When you have invested in foreign properties or assets, especially in England, it's important to know the law of the land so that your succession planning is not hampered and you don’t face any unexpected shocks later. Though the English law gives importance to Indian Will created for UK assets, if it does not follow the English law, then the validity of such a Will can be challenged in UK courts.Richard Smaller, Senior Associate Solicitor, Irwin Mitchell, a full service UK-based law firm, said to ET Wealth Online that it makes a lot of sense to have separate Wills for English and Indian assets and not least from the perspective of administrative ease. Smaller however, cautions that people need to be careful about exactly how multiple Wills are worded. Recently there was a case (Sangha v Sangha [2022] EWHC 2157 (Ch), where the Wills had accidentally revoked earlier Wills made in different countries which dealt with different assets. The risk being that the testator could have potentially discovered to have had no Will at all in some countries, and so they would have had no control over who inherited their estate.Importantly, Smaller mentions that those who can assert that they have retained Indian domicile, having a separate Will in India to manage assets there, to ensure they devolve under Indian law, can help in making the deceased’s assets in India to be considered outside the scope of UK inheritance tax (under the UK/India double tax treaty), even if the deceased was a long-term resident in the UK at the time of their death. This could help in significant tax savings.Therefore, while there are numerous advantages to having separate Wills for various assets under different jurisdictions, it’s crucial to seek high-quality advice when drafting those documents to prevent similar issues from cropping up.Also read: Have assets in the USA or UK? Why an Indian Will alone may not protect your heirsWhat are the legal requirements for a valid Will under English law? Yousafa Hazara, Partner, Irwin Mitchell, says there are strict legal requirements for a valid English Will and these requirements are relaxed only for those individuals who are members of Her Majesty’s forces and engaged in active military service or in conditions similar to active military service.According to Hazara, here are the legal requirements for a valid Will under English law:Will must be in writing and signed by the testatorA Will must be in writing; verbal Wills or other expressions of wishes given to the family cannot operate as a valid Will. The Will must be signed by the person who is making the Will (the ‘testator’) with the intention of bringing it into effect. This means they need to physically sign a piece of paper; electronic signatures are not currently valid for Will signing.Will signing formalities involve three people being physically present together; the testator and two witnesses who see the testator sign or acknowledge his or her signature on the Will and which the witnesses also then sign in the testator’s presence. Hazara says: “Importantly, if a witness is a beneficiary under the Will or the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary, then the Will remains valid, but the gift to that beneficiary fails.”The testator of Will must have the mental capacity to understand the WillFor the Will to be valid the person making it must be over 18 and must have testamentary capacity. This means that they must understand the nature of making a will and its effects, the extent of the property of which they are disposing, and who they might be expected to consider as beneficiaries. Hazara from Irwin Mitchell says: “They must also not have any disorder of the mind that affects their understanding of these matters.”Here’s what to doHazara says that in England and Wales, you can make a Will at home without the involvement of a solicitor. Hazara says: “However, people often make mistakes (especially around witnessing), and this can lead to a Will not being valid. The law on this is black and white in England-a Will is valid from a formalities point of view, or it is not.”According to Hazara, under current law, the court cannot intervene to make an invalid Will valid. It is noteworthy that the Law Commission has recently recommended a change to the law to give the court the power to dispense with the formality requirements to make a valid will in exceptional circumstances where the court is satisfied that the document reflects the person’s settled testamentary intentions. Hazara says that seeking professional help with making a Will can help ensure that relevant formalities are not overlooked. A professional taking appropriate steps to satisfy themselves that the person making the Will has the necessary testamentary capacity and is acting free of any duress and with full knowledge and approval of the contents of the document that they are signing can also go a long way to guarding against the Will being challenged on any of these grounds.