International wills now available in Victoria

Victoria now has legislation which adopts the provisions of the UNIDROIT Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will.

The new legislation came into force on 10 March 2015 and allows for a a new type of will – an international will. An international will is one which is recognised as a valid form of will by countries which are signatories to the convention regardless of where the will was made, where the assets are located, or where the will-maker lives. This means that you will not have to look to the internal laws operating in a foreign country where you have assets to determine whether the will has been properly executed.

Examples of other countries that have also ratified the convention are Italy, France, Belgium and Canada.

If you have assets in a country other than Australia and wish to know more about international wills, please contact:

Justin Hartnett
Principal
Harwood Andrews
T: 03 5225 5220
E: jhartnett@harwoodandrews.com.au

Sarah Cohen
Lawyer
Harwood Andrews
T: 03 5226 8574
E: scohen@harwoodandrews.com.au