Start cross-border estate planning with a document inventory

For each asset, record its country, ownership type, your share, identifying document and associated debt. Distinguish personal property, company shares and bank funds. This inventory prepares the discussion; it does not itself establish ownership or determine anyone’s inheritance entitlement.

Collect earlier wills and related documents, family details and the proposed executor’s information. Disclose existing instruments when preparing a new one. Specifically examine consistency between documents, the assets each covers and whether new wording could unintentionally revoke an earlier will.

Will registration and post-death administration are different stages; Abu Dhabi’s official guidance provides separate routes for registration and estate-distribution applications. Identify the final documents and their storage location, and review the file after material family or asset changes. Overseas property requires consideration of the relevant country’s rules.