Estate Planning & Wills for International Residents

This is a question nomad-focused content rarely addresses, because it usually doesn't need to — a will written under your home country's law generally still functions adequately for someone traveling for a few months or a year. A genuine long-term relocation is different: owning property, holding bank accounts, or simply being a long-term legal resident in another country can create real complications for how your estate is actually handled if something happens to you.

Many countries apply their own inheritance and succession laws to assets physically located within their borders, regardless of what your home-country will says — this can mean a will that works perfectly at home doesn't control what happens to property or accounts you hold abroad. Some countries also have forced-heirship rules that override a will's stated wishes for who inherits what, a legal concept that doesn't exist in several common-law countries and can be a genuine surprise.

For retirees and relocating families specifically — the audience this Relocation pillar is built around, as distinct from a shorter-term nomad stay — this is worth addressing directly with an estate attorney who has experience with your specific combination of home country and destination country, ideally before or shortly after the move rather than years into it.

This is not a substitute for that conversation — it's a flag that the conversation needs to happen. Nothing on this site should be read as estate planning advice for your specific situation.