Dealing with Assets in Jersey

Partner Michelle Leverington has written a briefing note Kelsi Wavell on the considerations that need to be made when non-Jersey residents have assets in Jersey.

If you are domiciled in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man (Specified Jurisdiction) then upon your death your family can have your Probate resealed in Jersey using the “fast track procedure” and so there is no great benefit to making a separate Will to deal with Jersey based assets.

If you are domiciled outside of a Specified Jurisdiction then you ought to give consideration to making a Will for your Jersey based assets for the following reasons:

• Your Jersey estate can be dealt with separately to your other assets and your beneficiaries do not need to wait for Probate to be obtained in the country of domicile;

• Your Executor will not need to appoint a Jersey based Attorney to deal with your Estate as your can nominate a Jersey based Executor direct in your Jersey Will;

• The cost of making a Jersey Will is far less than providing a non-Jersey Will. If you do not make a Jersey Will there may be a delay in administering your Jersey Estate:

• Your Executor may need to provide Affidavits of Law from a lawyer in your country of domicile to satisfy the Jersey Probate Registrar as to the legality of your Will;

• If your non-Jersey Will is in a language other than English then the Registrar will require an official translation of the Will;

• Taking out Probate using a non-Jersey Will is more expensive and time consuming than proving a Jersey Will.

If you decide to make a Jersey Will then you ought to take the following steps:

• Advise the lawyer who usually deals with your Wills that you are making a Jersey and ask them to confirm there will be no conflict with your existing Will or the Laws of your country of domicile;

• Ensure that if you make a Will in another country that you do not inadvertently revoke your Jersey Will.

To download this briefing note, please click here.