wealth with a strategy designed around their family and international life. The aim is not to chase a single tax outcome. It is to create clarity, resilience and a legacy that can be administered with confidence.
The most useful next step is often a quiet, structured conversation before a move, property purchase, retirement or family change takes place. With the right planning in place, your wealth can support the people you care about without leaving them to untangle avoidable cross-border complications.
