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Elizabeth asks:

Although I was born in Great Britain, I emigrated to Canada after I got married and lived there for 46 years. I recently moved to the Netherlands to be near my family.

I receive a small expat pension from the British government. When I die, how can I ensure that the remaining amount of my pension will be payable to my daughter? I already have a will made in Canada - do I have to have another one in the U.K.?


Nicola Plant
Wills & Probate

There are potentially questions of Domicile to consider here and, depending upon whether you have any other assets in the UK, this may be something you need to take further advice on. However, assuming your pension is the only remaining connection with the UK, my answer can be confined to that.

Most pension payments will cease on death and, unless there is a lump-sum payable, the only amount remaining with be that which has accrued since the date of last payment. If there is a lump-sum payment then you should contact the Pension Service to obtain the
relevant forms enabling you to nominate your daughter as the
beneficiary.

Otherwise, accrued payments will pass in accordance with your Will. You do not need to make a UK Will to deal with this if it's your only asset here. However, depending upon where your property, investments and bank accounts are now situated, you may need to take advice on having a Will prepared in the Netherlands. If you still own property in the UK then you ought to take further detailed legal advice from a UK lawyer on both the tax and succession issues (i.e. who inherits) applying in your case.

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