A Pakistani family in London, Dubai or Toronto typically holds a house there, a pension or investments there, and property or a share in a family estate in Pakistan. Almost none of them have thought about how those pass together.

Cross-border estates are where good intentions produce the worst outcomes, because each country applies its own rules and the two do not automatically cooperate.

Two different systems are in play

Immovable property — land and buildings — is generally governed by the law of the country where it is situated. Pakistani property will be dealt with under Pakistani law and through the Pakistani courts, whatever your will says and wherever you live.

Movable property — bank accounts, investments, personal property — is treated differently, and the applicable rules depend on the jurisdiction and on factors such as domicile.

The practical consequence: a will drawn in England disposing of "all my worldwide estate" does not straightforwardly transfer a house in Karachi. The Pakistani property will still require a Pakistani process, and the foreign will may need to be proved and given effect here — a slower and more expensive route than having dealt with it properly at the outset.

The one-third limit applies to Pakistani assets

For estates governed by the Islamic law of inheritance, two restrictions govern what a will can do:

  • A bequest is generally limited to one-third of the estate
  • A bequest in favour of an heir requires the consent of the other heirs, given after death

The remaining two-thirds passes to the heirs in their fixed shares. See who inherits what in Pakistan.

This surprises people who have made a foreign will leaving everything to a spouse, or to one child. As regards Pakistani assets, that will is likely to be substantially ineffective — and the family discovers it at the worst possible moment.

Two wills is usually better than one

For most families with assets in both countries, the sensible structure is separate wills: one dealing with assets in the country of residence, and one dealing with Pakistani assets, each drawn under the law that will actually apply.

The critical detail is that each must be drafted so it does not revoke the other. A standard revocation clause — "I revoke all former wills" — in a will made later abroad can inadvertently cancel your carefully drawn Pakistani will. This is one of the most common and most damaging drafting errors in cross-border estates, and it is entirely avoidable if whoever drafts each one knows the other exists.

Tell each adviser about the other will. Keep copies together.

Lifetime transfers, and their limits

Because a will can do relatively little for Pakistani assets, families often use lifetime transfers — gift or sale — instead.

That can work, but the formalities must be complete. A gift requires declaration, acceptance and delivery of possession, and gifts that fail on possession, or that were made secretly to defeat other heirs, are challenged successfully all the time. See gift, will or sale.

A transfer designed to disinherit is the most reliable way to produce the litigation you were trying to avoid.

Practical planning points

Know what you actually own here. Many overseas Pakistanis hold an undivided share in a family property they have never seen documentation for. Establish the position now, while relatives who know the history are available.

Get the identity records right. Names spelled differently across a passport, a CNIC and a title deed will obstruct any transfer or grant. Fix it in your lifetime — see what to do when your CNIC is blocked.

Leave a schedule of assets. Not the will itself, but a list: what exists, where, account numbers, the lawyer who holds the documents. A large proportion of the delay in cross-border estates is the family simply not knowing what the deceased owned.

Tell your family what you have done. Secrecy in estate planning is the single strongest predictor of a dispute.

Consider what your heirs can practically administer. An undivided share in agricultural land in another province, held by heirs who all live abroad, may be worth less to them than the argument it will cause.

After a death

Whatever the planning, Pakistani assets require a Pakistani process — a succession certificate for movables, letters of administration or probate for the wider estate, and mutation of property records. See succession certificates for overseas heirs and inheritance and succession for overseas heirs.

Heirs abroad generally take part through an attested power of attorney without travelling.

How the firm can help

We draft Pakistani wills for clients living abroad, coordinated with their foreign will so that neither undermines the other, and advise on whether a lifetime transfer achieves the objective better than a bequest.

We also advise on what you actually own in Pakistan — establishing title to inherited shares in family property, which is frequently the first and most useful step — and administer estates once the time comes.

If you hold assets in two countries, contact the firm. The planning costs very little compared with an estate that has to be litigated across jurisdictions.