Unlike in England and Wales, where minors (children under 18) cannot own property outright, it would be held for them in trust, in many other countries minors can own property in their own names. However, this can lead to problems if they come to sell as authorisation from the court may be required.
There are a number of reasons minors come to own property, this could be because they have had it purchased for them or sadly, because their parent/ parents or another family member has died. The rules of forced heirship frequently mean that minors inherit a share in a property.
In some countries permission is required from relevant authorities to enable a minor to accept or reject inheritance, or to have their share on a property transferred or sold. A parent would normally find this out when dealing with the notary in charge of the inheritance, or the property transaction in the foreign jurisdiction.
If a minor is, or is to become an owner of a share in a property abroad, the Courts of England & Wales may have to be asked to make an order authorising the acceptance of the inheritance on the minor’s behalf, to comply with the requirements of the foreign jurisdiction. This is also often the case when the inheritance is refused.
Difficulty arises when the minor who is the beneficiary or owner of the property abroad is habitually resident in England and Wales as the foreign jurisdiction may refuse to grant such authorisation/order as a result of the child not living in that country.
The solution
International legislation gives power to the English court to make orders concerning the property of a child who is habitually resident in England & Wales. Following the guidance set out by recent case law, we can assist you in making an application to the court here, in England and Wales to obtain authorisation to act on behalf of the minor in connection with the inheritance and/or property abroad. Such decisions must always be in the child’s best interests.
From your perspective, if you are the parent of the minor or the person holding parental responsibility for the child, having an order from the court will also protect you from potential future arguments concerning the child’s best interests.
Our advantage, your benefit
We are exceptionally well placed to assist with such applications given our international expertise. Our team often acts on complex property transactions across France and Spain, we have dual qualified lawyers across both jurisdictions who are also bilingual. This means that our experts are able not only able to make the application to the court, but also to provide the expert evidence required to the court on the laws of that country and liaise with the relevant foreign authorities or notary. Even if your circumstances do not involve either France or Spain, we are still able to assist you with seeking the assistance of lawyers qualified in that particular jurisdiction given our wide international connections.
