Читать книгу Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook - Christian H. Kälin - Страница 25

If you are married or live together with a partner, or if you have or plan to have children, you also need to concern yourself with the impact a change of residence may have with regard to family law. The UK, and in particular London, attracts many wealthy foreigners as a place of residence; however, many do not realize that London is also the divorce capital of the world. One reason for this is that it has a divorce law that favors the poorer partner in a marriage – often the woman. This can mean nasty surprises, particularly for rich foreign men whose wives file for divorce in Britain. Even marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements that were concluded before moving to London may simply be disregarded by English courts.

The impact on the matrimonial property regime applicable is also relevant if your marriage remains intact, as it can have considerable consequences in case of death of one of the spouses, up to the point of preventing common children from inheriting anything until the death of the remaining spouse.

On the other hand, the applicable inheritance law may also become an issue: in many countries, especially in continental Europe, forced heirship rules prevail and you may no longer be able to easily leave your property to whom you deem it most appropriate, but rather the law may dictate, for example, that each of your children as well as your spouse must inherit a certain portion of your wealth. This is also applicable on real estate in certain countries, for example in France, where, if you hold the property in your name, French inheritance law and forced heirship rules apply, and a choice of law is not possible – even if you live outside of France.