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[size=55:wzymimhp]Opp 29 September 2010

Overseas residents prefer to bank at home

Two thirds of British expats believe that UK banks are better than those available in their country of residence and that sterling will prove a better bet than the Euro, according to a major new survey out this week from Lloyds TSB Bank.

Four times as many responders believing that sterling is stronger for their savings than the euro and many UK overseas residents maintain ties with their homeland. 79% hold their money in sterling and over half still holding a UK current account.

Two thirds of expats believe that British banks are better than those available in their country of residence (62%). Furthermore when asked which services they still used a British provider for, 83% of the responses were financial services related including banking products, pensions and insurance. Very few respondents felt that they needed a British provider for other services for example legal (five per cent) or healthcare (five per cent) according to a new survey[1] commissioned by Lloyds TSB International. Additionally despite almost 90% of respondents having been abroad for over five years, over half (55%) still maintain a UK current account and 80% still holding money in sterling.

Jakob Pfaudler, Managing Director of Lloyds TSB International, said: “It’s good to see confidence in the British banking system is returning. Britain's economy is showing continued signs of progress, with consumer confidence returning and businesses beginning to invest again. At the same time, the British banking system has returned to profitability, which will enable it to support and underpin the economic recovery.’’

The survey of British expats, living in France, Hong Kong, Spain, South Africa, UAE and USA, also shows that confidence in sterling is high in comparison with other currencies, with four times (44% versus 11%) as many respondents believing that sterling is stronger than the euro for their savings. Only three per cent of those now living abroad cite weakness in sterling as a factor most likely to contribute to having to return home early.

Jakob Pfaudler continued, “It is also reassuring to see that so many British expats are confident in the future of sterling which, after depreciating over the past few years, has stabilised as the economic recovery has taken hold and measures to improve the public finances have been laid out. In part their behaviour has been a reflection on what has occurred in the wider financial markets with the flight from more indebted economies.’’

Yes, it sounds the same as we have in Turkey, we can have a joint account and either of us can draw out a sum of money, but if either of us depart from this world it would be frozen. A friend lost her husband two years this December and he passed away in the early hours of the morning and a good friend of hers took her to the bank as soon as it opened to take all their monies out. She opened an account with another bank just in her name (which is not something you really want to be doing given the circumstances). She had to do all this before registering his death with the authorities. But if she had not done this she would have had her account frozen and no means of getting any money.

Also he had a car and she has been unable to sell it as it was in his name, she has tried to sort this out without any success.
Wills also are made to sound easy and usually cost around 250 pound but, the paper they are written on are worth nothing, the same applies here, monies and assets are shared amoungst children and ex wives / husbands. So if you quote you want certain members of the family to share your assets and certain members are not included in your Will as you do not wish them to be included this will not happen.

Why you ask? Any member you do not wish to be included in your Will has to come to Turkey and write and sign a letter in front of a lawyer and get it stamped and witnessed. This of course is not going to be easy should you not have any contact with that person/s, but the lawyers do not tell you this when the Will is made, this is what you find out from a good Turkish friend, I have checked on this and it is true.

this is what i have found out here, what you want, you dont get, it goes to people who really have no rights to it, but there they have the rights to your investments, wrong as it is, there is nothing you can do other than put money back in the uk where it is protected by a will and sell the property at the right time. it will take a long time to change inheritency laws here.

Good topic and I didn't know that the laws relating to inheritency were different to the UK so tell me is there any way round this as Chris has suggested.

This to say the least is a minefield,and i agree with all thats been said,thats why my daughter in england owns the house we live in,its her business and her property no hastle,easy peasy

ok, heres a quote from bulgarian law................

A foreigner may choose by will an estate to be dealt with under the law of his/her nationality ( except for the forced heirship rules and reserved portion which cannot be affected by choice.).

starlite wrote:

ok, heres a quote from bulgarian law................

A foreigner may choose by will an estate to be dealt with under the law of his/her nationality ( except for the forced heirship rules and reserved portion which cannot be affected by choice.).

forced heirs are the children and spouse. the last third of the estate can be given to who you choose.

I'm confused about all this now can someone just put it all in a small paragraph, and is Chris going to let us know about the legal side of things from his wife?

its a difficult area, basically, if you have property and money here in bulgaria, the laws dictates where it will go. on death your bank account will be frozen and go to probate.
unlike the uk, a will, will ensure that your estate goes to who you wish it to go to. in bulgaria two thirds go to the forced heirs (spouse and children). the last third you can will to who you want to.
Im not married, so i am not the spouse, meaning i am not a forced heir and will only get a third of the estate.
we are putting our money back in the uk banks where it is protected by ours wills. its a real headache.

You can get the up to date information (and explanations of the differences between BG and UK) here:

[url:1k7xcsxm]http:
//www.
successions-europe.
eu[/url:1k7xcsxm]

As Starlite pointed out ... it can be quite a headache!

ChrisQBG wrote:

You can get the up to date information (and explanations of the differences between BG and UK) here:

[url:24pmm4qy]http:
//www.
successions-europe.
eu[/url:24pmm4qy]

As Starlite pointed out ... it can be quite a headache!

Hi Chris,

That is easy.
You can make your will on all these places:

1. Per your nationality - if you are English in England
2. Per your resident address - if you are English, but you live in Germany, you can make the will in Germany
3. Per the property - if you are English, and the property is in Bulgaria, you can make your will in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary.
This is valid, nevertheless you are English and your resident address is in England.

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:24pmm4qy]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:24pmm4qy]

can you please expand on this, particulary on the forced heirs for those that live in bulgaria. i have for 3 years exhausted every angle of bulgarian law and cannot resolve the issue of our bank accounts, that we will not be able to access. our wills do not over ride the forced heirs inheritence. not raising a challenge here, just desperate for clarity as i have been unable to resolve issues of my estate in bulgaria.

BulgariaLawyer wrote:

3. Per the property - if you are English, and the property is in Bulgaria, you can make your will in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary.
This is valid, nevertheless you are English and your resident address is in England.

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:1ozo1pzy]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:1ozo1pzy]

Does this mean that a will made in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary will be legally binding in the same way as it is in the UK?

Daisy wrote:

BulgariaLawyer wrote:

3. Per the property - if you are English, and the property is in Bulgaria, you can make your will in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary.
This is valid, nevertheless you are English and your resident address is in England.

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:2pi87bfd]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:2pi87bfd]

Does this mean that a will made in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary will be legally binding in the same way as it is in the UK?

That's right Daisy.

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:2pi87bfd]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:2pi87bfd]

Daisy wrote:

BulgariaLawyer wrote:

3. Per the property - if you are English, and the property is in Bulgaria, you can make your will in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary.
This is valid, nevertheless you are English and your resident address is in England.

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:2lzm07dn]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:2lzm07dn]

Does this mean that a will made in Bulgaria before a Bulgarian Notary will be legally binding in the same way as it is in the UK?

same question from me please

starlite wrote:

can you please expand on this, particulary on the forced heirs for those that live in bulgaria. i have for 3 years exhausted every angle of bulgarian law and cannot resolve the issue of our bank accounts, that we will not be able to access. our wills do not over ride the forced heirs inheritence. not raising a challenge here, just desperate for clarity as i have been unable to resolve issues of my estate in bulgaria.

Hi Starlite,

I am talking about a Will which is going to be made. If the bank account are not included in the Will, you can not include them later or other legal actions. In tthis case usually the inheriters issue a document from the UK which certify who are the inheritors. Or a UK solcitor can arrange this - they can issue such documents. Having this document, the inheriters go to the Bulgarian bank or they empower somebody to represent them for the bank accounts. That's it. The Bulgarian law is not applicable. The applicable is the International Law and the experience of the lawyer

Bulgaria Property Law
[url:fcn93934]http:
//www.
BulgariaPropertyLaw.
com[/url:fcn93934]