A bit of a morbid topic, but I was asked to try and help find out about inheritance under a given situation.
A married couple (British man, German woman - got married in the UK) both now live in Germany (since 2014/15), although most assets of the man are in the UK still - they were never transferred after Brexit tanked the exchange rate. They were also kept solely in his name.
These would comprise of:
- Cash in UK bank accounts (not joint accounts - can't be done now as due to illness both parties can't travel to the UK to do this in person)
- Pension (need to ascertain whether this is private, or some other scheme)
- State Pension
- Possible private investments but TBC
- No property / physical assets
Upon death of the man, from what I've read there would be no-inheritance tax to pay due to being married. Though as the spouse is a German Citizen there are additional rules, changed in the Finance act 2013, which limit the tax-free amount to £325,000 (increased from £55k) if the inheritance is being transferred out of the UK.
However, I think some legal advice would be very valuable as I imagine different pension plans have different rules on what happens upon death, state pension can be continued under some circumstances etc. Also I'm unsure how much the non-UK domiciled status would impact most things I've read.
I've no idea where to start (other than first ascertaining what all the assets are) so if anyone can advise of any solicitors or a way of finding out these things it would be hugely appreciated.
