Investors are often unaware that shares or other investments they hold may be registered in jurisdictions other than the UK. This can cause delays and substantial expense.
In an FT article about Video Wills, there is a note about untangling foreign assets. It gives readers stories. Here’s one “David, an FT reader, has been working for almost two years to untangle his son’s assets. It has cost tens of thousands of pounds because his son’s investments were complex and widely dispersed. Because of the delays, David has been funding the living costs of his daughter-in-law and grandchildren as he was strongly advised not to distribute any assets before all assets were gathered and probate granted. David’s son had assets in excess of £5m in the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Ireland, Cayman Islands, Spain and the UK where he was resident. The estate included the family home, plus investments in the UK and foreign companies including Ucits funds (Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) — an EU regulatory wrapper for certain types of retail investment funds.”
As people accumulate assets and move into different jurisdictions, it’s easy to see how complications arise. In day to day life, we can all easily ad ‘clutter’, until one day you try to declutter. But if you are not about to declutter, someone else has to do it for you. I have found that as people accumulate assets, the administration becomes the main problem. People tend not to go abroad to decrease assets; often its an opportunity to grow their wealth along with life experiences. The key is to work toward simplicity. That may be difficult, especially if the tax is a problem, but it’s better to address how you manage your assets as simply as possible whilst you have an opportunity to do so. Otherwise, it becomes the responsibility of others.