Forced heirship
Many countries reserve fixed shares of an estate for family. These guides explain where forced heirship applies to British expats, and where a choice of English law can change the outcome.
Guides on this subject
Living in Portugal? Portuguese law decides your estate unless your will says otherwise
The NHR tax regime that drew a wave of Britons to Portugal has closed to new arrivals, and most of the Britons it drew never heard the estate rule that came with residence: Portuguese law governs your whole estate by default, reserved shares for family included. One clause in a properly drafted will, choosing English law under the EU Succession Regulation, changes that. It decides who can inherit. It changes no tax at all. And if you are not married to your partner, the default answer to "what does my partner get?" is nothing.
Five ways a good will goes wrong after you move abroad
Every mistake on this list can happen to a will that was perfectly drafted on the day it was signed. The problem is the document meeting an expat life it wasn't built for. Get your will out and read it against these five checks. Four of the five turn up in reported cases and statutes, and every one has a routine fix.
Making a will as a British expat in Switzerland
By default Swiss law governs a British expat's estate and reserves fixed shares for spouse and children. One clause choosing English law restores full freedom, unless you have also taken Swiss citizenship. Since the 2023 reform even the default leaves half the estate free.
Leaving someone out of your will, and making it stick
England and Wales lets you leave your estate to whoever you choose. The limit is the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which lets a spouse, a child including an adult child, a cohabitant or anyone you maintained ask a court for provision. How exclusion is actually done, where the reasons should be recorded, and the domicile point that changes it for expats.
Making a will as a British expat in Vietnam
On paper, Vietnam is a friendlier place than you might expect to die British: its Civil Code hands your estate to the law of your nationality, so English law and your English will do most of the deciding. In practice, everything runs through Vietnamese notaries, in Vietnamese, and the real constraints sit elsewhere: foreigners can't hold land, a foreign heir of a Vietnamese property may only be entitled to its value, and the house is very often in a Vietnamese spouse's sole name. Here's how the law works, where the traps are, and the two-document plan that covers both countries.
Wills for British expats in France: forced heirship and what you can still control
France is the country where the state writes part of your will for you: with three children, three quarters of your estate is reserved for them before your wishes get a say. British residents have an escape route, the election of English law in a properly drafted will, and in 2026 the European Commission signalled it intends to close its case over whether France could claw that back. The news is better than expats feared, with caveats worth understanding. Here's how the pieces fit, and what you can still control.
British expats in the Philippines: legitime and forced heirship
Philippine forced heirship reserves fixed shares for family, but your national law may preserve your freedom to choose. The catch for foreign property, plus the 6% estate tax and slow probate.
UK will, local will, or both? How dual wills work for expats
One worldwide will or separate wills for each country? How the situs rule, forced heirship and the revocation trap decide what British expats actually need.
British expats in Spain: do you need a UK will, a Spanish will, or both?
Spanish law can reserve a fixed share of your estate for your children, whatever your will says. Here's how British expats in Spain keep control, when you need a Spanish will as well as a UK one, and the tax that catches families out.
The countries that can overrule your will: forced heirship explained
Someone at dinner has told you that in Spain the kids get everything, whatever your will says. The real rule is stranger. In much of the world, the law reserves fixed shares of your estate for your family, decides which relatives count, and lets your will control only what's left. It's called forced heirship, it's the normal way most of the planet does inheritance, and the person it most often squeezes is the surviving spouse. Here's how it works, and where an English will can and can't push back.