For most people, their most valuable asset is often their home and it is often passed through generations.  But how do you gift by will a property you don’t reside in, only partially own or have never even set foot in?

Whether you still have a family home in your country of origin, have invested in student housing in the UK, have a holiday home in France or have bought a new home in your adopted country of residence, all of these properties devolution will be governed by the law of the country in which they are situated.

You will also have to consider the debt attached to any property and how this should be met in the event of your death.  Is there a mortgage on the property?  Do you have insurance in place to cover this debt if you die?  Should your beneficiaries sell the property to cover the debt or is it important to you that the house remains a home?  All of these questions need to be addressed in parallel with the drafting of your will.

So if you have a share of the family home in Wales, a flat in Hong Kong and a beach hut in Indonesia, all of these properties are under a different civil law and will each require a will that meets the legislature of that territory.  It is advisable that these individual wills deal solely with the assets in the country to which they are drafted and that the chain of succession they create is coordinated.  Contact Wills World Wide today for more information on legacy investment property.