Pallett Valo LLP
By Guneet Saini
April 27th, 2026
For Canadians with assets or connections in multiple jurisdictions, cross-border estate planning raises a number of practical considerations that warrant careful attention.
When someone dies owning property in multiple countries, determining which law governs the estate becomes critical. The EU Succession Regulation has fundamentally changed how cross-border estates are administered for Canadians with European connections, introducing new planning opportunities through nationality elections that can override traditional forced heirship rules.
A will that does not address the multi-jurisdictional dimension of an estate may produce unintended outcomes regardless of how clearly the testator’s wishes are otherwise expressed.
A fundamental question must be resolved before the estate can be administered: whose law governs?
The answer depends on the rules of private international law, commonly referred to as conflict of laws rules, and getting it wrong can have significant consequences, including an estate being distributed in a way the deceased never intended.
