Documents You Need Notarised When Inheriting an Estate Overseas

When you inherit from an estate overseas, you usually notarise three kinds of document in Australia: a certified copy of your passport, any declaration about the family or your names, and a power of attorney for someone to act for you there. Australian registry certificates proving your relationship can often go to DFAT directly, without a notary.

Key takeaways

• Find out first who is running the estate and under which legal system. That decides every document.
• In many civil law countries, heirs must formally accept or renounce. Accepting can bring the debts with the assets. Get legal advice there first.
• Your Australian birth and marriage certificates can often be apostilled by DFAT directly, with no notary.
• A power of attorney in the foreign lawyer's form usually saves you travelling.
• Name differences across countries are common. A sworn declaration that the names refer to the same person can go in the same appointment.
• Tax can arise in either country. Ask advisers in both before any money moves.

What happens when you inherit from abroad?

A letter arrives from a lawyer in another country, or a relative calls. Someone has died there, and you are a beneficiary. From Australia, you now have to prove who you are and how you were related to the person who died. You will usually have to authorise someone on the ground to act for you. All of this happens in a legal system you may know nothing about.

This page follows that process in order. The notary's part is real but narrower than people expect. The most important decision in it, whether to accept the inheritance at all, is one a notary cannot help you make. That belongs with a lawyer in the country where the estate is administered.

Who is running the estate, and under what system?

Before any documents, establish who administers the estate and what they need from you. That depends heavily on the country.

• In common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand or India, an executor named in the will, or an administrator appointed by a court, usually deals with the estate. They tell beneficiaries what evidence they need.
• In many civil law countries, including much of Europe and Latin America, the law itself may decide who inherits and in what shares, whatever the will says. A local notary or court often handles the succession. Heirs may have to take formal steps themselves.

Ask the person who contacted you for a written list of what they need, and whether you will need a lawyer in that country. For anything beyond a small cash bequest, you probably will. A foreign lawyer can also tell you whether any step requires you to attend in person.

How do you prove who you are?

Almost every estate asks for a copy of your passport. Where the administrator wants it notarised, a notary sights your original passport and certifies the copy. DFAT then adds an apostille or authentication confirming the notary's signature and seal. The apostille says nothing about your identity itself. It confirms the notary's certificate is genuine.

Some administrators also want proof of your address, or a specimen signature. A notary can certify a copy of a utility bill, but that certifies the copy, not that you live there. Bring whatever the list asks for to the same appointment.

How do you prove the relationship?

For an heir not named in a will, or where the law gives family members fixed shares, you prove the relationship through a chain of certificates. Your birth certificate names your parent. A marriage certificate links a spouse. A chain can run across two or three generations.

If these are Australian registry certificates, DFAT can usually apostille the originals directly, without a notary. DFAT's list of documents it can legalise includes registry birth, marriage and death certificates. Confirm with DFAT for your certificates. That is often the single biggest saving in the process. Laminated or altered certificates are refused, so order fresh ones if yours are damaged.

The death certificate is usually from the country where the person died. You do not need to have it notarised in Australia. If the death happened in Australia, see our page on notarising a death certificate.

What if the names do not match?

This is common. Your grandmother may appear under a different spelling, script or married name in the foreign records. A father's name may be transliterated three ways across three documents. The foreign lawyer or registry may treat each version as a different person.

The usual fix is a sworn declaration that the names refer to the same person, supported by the documents that link them. A notary administers the oath or affirmation and witnesses your signature. The notary does not confirm that the facts are true; that is your statement. Put it in the same appointment as the other documents. Ask the foreign lawyer for the wording, because some countries prescribe it.

Should you accept or renounce the inheritance?

In many civil law countries, heirs must formally accept or renounce an inheritance. In some, accepting it can mean accepting the deceased's debts along with the assets. The choice is often irreversible and may be subject to time limits under that country's law.

This is the decision to get right, and it is legal advice a notary does not give. Speak to a lawyer in the country where the estate is administered before you sign anything. Ideally, speak to them before you tell the family what you intend. Some countries offer a form of acceptance that limits your liability to the value of the assets. Only a local lawyer can tell you whether it applies.

Which documents will you sign?

Once you have decided, the step usually needs one or more documents signed by you:

• a declaration of acceptance or renunciation;
• a declaration of heirship, or an affidavit about the family;
• most often, a power of attorney appointing a lawyer or relative there to act for you, sign for you and receive funds.

The foreign lawyer usually sends the document, often bilingual. Follow these steps:

1. Read it, and ask the lawyer about anything unclear, before the appointment.
2. Get a translation if any part is in a language you do not read.
3. Bring it unsigned to the notary, with your original passport.
4. Sign in front of the notary, who checks your identity, understanding and free will.
5. Send it to DFAT for an apostille or authentication, then post the original to the lawyer.

If there are several heirs in Australia, each signs their own document. You do not all need to attend together. Our page on notarising a power of attorney covers the practical detail, and our powers of attorney and declarations page explains the notary's role.

Apostille or embassy legalisation?

If the country where the estate sits is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, DFAT issues an apostille. If it is not, DFAT issues an authentication certificate, and the country's embassy or consulate in Australia then legalises the document. Check the HCCH status table on the day. Some countries also want the power registered or stamped locally when it arrives. The receiving authority decides what it needs, so ask the lawyer. Our apostille and authentication page explains the DFAT step.

Document	Who issues or signs	Route
Your passport copy	Certified by a notary	Notary, then DFAT
Birth or marriage certificate	Australian registry	Usually DFAT directly
Death certificate, death abroad	The foreign registry	Handled in that country
Declaration of heirship or names	You, sworn before a notary	Notary, then DFAT
Power of attorney	You, before a notary	Notary, then DFAT, then embassy if needed
Australian grant of probate	The Supreme Court	Sealed copy, usually DFAT directly

What happens before you receive your share?

Before paying anything out, the administrator or a foreign bank may need more from you. That can include a tax identification number in that country, bank details, and sometimes evidence of your tax residence. Some countries require their own tax to be cleared on the estate first.

Tax can arise in either country. Ask a tax adviser in Australia, and the lawyer abroad, before funds move. That matters most if the inheritance is property you plan to keep or sell. If you will sell inherited property, see our page on selling property overseas. For bank forms, see overseas bank accounts.

What if the person lived in Australia?

The picture reverses if the person who died lived in Australia and left assets abroad. Then an Australian grant of probate or letters of administration usually comes first. A sealed copy of that grant from the Supreme Court is what goes overseas. Some countries accept it after an apostille. Some Commonwealth countries may reseal it in their own court. Others start their own process.

That is a matter for the executor's solicitor. The notary's role is limited to certifying copies of the grant and will where the foreign authority wants copies, or witnessing the executor's signature on foreign documents.

Can a JP witness the documents instead?

Not for use overseas. A Justice of the Peace is a volunteer witness for Australian purposes. A JP's certification is not recognised abroad, and DFAT cannot apostille it. Use a notary unless the foreign lawyer says in writing that a JP will do.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A woman in Adelaide learns that her late uncle in Italy has left her a share of a house. The Italian lawyer explains that she must accept the inheritance, and advises accepting it in a form that limits her liability. He sends a bilingual power of attorney. She brings her birth certificate and her mother's, which DFAT apostilles directly. She signs the power before a notary with her passport, and DFAT adds an apostille. The lawyer handles the succession in Italy.

In short

Find out who runs the estate and what they need, in writing. Prove identity with a notarised passport copy, and relationship with registry certificates DFAT can often apostille directly. Get legal advice in that country before you accept or renounce. Then sign the lawyer's power of attorney before a notary, and send it to DFAT. Check the tax position in both countries before money moves.

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Asked to sign for an estate abroad? Send us what the foreign lawyer sent you, and we will explain each step before you book.