How To Deal With A Minor’s Inheritance Of Foreign Property

In England and Wales, it is not possible for a minor, being anyone under the age of 18, to legally own a property. This means that when a minor inherits property from a deceased’s estate, it is held on trust for them by either the executors of the estate or appointed trustees, which would most likely be confirmed by an entry on the property register.

The trustees will be responsible for maintaining the property on behalf of the minor and powers may be granted to allow that trustee to dispose of the property. This is not the same approach adopted by many foreign countries.

What do other jurisdictions allow?

Some other jurisdictions allow minors to own property and deal with it at their discretion. If a minor in these jurisdictions were to inherit a property, this means they would become the legal owner and become responsible for the property, including all its liabilities. In most jurisdictions where this is the case, the minor will likely be afforded protection through their parent, who will often be required to manage the property on behalf of the minor. A difficulty does however arise when there are two conflicting jurisdictions at play, as in the case of Re B (a child).

This case involved a UK minor who inherited a share of a property in France, and it was agreed that the property would be sold. The law in France allowed the minor’s parents to accept the inheritance of the property, but with the minor not being a resident in France the French Court felt they had no jurisdiction. This was on the basis the jurisdiction of parental responsibility fell to the jurisdiction of the minor’s residence, the UK Courts in this instance. This led to an English Court having to determine the minor’s inheritance of the property and who should have authority to sell the property on the basis the minor was able to own the property but not legally able to enter into a contract for its sale.

Given that the minor was able to legally own the property in France, there was no need for the Court to consider the role of the executor/trustees, as there were none acting. The Court instead considered parental responsibility. It was held that as parental responsibility allowed a parent to receive and recover a child’s property, it allowed the minor’s parent to accept the minor’s inheritance of the property. Further to that, in this case, the minor was unable to make any use of that property, and accordingly the sale was allowed on the basis this was a parent recovering the property on behalf of a child.

Comment

This case confirms that a parent is able to deal with a property situated in another jurisdiction. The Court in deciding the case did however advise before any property is sold on behalf of the minor it should be brought before the Court for approval.