Overseas executors & overseas assets
Updated 20 August 2026 · 6 minute read
Modern estates cross borders constantly: the executor daughter in London, the deceased's apartment in Auckland, the US brokerage account. None of it is fatal - but each direction of crossing has its own machinery.
The executor lives overseas
- An overseas executor CAN obtain an Australian grant - no residence requirement
- Practicalities bite instead: swearing affidavits abroad (Australian consulates or local notaries), certified ID, and the registry wanting an Australian address for service
- The clean solution: the executor grants a power of attorney to someone local (often the estate's solicitor), who applies for the grant 'for their use and benefit'
- Some registries and insurers also expect an Australian-resident administrator where the estate will run for years - advice early saves restructuring later
Australian estate, overseas assets
Inventory by country
Each country's assets follow that country's succession machinery - the Australian grant doesn't automatically reach them.
Commonwealth-realm assets
NZ and UK institutions commonly accept a reseal of the Australian grant at their end - the mirror of our reseal process.
Everywhere else
Expect a local grant or local equivalent (US state probate, European notarial succession). Local lawyers are unavoidable; the Australian executor coordinates.
Tax check both ends
Australia has no inheritance tax, but the other country might - UK inheritance tax and US estate tax reach real estate located there regardless of where the owner lived.
The reverse flow: a foreign executor with a NZ/UK grant reseals it here; anyone else applies for a fresh Australian grant with evidence of the foreign will or intestacy law. The Australian asset doesn't move until one of those happens.
Cross-border estate?
Fixed-fee firms with agency networks handle the whole chain - one point of contact, several jurisdictions.
Match me with a probate lawyerCan I email documents instead of couriering originals?
Registries still want wet-ink originals or court-sealed copies for grants and wills. Build courier time into the timeline.
Does the will cover foreign assets?
A well-drafted Australian will usually covers worldwide assets - but some countries (forced-heirship jurisdictions especially) override foreign wills for local property.
Who values foreign assets for the inventory?
Date-of-death valuations in local currency, converted at date-of-death rates - keep the workings; registries and the ATO both ask.
Sources
- Supreme Court registries - foreign executor and attorney-administrator practice
- ATO - deceased estates with foreign assets