International Wills: Making your Will effective overseas

International Wills

With an increasing number of Australians having been born overseas, there is a growing need for Wills that protect not only a person's Australian assets, but those assets owned overseas as well.

As of 10 March 2015, this became a reality, with Australia giving effect to the UNIDROIT Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will.

Prior to this, it was necessary for individuals with overseas assets to prepare a separate Will in each country, failing which, there was uncertainty whether their Australian Will would be effective and enforceable overseas. This commonly resulted in increased cost and effort, both in implementing the separate Wills and in administering the Estate.

UNIDROIT Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will 1973 ('the Convention')

The purpose of the Convention is to provide a standard format, whereby participating countries mutually accept the validity of International Wills without the need to ascertain whether the Will complies with the formality of the country in which it was drafted.

An International Will must be executed in a manner that complies with both Victorian law and the Convention. While the requirements are not too dissimilar from the usual requirements for executing a Will, there are some key differences. In particular:

• In addition to having two independent witnesses sign the Will, there must also be a third 'authorised witness'. The authorised witness must be a Lawyer or Notary Public, and
• The authorised witness must then complete an execution certificate in the form set by the Convention, certifying compliance with the obligations required under the Convention.

International Wills executed in compliance with the provisions of the Convention will be recognised as valid in all signatory countries, regardless of where the Will is executed, the location of assets, or the primary residence of the deceased.

Countries that are signatories to the Convention currently include Canada, USA (not all states), France, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom. A full list of signatory countries is available on the Unidroit Convention website.

What if I have assets in a country that is not a party to the Convention?

If the country in which you have assets is not a signatory to the Convention, you must prepare a separate Will in each country, to ensure your assets are sufficiently protected. We can provide Wills and estate planning assistance in this respect.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you think you could benefit from making an International Will. Please feel free to call our Accredited Specialist Wills and Estates Law team on 1300 205 506 if you have any queries.

The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Any legal matters should be discussed specifically with one of our lawyers.

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