If a person has died living overseas but left assets in the UK, how do you access these assets?  Even if the administration of the estate has been undertaken in the deceased person’s home country it may still be necessary to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in the UK.

It may not be necessary to apply for a Grant where the assets in the UK are under £5,000 and UK banks and building societies may well hand over the assets on receipt of a death certificate and the Will, if any.  If an asset was jointly owned it may pass automatically to the co-owner and a Grant will not be necessary.  A Grant is necessary in order to access shares held in UK companies, however small the holding.

Please see our guide ‘Applying for Probate’ for an outline of the procedure for administering an estate in England and Wales.  If you are an executor or administrator, or in the case where there is no Will, a beneficiary, we can assist you in obtaining a Grant for a citizen domiciled overseas. 

We will require the following information in order to obtain a Grant:

1    Domicile

We will require full details of the deceased’s ‘domicile’.  This is relevant for UK tax purposes.  Domicile is a concept unique to the UK.  Everyone has a domicile of ‘origin’ that is usually that of their father.  Above the age of 16, an individual can have a domicile of ‘choice’ whereby they choose to reside in another country, with the intention of making it their permanent home and, in effect, ending their days there.  In order to establish the deceased’s domicile we will require information on:

• where and when the deceased was born;
• the domicile and nationality of the parents;
• dates and details of any moves between different countries and reasons, eg periods of education or employment; and
• where and when the deceased died.

2    The Will

We will require the original Will unless it has already been submitted for probate in the deceased’s home country.  In which case we will require a court certified copy. 

If the Will is not in English we will require a translation which should be verified by an English notary public or a British consul. 

We may require an affidavit of law stating that the Will is valid in the home country.

If there is no Will we will require an affidavit of law setting out who is entitled to the deceased’s assets under the law of the home country.  We will require details of all the surviving relatives, including spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings and parents. 

3    Overseas Grant 

If the Will has been proved in the deceased’s home country then the persons appointed by the Court are usually entitled to apply for the UK Grant.  If the home country is a Commonwealth country it may be possible ‘reseal’ the overseas Grant and this will simplify the process.   

4    Assets 

We will require full details of the deceased’s assets in the UK and their world-wide assets.   

Inheritance Tax  

For non-UK domiciled individuals UK inheritance tax is due on all UK situated assets above the ‘nil rate band’ (currently £300,000).  There are exceptions to this.  If inheritance tax has been paid on the deceased’s UK estate in the home country, depending on the country, it may be covered by a ‘double tax treaty’ which will prevent such tax having to be paid twice in the two countries.  UK inheritance tax may not be payable if one of the inheritance tax exemptions apply, such as transfers to spouses or to charity, or of certain business or agricultural property and certain government securities.   

The Procedure 

Once we have the relevant information from you, what is the procedure for accessing the UK assets? 

·        appoint an attorney in the UK if necessary – if the person entitled to apply for the Grant is overseas it may be more convenient to appoint someone in the UK to act on their behalf;

·        complete Inland Revenue Account and arrange for any UK inheritance tax to be paid;

·        apply to the Probate Registry for the Grant; and send the Grant to the relevant banks, building societies or share registrars.  The assets can then be released to the person named on the Grant and distributed to the relevant beneficiaries.