Roughly a million UK residents own property abroad. Spain and France between them account for a large share, with Portugal, Italy and Cyprus behind them.
Buying it is well supported. Everyone has a lawyer, an agent and a mortgage broker. What is almost never handled is the other end: what happens to it, and what your family would need to deal with it. That is where the trouble sits.
Why overseas property is genuinely different
An asset in another country is governed by that country’s law, not only by yours. Most of continental Europe applies forced heirship rules, which reserve fixed shares of an estate for children regardless of what a will says. That is a fundamentally different system from England and Wales, where you can broadly leave your property to whoever you like.
The EU Succession Regulation, often called Brussels IV, lets you elect for the law of your nationality to apply to your estate. Making that election explicitly in your will is one of the most valuable half-sentences in overseas estate planning. It is not automatic and it is frequently missed.
Note that this is an area where advice genuinely matters. The interaction between UK and local rules is not something to work out from an internet search.
The documents to keep together
Assemble these once and keep them in one place, with translations where you have them.
- The deed of purchase. In France this is the acte de vente, in Spain the escritura.
- The local land registry reference. Spain’s nota simple and the French cadastre reference.
- Your local tax number. The Spanish NIE, the French numéro fiscal, the Portuguese NIF. Nothing can be done without these and families frequently cannot find them.
- Local property tax bills, so someone knows what is due and to whom.
- The buildings insurance policy, plus any contents cover.
- Utility accounts and how they are paid, which is usually by direct debit from a local bank account.
- Details of the local bank account itself, including the IBAN.
- Any community or syndic charges and the management company’s contact details.
- Rental agreements and the agent’s details if you let it out.
- The local notary or lawyer who handled the purchase.
- Details of any local will.
The two-will question
Many people with overseas property hold two wills: one covering UK assets, one covering the foreign property under local rules.
Done well this is efficient. Done badly it is a disaster, because a later will can inadvertently revoke an earlier one and leave the foreign property intestate. If you go down this route, both wills must be drafted with knowledge of the other, and each should state clearly which assets it covers.
This is not a DIY area. Use a solicitor who works in cross-border estates, ideally one who is STEP-qualified.
Tax, briefly
UK residents are generally taxed on worldwide income and gains, so rental income from abroad is reportable here even if you also pay tax locally. Double taxation agreements usually prevent you paying twice, but they do not remove the reporting obligation.
For inheritance tax, a UK-domiciled individual’s worldwide estate is potentially within scope, and the foreign country may also levy its own succession tax. Relief is often available. Working out what applies is a job for an adviser, not a blog.
The practical layer everyone forgets
Beyond the legal paperwork, there is the ordinary stuff that makes a property manageable from two thousand kilometres away.
Who has a key. Who checks it in winter. The name of the person who fixes the pool, the boiler, the roof. Whether the water is turned off between visits. What the alarm code is.
A family trying to deal with a property they have visited twice, in a country whose language they do not speak, will thank you for a page of local phone numbers more than for anything else on this list.
Where FamilySafe fits
FamilySafe keeps the whole overseas picture in one place: the deeds, the tax numbers, the insurance, the local contacts and the details of both wills, shared with the people who would have to act. So a second home stays a second home rather than becoming a second problem.
Cross-border estates are complex and this is general information only. Take advice from a solicitor experienced in the relevant jurisdiction.
