Expert Witness Journal Issue 68 August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 90
A UK private wealth lawyer with cross-border
experience can help identify how the UK rules
interact with the client’s broader arrangements.
This may involve consideration of the following
matters: the status of a foreign will; how multiple
wills ‘昀椀t’ together; whether additional documents
are needed; and whether, when and from whom
advice from another jurisdiction should be sought.
a foreign will purports to decide the succession to
UK estate.
It can be tempting to make one of two assumptions
about a foreign will: that it must be ine昀昀ective in
the UK, or that it must be 昀椀ne because it was validly
prepared abroad. However, one mustn’t be too hasty.
There are fundamental di昀昀erences between
di昀昀erent legal systems. For example, common
law jurisdictions tend to recognise the role of an
executor, whereas civil law jurisdictions usually do
not. Even if a foreign will has been validly executed
(in accordance with the above framework), it does
not mean that it is a useful document in each
jurisdiction.
The practical message
A will executed in a di昀昀erent jurisdiction may still
be recognised as valid for UK estate purposes. UK
law recognises that modern clients may live, invest
and plan across borders. Equally, though, a will,
even one prepared in the UK, might fall foul of the
rules if one of the ‘hooks’ is not available. At the very
least, UK advisors should query the consequences of
a client signing a document outside of the UK.
Cross-border planning needs
joined-up advice
The existence of 昀氀exible rules should not encourage
quick conclusions or assumptions. Domicile
remains imperative for succession analysis, but
recent changes have put a new focus on long-term
residence for UK inheritance tax purposes. More
than ever, advisors must ask the probing questions
to understand a client’s background and their future
intentions. Know your client. And know the ‘hooks’.
In reality, international estate planning rarely
involves a single will.
A client may have advisors in more than one
country, each dealing with a di昀昀erent part of the
picture: di昀昀erent wills for di昀昀erent assets; distinct
administrative procedures; and, potentially, di昀昀erent
tax liabilities attaching to the same assets. That may
be entirely appropriate. But it also increases the risk
that documents prepared in di昀昀erent jurisdictions
will ‘clash’ with each other.
Mr Ross S. Delston
CAMS, CTCE
Attorney + Expert Witness - Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Ross S. Delston is an independent American attorney, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS),
Cryptocurrency Tracing Certified Examiner (CTCE), and former U.S. banking regulator (FDIC) with over 40
years of experience in the financial services sector. He has specialized in Anti-Money Laundering / Countering
the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) issues for over 20 years.
Ross has acted as a testifying or consulting expert on AML issues in numerous civil and criminal cases,
including on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in U.S. v. Prevezon, a civil
forfeiture case involving the proceeds of a massive Russian fraud. He testified virtually on behalf of plaintiffs in
a Toronto court for over three days in Joint Liquidators of Stanford International Bank v. Toronto-Dominion
Bank, arising out of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in recent decades.
Ross has been a consultant to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 1997 on AML/CFT and banking
matters and has participated in the AML/CFT assessments of nine offshore financial centers, including Saint
Vincent, Bermuda, and Jersey. He has also been a consultant to the World Bank, 1998 – 2014, on banking
regulation, resolution, and systemic crisis issues.
Ross has been quoted on AML and banking subjects in the New York Times, Times of London, Washington
Post, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Nikkei (Japan), and the Hindu Business Line (India).
He also speaks on these topics at conferences and seminars throughout the world.
Area of work: Worldwide
Tel: +1 (202) 494-5835 - Email: ross@globalaml.com
Fax:+1 (202) 280-1465 - Website: www.linkedin.com/in/rossdelston
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
88
AUGUST 2026
