The Dual-Will Strategy for Canadian Foreign Property Owners

Key Takeaways

• Your Canadian will does not automatically govern the disposition of your foreign real property. Most countries apply the principle of lex situs — property is inherited according to the law of the country where it is located. A Mexican property passes through Mexican succession law. A French property passes through French succession law. A Portuguese property passes through Portuguese succession law. Without a local will in the foreign country, your property enters that country's intestate succession process — which may not distribute property as you intended, and will certainly take longer and cost more than a locally valid will.
• A Mexican will prepared by a notario public costs USD $500–$1,500 (approximately CAD $700–$2,100 at 2026 rates). It is executed at the notario's office with two witnesses, entered into the Mexican national will registry, and is immediately valid for use in Mexican succession proceedings. This is one of the lowest-cost, highest-impact estate planning investments available to Canadian property owners in Mexico. There is no reasonable justification for owning Mexican property without a Mexican will.
• The fideicomiso beneficiary designation for coastal Mexican property is separate from and more powerful than a will for that specific property. A fideicomiso (bank trust) allows you to name substitute beneficiaries who inherit the property directly upon your death without going through Mexican probate. If you have a coastal Mexican property in a fideicomiso and have named substitute beneficiaries, those beneficiaries receive the property efficiently and without a probate proceeding. A Mexican will covers Mexican property that is NOT in a fideicomiso — inland property (Mérida, San Miguel, Lake Chapala) and any other Mexican assets not held in trust.
• Forced heirship countries require careful will drafting: France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy all have mandatory inheritance shares for children and/or spouses that override testamentary freedom. In France, if you have children, they automatically inherit 50–75% of your French estate regardless of your will. If you intended to leave your French property entirely to a partner rather than your children, forced heirship will frustrate that intention. The Brussels IV Regulation (EU Succession Regulation) provides a solution for EU residents: you can elect to have your inheritance governed by the law of your nationality (Canadian law) rather than the law of your EU habitual residence — but this election must be made explicitly in your will.
• The dual-will strategy requires both wills to be drafted with knowledge of each other. The most common estate planning error is using a standard Canadian will with a broad revocation clause ('I hereby revoke all former wills') and then having a foreign will drafted without the Canadian lawyer knowing — or vice versa. If both wills contain a full revocation clause, the later-executed will may revoke the earlier one. Each will should be carefully scoped to cover only the assets it is intended to govern, with explicit language confirming that it does not revoke the other will.
• Probate delay is the real cost of not having a local will. Mexican intestate succession (without a will) requires: identification of all heirs, notification of each heir, appointment of an executor by the court, publication of the death notice, an inventory of assets, and court approval of distribution — all in Spanish, all through Mexican courts. For a straightforward case with a cooperative family, this takes 12–18 months. With any dispute, family conflict, or missing documentation, 2–3 years is common. During this period, the property cannot be sold, transferred, or mortgaged by the heirs. The costs of the process (Mexican attorney, court fees, translation) typically run USD $3,000–$8,000 even for a simple estate. A Mexican will eliminates most of this.
• Canadian property owners in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Belize, and Ecuador should each have a local will in those countries for their foreign property, following the same logic. The cost and complexity varies: a Dominican will is straightforward and inexpensive. A Costa Rican will is slightly more complex. A Panamanian will is accessible and inexpensive. The principle is universal: local property passes most efficiently through local succession law, which requires a local will prepared by a local attorney who understands local succession rules.