Across borders
Assets in more than one country: six questions to ask
A cross-border planning checklist for families with homes, accounts or relatives in different jurisdictions.
Vaultence / Fieldnotes
Make room for a more informed plan.
Practical questions about wills, important documents and life across borders. Carefully sourced starting points, never personal legal advice.
Editor's starting point · Getting started
Before writing a will, organise the information your family may need
A practical starting point for recording assets, people and documents before speaking with a qualified adviser.
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77 published guides
Country guides
EU cross-border inheritance: what the official guidance can and cannot tell you
A plain-English starting point for EU succession questions, national differences and the limits of general guidance.
Country guides
Making a will in the UK: first check which nation's guidance applies
Why England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland should not be treated as one will-writing checklist.
Country guides
Singapore probate: where families can start
What Singapore Courts say about probate, letters of administration and locating an existing will.
Country guides
A British family dealing with a death in Thailand: which records to find
A document-focused guide using UK government guidance about deaths in Thailand, with clear limits on legal advice.
Country guides
Philippine succession questions: begin with the official Civil Code
Where to find the Philippines' official succession text and what to prepare before asking for local advice.
Country guides
Malaysia estate records: what to gather before asking about the process
A document-first checklist for families preparing to ask which Malaysian estate-administration route may apply.
Country guides
Vietnam land records: clarify the right before naming property in a will
A practical file-building guide for families checking land-use and home records with qualified Vietnamese counsel.
Country guides
Indonesia inheritance questions: clarify the issue before dividing assets
A fact-first guide to preparing for local advice when an Indonesian estate raises questions about parties, assets, or forum.
Country guides
A death connected to Laos: build a careful estate record file
A practical way to organise asset, family and document records before asking qualified Lao counsel about an estate.
Country guides
Cambodia estate records: trace how property was acquired
A document-first guide to recording marriage, acquisition and ownership history before asking Cambodian counsel about property.
Country guides
New York probate: questions to ask before contacting the court
A New York State starting point for locating the relevant Surrogate’s Court and preparing to ask about its current requirements.
Country guides
Canada estate questions: separate local process from federal tax
A practical way to distinguish federal tax administration from provincial and territorial estate procedures, with Ontario and Québec examples.
Country guides
Ireland and cross-border succession: check where the EU framework stops
A source-led orientation to Ireland’s non-participation in the EU Succession Regulation and the questions that still need local advice.
Country guides
New South Wales wills and probate: identify the task before acting
A NSW-only guide to the official starting points for making a will or asking about a grant after a death.
Country guides
Austria and cross-border succession: start with residence, nationality and scope
An Austria-focused route into official guidance on habitual residence, possible choice of law and the questions that need local advice.
Country guides
Belgium succession: separate the inheritance decision from regional tax questions
Belgium.be’s starting points on accepting, renouncing or accepting under inventory—and why succession-duty questions need regional context.
Country guides
Croatia wills: make the document findable without confusing storage with validity
What Croatia’s official guidance says about keeping a will, court or notary safekeeping, the register and separate inheritance proceedings.
Country guides
Cyprus succession: separate the will, estate process and cross-border questions
A cautious route through the Cyprus Supreme Court’s listed succession laws and the questions to take to local counsel.
Country guides
Czechia and an international estate: questions raised by the official conflict-of-laws Act
How the Czech Ministry of Justice’s English translation frames jurisdiction, applicable law and will-form questions—without deciding a case.
Country guides
Making a will in Denmark: questions to take to the official court guidance
A Denmark-focused starting point on the Danish Courts’ explanation of wills, witnessing and the limits of testamentary choices.
Country guides
Estonian succession proceedings: what a notarial certificate does and does not show
A practical starting point from Estonia’s Chamber of Notaries on succession proceedings, proof of heirship and the later division of an estate.
Country guides
Finland’s estate inventory deed: a first records question after a death
What Finland’s Tax Administration says the estate inventory deed records, why it is used and what to ask before preparing one.
Country guides
France succession paperwork: first ask how heirs prove their status
A French government starting point on the difference between a signed heir attestation and a notarial act of notoriety.
Country guides
German assets after a UK-connected death: questions about proof of inheritance
A Germany-focused, cross-border starting point from the German Foreign Office on when institutions may ask for proof of heirship.
Country guides
Greek inheritance tax: start by mapping the property and family connection
A cautious starting point from Gov.gr on the factors its inheritance-tax page identifies, and why those facts need current local review.
Country guides
Hungarian probate: which authority and records are the first questions?
A Hungary-focused starting point on the official probate statute’s notary-led process and the facts that affect where a case begins.
Country guides
Italy’s declaration of estate: separate the tax filing from the will
What Italy’s Revenue Agency says about the declaration of estate, how its filing routes differ, and what the filing does not decide.
Country guides
Latvian inheritance law: what the Civil Law’s cross-border text leaves open
A cautious reading guide to Latvia’s Civil Law provisions on inheritance located in Latvia and property distributed abroad.
Country guides
Lithuania estate planning: distinguish a spouse’s property from inheritance
A Lithuanian notarial starting point on why marital-property records and succession questions should be prepared separately.
Country guides
Luxembourg inheritance paperwork: identify the right declaration first
A Luxembourg government starting point on inheritance declarations, the deceased’s last domicile and locally owned buildings.
Country guides
Malta property after a death: a notary is a records starting point
What Malta’s Tax and Customs Administration says about documenting and registering a transfer of locally owned immovable property.
Country guides
Netherlands estate paperwork: separate proof of succession from settling debts
A Netherlands-focused starting point on what a notarial certificate of succession does, and when the courts say an estate needs more careful handling.
Country guides
Polish inheritance from abroad: what a consulate can—and cannot—do
A limited guide to official Polish consular information about inheritance declarations, time-sensitive questions and the role of local counsel.
Country guides
Portugal’s inheritance counter: distinguish identifying heirs from dividing property
What Portugal’s Justice portal says its inheritance service can do, who may use it and which questions remain for local advice.
Country guides
Slovenia inherited a car? Start with the final court decision
A narrow guide to Slovenia’s eUprava vehicle checklist after inheritance, from a final succession decision to insurance and registration.
Country guides
Spain’s last-will certificate: check the Ministry’s online route first
A Spain-focused guide to the Ministry of Justice’s certificate-request conditions and why civil-law territory still needs local review.
Country guides
Sweden’s estate inventory: map the household before preparing the records
What Sweden’s Government Offices say an estate inventory records, its usual timetable and why marriage or cohabitation can change the information needed.
Country guides
India succession planning: identify the statute before using a checklist
A source-led starting point for seeing why Indian succession texts have different personal scopes, without deciding which law governs an individual estate.
Country guides
India: the Hindu Succession Act’s will provision points to other law
How section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act connects a testamentary question to the Indian Succession Act and other applicable law.
Country guides
Pakistan succession questions: check which legal text you are reading
A limited starting point on the personal-law references in Pakistan Code statutes and the questions to take to local counsel.
Country guides
Pakistan succession certificates: a separate question about debts and securities
What the Pakistan Code’s Succession Act says about Part X certificates, and which details to prepare before asking about the local process.
Country guides
A foreign will not yet probated abroad: a Philippine Supreme Court starting point
What the Supreme Court said in one case about a foreign-executed will and the difference between probate and reprobate.
Country guides
Antigua and Barbuda wills: what the official signing text says—and what it does not
A narrow reading of the Wills Act’s execution provision, with a separate route to the Eastern Caribbean probate rules.
Country guides
The Bahamas probate starting point: identify the grant question first
How the Bahamian Probate and Administration of Estates Act separates grants, will deposits, and foreign-grant questions.
Country guides
Barbados probate caveats: what the Supreme Court Registry explains
A Barbados court-registry starting point for understanding how a caveat can affect a non-contentious grant application.
Country guides
Belize estate applications: use the Judiciary’s forms list as a map, not a checklist
What Belize’s official court forms catalogue distinguishes between probate, intestacy, and administration with a will annexed.
Country guides
Dominica small-estate grants: check the local threshold before using the shortcut
A focused reading of Dominica’s 2019 probate rules, which tie a small-estate grant to the applicable local statute.
Country guides
Grenada probate: what the court-rule search certificate is meant to check
A Grenada-specific look at the 2021 probate rules’ search certificate and the limits of a document checklist.
Country guides
Jamaica probate applications: the Supreme Court’s common-error list
A Jamaica-only preparation guide drawn from the Supreme Court’s own reminders about estate application documents.
Country guides
Saint Kitts and Nevis estate administration: notice when applicants share priority
What the local 2017 probate rules say about notifying equally entitled people when letters of administration are sought.
Country guides
Saint Lucia notarial wills: the probate rules identify a separate filing route
A focused guide to Rule 11 of Saint Lucia’s 2017 probate instrument and the special documents it names for a notarial will.
Country guides
Trinidad and Tobago wills and probate: read the statute’s commencement notes
How the official online text flags its unofficial status and a limited commencement note about the Succession Act.
Country guides
Fiji probate: identify the grant question before gathering papers
A Fiji High Court starting point for distinguishing an application under a will, without a will, or involving an earlier overseas grant.
Country guides
Marshall Islands wills: what the Probate Code makes worth asking
A narrow reading guide to the Republic's Probate Code provisions on wills, customary or prior-law wills, foreign execution, and personal-property estate procedures.
Country guides
New Zealand estates: first ask whether the question is probate or administration
A New Zealand Ministry of Justice starting point for distinguishing its High Court probate guidance from a letters-of-administration process.
Country guides
Papua New Guinea probate disputes: what the National Court Rules call an action
A narrow court-rules starting point for distinguishing a contentious probate action from non-contentious or common-form probate business.
Country guides
Botswana estates: questions to take to the Master’s Office
A Botswana-specific starting point for understanding the Master’s Office role and preparing a factual estate record.
Country guides
Ghana wills: what to clarify before relying on the Wills Act
A narrow reading guide to Ghana’s official Wills Act, including the questions its provisions raise for local advice.
Country guides
Liberia probate: start with the court’s stated remit
What Liberia’s Judiciary says Monthly and Probate Courts do, and what families should clarify locally.
Country guides
Mauritius succession: questions about an inventory and court-appointed notary
A Mauritius-specific guide to the official Succession and Wills Act provisions on applying for a notary to inventory a succession.
Country guides
South Africa estate research: check the version before relying on an Act
A South African source-checking guide prompted by the government’s explicit warning that its Administration of Estates Act text omits amendments.
Country guides
Tanzania probate research: locate the current official Act before acting
How Tanzania’s Office of the Attorney General identifies its Probate and Administration of Estates Act, and what to verify with counsel.
Country guides
Uganda succession: check amendments before using an older checklist
A Uganda-specific source-checking guide based on the Judiciary’s 2024 overview of succession-law amendments.
Country guides
Zambia wills: ask whether customary-held property is within the will’s scope
A Zambia-focused starting point to a stated boundary in the Wills and Administration of Testate Estates Act.
Country guides
A Bulgarian heirs-certificate checklist: the Sofia Nadezhda district example
A narrow document-preparation starting point based on one Sofia district’s official heirs-certificate service page—not a nationwide Bulgarian procedure guide.
Country guides
Slovakia: preparing documents to register inherited property under another EU decision
A limited checklist from Slovakia’s public-administration portal for a foreign heir using a succession decision from another EU Member State.
Country guides
England and Wales probate: prepare the right questions before applying
A GOV.UK starting point for distinguishing the probate forms and estate information families may need to organise.
Country guides
Scotland confirmation: start with a careful inventory of the estate
What the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says an executor's inventory records, and what to clarify before seeking confirmation.
Country guides
Northern Ireland wills: prepare for a useful first solicitor conversation
A nidirect checklist of the people, property and practical decisions to think through before discussing a will.
Country guides
Thailand records: check the official list before arranging an English translation
A narrow Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs starting point for English translations of specified Thai civil and property records.
Country guides
Guyana estate records: prepare for the Revenue Authority inventory
A narrow document-gathering starting point based on the Guyana Revenue Authority's list for a deceased person's declaration and inventory.
Country guides
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines estate records: which registry to ask
A judiciary-source starting point for distinguishing civil records, estate registrations and High Court registry questions in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Country guides
Vanuatu probate applications: records to locate before seeking advice
A document-preparation starting point drawn from Vanuatu's Supreme Court Probate and Administration Rules and the Judiciary's published forms.
Country guides
Kenya succession paperwork: start with the Judiciary’s own document index
A narrow guide to locating Kenya Judiciary succession resources and preparing questions without treating a form catalogue as legal advice.
Country guides
Zimbabwe deceased estates: what the Master’s registration forms ask you to gather
A document-focused starting point based on Zimbabwe’s Office of the Master guidance and its current death-notice and inventory forms.
For general educational information only. This is not legal, tax or financial advice, and reading it does not create a professional-client relationship. Laws and procedures vary by jurisdiction and can change. Consult a qualified professional in each place relevant to you and your assets before making decisions.