TEP-talk: Mort subite, an expatriate dies in Belgium. Estate Planning

If you came to live in Belgium for work or love, you may have discovered that things are different from what you are used to at home. Things can also get a little bit more complex in other circumstances – for example if you are about to inherit from your parents, have a holiday home in Italy and bank accounts there to pay for the charges and utilities.

That is before other complications can occur, such as a spouse with a different nationality, parents and in-laws living in England, Greece and children in the US, Hong Kong or Spain, while you plan to retire in Italy.

In addition, the days are long gone when estate planning was just about limiting inheritance tax for a happy couple who have been married for 40 years, with two well-adjusted children and four lovely grandchildren. Estate planning has become more complex. It is not only about planning around ever changing laws, but also around non-traditional families, estranged families, and everything in between.

The purpose of this TEP-talk is to correct some misunderstandings and help you plan your estate. We will look at it from the point of No Return : Mort subite. You are dead, what now?