For an Indian family with assets in India and the UAE — where the patriarch is an NRI who has lived in Dubai for 25 years — the estate plan must address: which will covers which assets, whether Indian succession law or UAE personal status law governs the movable assets, how the two wills interact in their residuary clauses, how the UAE assets are administered under UAE law, whether a UAE will is required in addition to the Indian will, and how the proceeds of the UAE estate reach the Indian beneficiaries in compliance with both UAE law and FEMA.
GP builds cross-border estate plans that address all of these questions — working with overseas counsel in the relevant jurisdictions where the legal advice must be locally qualified. The India components of the plan are GP's responsibility; the overseas components are the responsibility of GP's overseas partners; the coordination and consistency of the overall plan is GP's responsibility throughout. The family has one adviser who owns the complete picture.
Advising on whether a single will can cover assets in multiple countries or whether separate wills are required for each jurisdiction — and, where multiple wills are needed, ensuring they are consistent and do not accidentally revoke each other. GP drafts the Indian will and coordinates with overseas counsel on the overseas will — ensuring the residuary clauses, the choice-of-law provisions, and the executor appointments are aligned across all documents. Active for India + UAE, India + UK, India + Australia, India + Singapore, India + USA, and India + Canada combinations.
Analysis of the NRI's domicile position — the legal concept that determines which country's law governs the succession to their movable property. For NRIs who have lived abroad for decades, Indian domicile of origin may survive if the NRI retains the intention of returning to India. GP analyses the relevant facts, advises on whether Indian or overseas domicile is more likely to be found at the time of death, and — where the domicile position is genuinely uncertain — structures the estate plan to function correctly under either outcome.
For non-Muslim NRIs residing in the UAE, Federal Law No. 41 of 2022 (effective 2023) allows non-Muslims to elect for their home country's law to govern succession to their UAE assets — replacing the default application of Islamic inheritance law. GP advises non-Muslim NRI families in the UAE on executing a valid UAE will (or equivalent election) to ensure their UAE assets pass by Indian succession law rather than the Sharia-based default, and coordinates the UAE will with the Indian estate plan.
India does not levy estate duty or inheritance tax — but many of the countries where NRIs reside do. UK inheritance tax applies to UK-situated assets at 40% above the nil-rate band; Australian capital gains tax applies on death as a deemed disposal; US estate tax applies to US-sited assets of non-US persons above a threshold. GP advises on the Indian side of the tax picture and coordinates with overseas tax advisers on the overseas-side — ensuring the overall estate plan is structured to minimise aggregate tax exposure across all jurisdictions.
Structuring the India components of the estate plan to facilitate the repatriation of estate proceeds to NRI beneficiaries in compliance with FEMA — including the USD 1 million annual repatriation limit, NRO to NRE transfer arrangements, and RBI approval applications where the estate is large enough to exceed the annual limit. GP builds the repatriation structure into the estate plan at the drafting stage — not as an afterthought when the estate is being administered.
Administration of cross-border estates after death — managing the Indian succession process (probate, succession certificates, mutation) alongside the overseas administration process. Where the deceased held a valid will in each jurisdiction, GP manages the Indian probate and coordinates with overseas counsel on the overseas estate. Where only an Indian will exists, GP advises on whether the Indian will can be given effect overseas or whether a separate overseas estate administration process must be initiated.
The most common drafting error in multi-jurisdiction estate planning is a standard revocation clause — "I hereby revoke all former wills" — in each will, causing each will to revoke the previous one. The result is that the last will executed is the only surviving will — which may cover only one country's assets and leave the rest intestate. GP ensures every multi-jurisdiction will contains a carefully limited revocation clause that revokes only prior wills covering the same jurisdiction's assets.
Australian superannuation does not form part of a deceased's estate — it passes according to a separate binding death benefit nomination made with the superannuation fund. A will has no effect on superannuation. NRIs with Australian superannuation must make a valid binding death benefit nomination to direct the payment to their intended beneficiaries — and must review it regularly, as nominations can lapse. GP advises NRI clients on the interaction between the will, the superannuation nomination, and the overall estate plan.
India abolished estate duty in 1985 — there is no inheritance tax on Indian assets passing at death. But the UK charges 40% inheritance tax on UK-situated assets above the nil-rate band; the USA charges estate tax on US-sited assets of non-domiciliaries above USD 60,000; and Australia treats death as a deemed capital gains disposal on certain assets. GP structures the India side of the plan to be consistent with the overseas tax minimisation strategies recommended by the overseas advisers.
Most cross-border families end up with an Indian solicitor who drafted the Indian will, an overseas solicitor who drafted the overseas will, and nobody who has read both. GP takes responsibility for the consistency of the complete plan — reading the overseas will alongside the Indian will, identifying conflicts and gaps, and ensuring the overall structure achieves the family's objectives across all jurisdictions. The overseas solicitor is a specialist subcontractor; GP is the plan's architect.
Cross-border estate planning for Indian families requires FEMA analysis (for the India-side repatriation), private international law analysis (for the domicile and governing law questions), and income tax analysis (for the DTAA and capital gains implications). GP integrates all three — providing a single, coherent plan that addresses each dimension rather than treating them as separate questions to be answered by separate advisers.
GP has an established network of overseas law firms in the UAE, UK, Australia, Singapore, USA, and Canada — each known to GP through previous cross-border estate matters. When a cross-border plan requires overseas legal work, GP engages the appropriate overseas firm, briefs them on the India-side structure, and remains the client's primary point of contact. The client does not need to source or manage multiple advisers across multiple jurisdictions.
Advised a Hindu non-Muslim NRI family resident in Dubai on their complete cross-border estate plan. The family held three Mumbai properties (total value ₹12 crore), a Dubai apartment, and a UAE investment portfolio. The patriarch had no valid will in either jurisdiction and — crucially — had no UAE will, meaning his UAE assets would have passed by Islamic inheritance rules on death. GP conducted the domicile analysis (confirmed Indian domicile of origin surviving), drafted the Indian will covering the Mumbai properties, coordinated with a DIFC-registered UAE firm on the UAE will electing Indian succession law under Federal Law 41/2022, and built a FEMA repatriation structure for the NRI beneficiaries. The two wills were cross-checked to eliminate the mutual revocation problem and aligned in their residuary provisions.
Advised a Sydney-resident NRI on a coordinated India-Australia estate plan. The client held a Pune apartment (inherited from parents, mutated into client's name by GP), an Australian home, and AUD 380,000 in superannuation. GP drafted the Indian will covering the Pune apartment and NRE/NRO accounts, coordinated with an Australian solicitor on the Australian will covering the Australian home and non-superannuation assets, and advised on the binding death benefit nomination for the superannuation (which does not form part of the estate and passes outside the will). The client was advised that Australian capital gains tax would apply on the Pune apartment on the client's death — as Australia taxes the capital gain on death for non-Australian assets held by Australian residents — and the plan was structured to minimise this exposure.
Advised a London-resident NRI on a cross-border estate plan where the domicile question was central. The client — resident in the UK for 22 years but maintaining strong ties to India — faced potential UK inheritance tax at 40% on UK assets if found to be UK-domiciled, but Indian succession law on the movables if found to be India-domiciled. GP conducted the domicile analysis and concluded the client had a strong case for retention of Indian domicile of origin — which was the more favourable outcome. The UK will was structured by a UK solicitor to leverage the UK nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band; the Indian will covered the Mumbai properties; and the overall plan reduced the estimated UK IHT exposure from £340,000 to £85,000 on the assumptions modelled.
The practice is led by succession specialists with experience in the domicile and conflict-of-laws questions that arise in cross-border estates — and with working relationships with overseas counsel in the UAE, UK, Australia, Singapore, USA, and Canada that enable smooth coordination on the overseas components of the estate plan.
Every cross-border estate plan GP builds is reviewed as a complete document — India will, overseas will, trust structures, FEMA repatriation plan, and tax analysis — before it is executed. The goal is a plan that functions correctly in every jurisdiction, under any domicile finding, and for every asset type in the family's portfolio.
The UAE's new non-Muslim succession framework — and why every non-Muslim NRI in the UAE needs a UAE will or election before death makes Islamic inheritance law the default.
Read Guide →The most common drafting error in cross-border estate planning — and how a careful revocation clause in each will prevents the most expensive mistake a multi-jurisdiction estate plan can make.
Read Insight →If your family has assets, members, or legal ties in more than one country — and your estate plan does not address all of them — speak to us today.
Strictly confidential. All cross-border estate matters handled with complete discretion.