How Cross-Border Assets Can Freeze a Multi-Million Pound Estate

There were two brothers. Their father had passed away six months before. They weren't grieving. They were at war over an estate worth £5 million. The legal fees had already passed £150,000 and probate was frozen. Their father, a successful entrepreneur, had built a portfolio across the UK and the Channel Islands. He thought he had left a legacy. Instead, he left a battlefield.

This story is more common than you think. Cross-border assets introduce complexities that standard UK estate planning often misses. Specialist firms regularly advise on the fallout when international structures are not correctly aligned. The problem is almost always a failure to connect the different parts of the plan.

The Structural Failure In this case, the father had a UK will for his UK assets. He also had a significant investment portfolio held in a Jersey trust. The two were not synchronised. The will made no reference to the trust, and the trust's governing document was ambiguous about how distributions should be made after his death. One brother believed the assets were to be split 50/50. The other claimed their father had given verbal instructions for a different arrangement. With no clear letter of wishes to guide the trustees, they were paralysed and the family's relationship disintegrated.

One Estate, Multiple Wills For families with international assets, one of the most critical lessons is this: you may need more than one will. A single English will can be inefficient or even invalid for dealing with property in Spain or investments in Jersey. A separate, jurisdiction-specific will—often called a 'situs will'—is frequently required. These separate wills must be carefully coordinated by advisers who understand both legal systems. If not, they can accidentally revoke each other, creating legal chaos and exposing the estate to unnecessary tax liabilities and delays that can last for years.

The work to prevent this costs a fraction of the cost to fix it. I have seen families spend hundreds of thousands on litigation that simple, coherent planning could have avoided for a few thousand pounds. These are not easy conversations to have. But the alternative is worse. If this situation sounds familiar, my door is open. We can talk it through.