What happens if you are no longer around?
In Vietnam without written guardianship instructions in your Will, if minor children (under 15) are orphaned, the People's Committee (Vietnam Government) can decide where they go after you and your partner die.
As Vietnam is under Civil Law code, spouse, children and parents will automatically inherit, even under a Will. If this is not your intention, you need to direct your Will to a Trust for distribution. Trusts also remove the worry of time on distribution as there is no probate involved.
Foreigners (non Vietnamese) cannot inherit land or property. Therefore, if your loved ones are also Foreigners and are to receive these assets, they must be placed under Trust for your beneficiaries.
Many of our clients are in mixed nationality marriages and/or have assets overseas in different jurisdictions. Whilst we accumulate our assets, we don't necessarily consider the effect or implications of holding these assets when we leave one country to move to another. Many jurisdictions have high taxes on assets we hold onshore and offshore.
Also, if something happens to us and our relatives are overseas, how do we ensure that the right person receives according to our Wishes? How do we ensure that unwarranted or unforeseen taxes do not wipe out the benefits that our loved ones are supposed to receive?
Death taxes are common in many countries (UK - IHT, US - CAT, Spain - ISD etc) so it is also advisable to check what happens to your assets when you die. For example, UK, US and Spain will account for your Global estate and tax on that basis at around 40% when you die! (all have allowances of various levels)
A Will is a simple document that provides you one further instruction to the living, when you die, to ensure that what you own, goes to the right people. If you don't have a Will, everyone, including family can be left guessing what you wanted to do and can cause further delays and heartache whilst they fight for your estate.
We can help you by looking at your whole estate and advise on any hurdles and options you have based on your Nationality, Domicile, Citizenship, Residence, Asset Holding - and your plans for the future!
Estate Planning starts with your Will - please feel free to contact us with any inquiries or about your own personal situation - [email protected]