Ready for Brexit? There’s been a lot of talk recently asking if companies are ready for Brexit. the press and all the news TV channels are going mad about it and it’s obviously a very important issue.
Many of the reports are saying that people and businesses are putting off doing things or making plans until after Brexit has occurred and at a time when there is a lot less uncertainty about the country’s political and financial future.
In order to offer my clients and my website’s readers a sense of security and enough confidence to make use of my services to write their wills I can reassure you as follows:
England & Wales
Wills written in England or Wales to cover assets in England or Wales will not be affected by Brexit, if the deal we eventually leave with allows us to retain control of our own laws without being over ruled by EU courts then there is obviously, as always, a chance that our laws may change at some point in the future. However, any future changes will be well publicised and I always inform my clients if these changes are going to affect them.
Also, fear of change in the law in the future is a very poor excuse for not writiing your will today. You should always write your will for today, I can help build in some “future proofing” to take care of address changes, name changes, births and deaths but essentially, you should write your will for today always.
English & Welsh people living in the EU
If I’m writing wills for people form England & Wales who live in other EU countries or have assets in other EU countries and they want the laws of England & Wales to apply to their estate’s when they die then I use the Brussels IV Agreement to do so. This allows, for example, an English person living in France to include the French property in their English will.
The Brussels IV Agreement will not be affected by Brexit as it’s angreement that other EU Member States have within the EU, France has signed up to it and so with or without Brexit, the Brussels IV Agreement will work on French property.
EU Nationals living in England or Wales
If any EU National has assets in England or Wales, they can write a will to cover those assets on their death using their Domicile over here in their wills. Again, this won’t change after Brexit, the Government have already announced that EU Nationals will retain the same rights that they have now whilst we’re in the EU and after we leave.
So the message is, don’t let the social, financial and political turmoil caused by Brexit prevent you from getting a legal will in place, it’s still a vital element of your personal documentation and a must for all parents and families in particular.
