Cross-border estates are where confident generalisations go to die, so treat everything here as a starting point rather than an answer. The UK rewrote the foundations in April 2025: inheritance tax exposure now turns on long-term residence, not the old concept of domicile.
If you have been UK resident for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years, your worldwide assets fall within UK inheritance tax; and after you leave the UK, that worldwide exposure can continue for a tail of several years, longer for those who were resident for longer.
If you are not a long-term UK resident, UK inheritance tax generally reaches only your UK assets, such as UK property and, in many cases, UK company shares. UK residential property is caught even when held through offshore structures.
The country where you live, or where your assets sit, may impose its own inheritance or succession taxes, and some countries have forced heirship rules that constrain who can inherit regardless of your will.
A single UK will can be valid for foreign assets, but it is often safer to have coordinated wills in each relevant country, drafted so that neither accidentally revokes the other.
Use our calculator to size your UK exposure under the current rules.
The residence self-check gives a first pass on the 10-in-20 test.
Cross-border estates are specialist work, and we can connect you with a vetted firm that handles them.
Book a free call. We will talk through your position and whether there is anything worth changing. No hard sell, no obligation.