Importance of Coordination with Multiple Wills
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When you own foreign property (real estate and assets) outside of Canada, the one will fits all approach can all too quickly implode under the weight of conflicting legal systems. Relying on a single Canadian will to govern property in a foreign jurisdiction can lead to significant administrative delays and legal friction. This is primarily because many civil law countries do not recognize the concept of a Personal Representative or Executor in the same way Canadian common law does. Without a coordinated local will, your Canadian executor may be forced to seek an ancillary grant of probate or a formal validation of the foreign document, a process that is often expensive and agonizingly slow.
The most critical reason for multiple concurrent wills is the fundamental difference between Common Law and Civil Law regimes regarding forced heirship. In many European and South American jurisdictions, you do not have the absolute testamentary freedom enjoyed in Canada; instead, a specific portion of your estate may be legally reserved for children or spouses regardless of your written wishes. By crafting a local will that works in tandem with your Canadian one, you can navigate these mandatory succession rules more effectively. Coordination ensures that the language used in your Canadian will doesn't inadvertently trigger revocation clauses that might accidentally cancel out your foreign estate plans.
Strategic coordination also addresses the situs of your assets, ensuring that each document is governed by the specific laws of the land where the property is located. If a Canadian will is used for a villa in France, the local land registry may struggle with the interpretation of Canadian legal terminology, leading to a potential deadlock where the property cannot be transferred. Concurrent wills allow you to use local experts to draft documents that use precise, jurisdiction-specific language that foreign registrars already understand and accept. This localized approach minimizes the risk of the foreign court finding the Canadian will invalid due to execution formalities, such as the number of witnesses required.
Beyond the legal mechanics, the logistical burden on your heirs is significantly reduced when wills are properly harmonized. When two or more wills are concurrent, they are designed to exist simultaneously without one replacing the other, which allows for the separate and parallel administration of estates. This means your Canadian estate can be settled according to domestic timelines while your foreign executors handle the overseas property according to local custom. Without this careful partitioning, the entire global estate could be frozen until the most difficult jurisdiction grants its approval, leaving your beneficiaries without access to funds for years.
Finally, coordination is the only way to ensure that your global residue is handled consistently and that debts or taxes are paid from the correct pool of assets. If your Canadian will directs that all debts be paid from the residue, but your foreign property is the bulk of that residue, your executor may face an impossible task of moving funds across borders to satisfy creditors. A coordinated plan specifies which assets bear the burden of specific liabilities, preventing a situation where one set of beneficiaries is unfairly depleted while others receive a windfall. This holistic view prevents accidental double-gifting or, conversely, leaving an asset orphaned because neither will claimed responsibility for it.
Achieving the appropriate legal strategy when you own foreign property comes from addressing the matter early on with knowledgeable legal counsel that can properly investigate and coordinate to produce a will and other estate planning documents that optimize your outcome. We welcome you to contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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