making a will for a UK national

[tense-eye-man]

So apparently it turns out Japanese inheritance law DOESNT cover you if you're not japanese (even if you have PR) (http://www.retirejapan.info/wills.html)....so it seems I need to make a will

Um, any PR UK nationals done that? How did you go about it from Japan?

[goodandbadjapan]

It's on my to do list, but I think the safest way is to have wills in both countries stating basically the same thing. But, if you are not covered by Japanese law, and you die without a will then wouldn't it mean you would be covered by the laws of intestate succession in the UK, in which case almost everything would go to your wife or closest family anyway? The link didn't work on the homepage and couldn't remind myself what the finer details of the 'rules' mean, so still not really sure what it means when it says the normal rules of succession don't apply to foreigners in Japan. But if it just means your home country's rules apply, it shouldn't really be a cause of great worry.

[tense-eye-man]

thanks for the reply, yes, I'm pretty sure it's not an urgent issue, esp as I'll be leaving everything to my wife/children anyway, I'm just thinking I'll go ahead and make one as a better-safe-than-sorry approach

[RetireJapan]

My understanding is that it defaults to 'home country' law, but dying intestate in the UK is a huge headache even normally: it can take ages to get everything sorted out. Add to that 'communication' with the Japanese local authorities (by fax?) and I wouldn't want to put anyone through that, let alone my wife or daughters...

Online will costs very little and a simple one is very quick to do. If you just want to leave everything to your family that is one easy way to go.

[goodandbadjapan]

When I worked as a lawyer (many, many years ago now!) I used to deal with estates and dying intestate was never particularly problematic. Certainly it is better to have a will, and definitely so if you have specific requests regarding what you bequeath, but there are rules to deal with intestate succession so it wasn't a massive headache when someone died without one. If estate in Japan is involved, communication with Japanese authorities would be required whether testate or intestate, probably, and I'd imagine, would not be easy! I am not sure of the validity of online wills - they are probably fine but would be worth checking of their legal status in both Japan and home country. When I drafted wills you needed a testing clause with witnesses signatures etc. It may all have changed in these days of technology and whatnot, but worth checking out.

[goodandbadjapan]

Thinking about this a little more and what strikes me as being important and possibly problematic is relatives being able to find exactly what you have and where! I have a list of all the details of my investments, bank accounts etc but only my wife knows where it is and if the big one strikes and we go down together, I think it would take ages for those concerned to try and find what we have. Then there would be the nightmare of relatives in the UK trying to deal with those banks etc in Japan! Having a will with all the details in it should help, or just giving the relevant information to a trusted relative now would seem sensible.

[RetireJapan]

Thinking about this a little more and what strikes me as being important and possibly problematic is relatives being able to find exactly what you have and where! I have a list of all the details of my investments, bank accounts etc but only my wife knows where it is and if the big one strikes and we go down together, I think it would take ages for those concerned to try and find what we have. Then there would be the nightmare of relatives in the UK trying to deal with those banks etc in Japan! Having a will with all the details in it should help, or just giving the relevant information to a trusted relative now would seem sensible.

Yeah, our assets are getting a bit more complicated now: dozens of accounts at multiple banks, brokers, etc. I have a list but it's out of date and as you say I think our kids need copies too. I don't think the list needs more than the existence of accounts (you wouldn't need balances, logins, etc.). Something to add to the to-do list!

[tense-eye-man]

thanks, good point about the list of account information, my parents have prepared something similar for me, I should make similar for my heirs (with an explanation in japanese for my wife!). Another item for the to-do list.....

I just googled "uk online will" and https://www.netlawman.co.uk/g/wills came up quite high in the results, basically free templates and instructions on how to use, looks ok to me (but I know basically nothing!) has anyone used this site or can anyone have a quick look and see if it looks reasonable to you too?

[RetireJapan]

thanks, good point about the list of account information, my parents have prepared something similar for me, I should make similar for my heirs (with an explanation in japanese for my wife!). Another item for the to-do list.....

I just googled "uk online will" and https://www.netlawman.co.uk/g/wills came up quite high in the results, basically free templates and instructions on how to use, looks ok to me (but I know basically nothing!) has anyone used this site or can anyone have a quick look and see if it looks reasonable to you too?

I went through a law firm in Leeds. I think it cost about 20 pounds.

When in doubt, MoneySavingExpert: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/famil ... heap-wills

[goodandbadjapan]

I just googled "uk online will" and https://www.netlawman.co.uk/g/wills came up quite high in the results, basically free templates and instructions on how to use, looks ok to me (but I know basically nothing!) has anyone used this site or can anyone have a quick look and see if it looks reasonable to you too?

I replied but deleted because thought it was a bit rambling and confusing! Basically though, it depends on how deeply you want to cover all eventualities - joint death, a child predeceasing you, stuff to be held in trust for kids / grandkids etc. There are lots of permutations and a carefully worded will can cover most of them. There are certain things you can't do - like completely leave your spouse out of a will! (Well you can but she will be able to make a valid claim against the estate!) So, for peace of mind I would probably use a professional, but then again I have never tried the online forms and they might very well do the job adequately enough!