# Irish Wills & Overseas Property - Legal advice



## Booh (8 May 2007)

Overseas property.

Q - With so many Irish people now owning propertry abroad, should finaincial advisors/solicitors be advising their clients to make foreign wills to deal with their foreign property or is an Irish will adequate?


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## z108 (8 May 2007)

It must surely depend on the foreign country involved. For example  under Spanish inheritance laws, a certain proportion of the deceased's estate must be left to his wife and children which sounds good to me 
but  perhaps this could mean if you left everything in Ireland to your wife and children but left an apartment in Spain to your sister/charity for example it could be challenged in Spain under Spanish law.


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## Booh (8 May 2007)

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## KalEl (8 May 2007)

Certainly in Portugal you have to make a will locally


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## Booh (9 May 2007)

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## z108 (9 May 2007)

Everything can be challenged in court and I would think a will would be valid unless it breaks a law of a host country. And if challenged in the courts of a  host country then the laws of the host country would apply.

The only way you are going to know for sure is to pay for the advice of a professional with expertise in both jurisdictions.


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## KalEl (9 May 2007)

sign said:


> Everything can be challenged in court and I would think a will would be valid unless it breaks a law of a host country. And if challenged in the courts of a host country then the laws of the host country would apply.
> 
> The only way you are going to know for sure is to pay for the advice of a professional with expertise in both jurisdictions.


 
Exactly...I've a will in Portugal which only pertains to assets there, and my Irish will refers specifically to that. This was the product of advice here and in Portugal.


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## Booh (14 May 2007)

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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Booh said:


> If you only had an Irish will which only specifically dealt with your Irish Assets. Would you be considered to have died intestate in the other jurisdiction where your foreign assets were situate?
> 
> I ask this specifically as my brother is (I feel naively) under the impression that he simply needs to add on to his Irish will a statement to the effect that everything else not specifically mentioned in his will should go to his wife and vice versa for her. That way they wouldn't need a new will every time they added to their Irish Assets or if they bought abroad.
> 
> ...


 
I've been advised to have a will in both jurisdictions, and to amend the Portuguese will every time another property is purchased.
By not having a will overseas your brother seems to be making a mistake.


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## Booh (14 May 2007)

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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Booh said:


> I agree KalEl and I will continue to urge him to not be soo short sighted.
> 
> However I am still curious as to the intestacy question.
> 
> If you have an Irish Will but no foregin will and if you die owning assets abroad, could the foreign authorities deem you to have died intestate as far as their jurisdiction is concerned?


 
I don't honestly know but my best guess would be this is exactly why an overseas will is required. I suppose it makes sense...what legal control would the machinery of this state have over property in a different jurisdiction?


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## Nige (14 May 2007)

I don't see how you could have an Irish will *and*  a foreign will. That isn't to say that the country in which your property is situated cannot have laws to govern your property there.

The general rule is that your estate (and interpretation of your will) is subject to the laws of the country in which you are domiciled.


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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Nige said:


> I don't see how you could have an Irish will *and* a foreign will. That isn't to say that the country in which your property is situated cannot have laws to govern your property there.
> 
> The general rule is that your estate (and interpretation of your will) is subject to the laws of the country in which you are domiciled.


 
Your post contradicts both common sense and the professional legal advice I and others have received in Ireland and more importantly in Portugal.


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## Nige (14 May 2007)

My confusion comes from the fact that in drafting a will in Ireland you state that it is your *last will and testament* and you revoke all earlier wills. I just don't see how this is possible if you have two wills.


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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Nige said:


> My confusion comes from the fact that in drafting a will in Ireland you state that it is your *last will and testament* and you revoke all earlier wills. I just don't see how this is possible if you have two wills.


 
It's a fair question and one I asked my own Irish solicitor...essentially they're two different wills covering different assets.
It's not like you have a will in Ireland saying I leave everything to my wife and then one in Portugal saying you leave everything to your mistress.
The overseas version refers only to specific assets in that jurisdiction. Plus, the beneficiaries are (in my case) the same anyway.


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## Nige (14 May 2007)

Thanks for the explanation. I presume your Irish will then refers to the foreign will and only revokes previous Irish wills.


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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Nige said:


> Thanks for the explanation. I presume your Irish will then refers to the foreign will and only revokes previous Irish wills.


 
Yes...as I recall it states that there is a will which deals specifically with assets in that jurisdiction.


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## Booh (14 May 2007)

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## KalEl (14 May 2007)

Booh said:


> does that mean that a one liner in an Irish Will saying "I leave everything to my wife" ONLY refers to assets held in Ireland?
> 
> What if there were other foreign assets not specifically listed in the Irish will and there was no foreign will made? Could the wife not claim that the Irish will said EVERYTHING so that includes all foreign assets also?


 
I'm not a solicitor so I'm only basing this on my own experience.
I'd imagine she could but the point of having a will is that things are straightforward. Your wife having to engage in a complex legal wrangle in a foreign jurisdiction while grieving is best avoided I reckon.


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## Booh (14 May 2007)

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## challenges (6 Jul 2011)

Will a will in the Uk not revoke a will made previously in Ireland, if the irish will clearly states a specific |irish property ,and the Uk will does not specify any particular properties?


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