What is an “Expat Will”?

The first important element to answer is that there is no single legal document that is known as an “Expat Will”.

This is because every country has their own laws around how an estate is divided up upon an individual’s death and will also depend on the type of assets held in the estate and where those assets physically exist.

For this reason, it is not possible to create a “one-size-fits-all” Will which will cover you wherever you live. Instead, you will need to get specific advice in your home country as well as your country of residence and any other country in which you have assets (such as property or bank accounts).

However, when creating a Will in each jurisdiction it is important that each Will works in tandem with the other Wills being created to avoid inadvertently overriding a Will written elsewhere.