Great British Wills
What Great British Wills Covers
Every engagement begins with a conversation. The documentation and referrals that follow depend on that picture
not on a fixed menu of services applied uniformly to every client.
Your English Law Will
An English law will governs the assets in your estate that are situated in England and Wales at the point of law. For most British expats, this includes property, savings and investments held in England and Wales accumulated during a life that began, and may eventually return to, that jurisdiction.
Great British Wills drafts English law wills for British expats in the UAE — a properly structured document prepared by someone who understands your situation across jurisdictions, without the need to instruct a UK solicitor for straightforward matters.
Assets Outside England and Wales
Assets held outside England and Wales — in the UAE, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or elsewhere — are not governed by an English law will. Each jurisdiction has its own succession framework, and the right approach depends on what you hold, where, and what your intentions are
In some circumstances, a well-structured English law will with appropriate jurisdiction elections can provide effective coverage across multiple jurisdictions, avoiding the administrative and financial burden of maintaining a separate will in every country where assets are held. International agreements exist that can assist with this — often one of the most useful things to explore at an initial conversation.
Where separate documentation is needed, Great British Wills refers to appropriately qualified lawyers — selected based on the specific jurisdictions and circumstances disclosed at the initial conversation.
What a Will Does Not Cover
Understanding what your will does not govern is as important as understanding what it does. Several categories of asset pass outside the estate entirely, regardless of what a will says:
Assets held in trust — including life insurance written in trust and certain investment bonds — pass to beneficiaries via the trust mechanism, not through your estate. Property held under beneficial joint tenancy passes by survivorship to the surviving joint owner, irrespective of the terms of a will
Pension arrangements pass via beneficiary nominations held by the scheme trustee, not through your estate. Keeping pension nominations current and aligned with your wider estate planning intentions is an important discipline — one that sits alongside will drafting rather than within it.
For a review of pension nominations and how they interact with broader estate planning, this is addressed through Stuart Porter Financial Planning Stuart Porter Financial Planning
Guardianship
For families with children in the UAE, guardianship is often the most urgent and most frequently overlooked element of estate planning. Without properly documented guardianship arrangements, decisions about who cares for your children following your death may be made by a court rather than by you. Great British Wills identifies what guardianship documentation is needed and coordinates the relevant process as part of a structured estate planning engagement.
UK Inheritance Tax Planning
Estate planning frequently reveals a UK inheritance tax exposure — one that applies to more British expats than many assume. Where relevant, this is addressed through Stuart Porter Financial Planning, alongside your will drafting.
Professional advice
English law wills are drafted by Stuart Porter, who holds the STEP qualification in wills and cross-border estates. Legal advice outside England and Wales — including UAE legal work — is provided by the qualified lawyers to whom you are referred. Stuart Porter is not responsible for legal advice outside England and Wales and does not provide it. UK inheritance tax planning and pension nomination reviews are provided through Stuart Porter Financial Planning.
All fees are confirmed in writing before any work begins.
Fee Structure
Fees are discussed at the introductory conversation and confirmed in writing before any work begins. The introductory discussion is free and carries no obligation.
Fees for legal work outside England and Wales are quoted directly by the instructed lawyer and are entirely separate from Great British Wills fees.
All introductory discussions are confidential. Information shared is not disclosed to third parties without consent, except where required by law.