Portugal · UK assets · For families and Portuguese advisers · Information, not legal advice — as at 5 November 2026
UK assets of someone who lived in Portugal: what the family needs
A Portuguese habilitação de herdeiros proves the heirs in Portugal; it does not release a UK bank account or transfer UK shares or property. For assets in England and Wales the family usually needs an English grant of representation (smaller balances are sometimes released by the bank on its own rules). Because the person lived in Portugal, the probate registry applies its rules for a death abroad: the grant can go to the person entitled to administer under Portuguese law, and Portuguese law is proven to the registry by a short written statement from a lawyer qualified in it. We prepare that statement in English, and coordinate with a UK solicitor or the family for the application. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own procedures, and UK inheritance tax is a question for a UK adviser.
Most of our work runs one way: a British or Irish family, a Portuguese house. But the opposite happens every week: a person who made Portugal their home dies, and among their assets are an account, shares, a pension or a flat in the UK. The Portuguese side runs as usual. The UK side does not open by itself.
Why the Portuguese documents are not enough in the UK
In Portugal the heirs are proven by the habilitação de herdeiros. A UK bank, registrar or land registry does not act on it: for assets in England and Wales it normally asks for an English grant of representation (probate, or letters of administration). Some banks release small balances without a grant, on their own limits; above them, the grant is the key.
Who can apply when the person lived in Portugal
Because the person died living abroad, the probate registry applies its rules for a foreign domicile (Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, rule 30). In short, the grant can go to the person entitled to administer the estate under the law of the country where they lived, here Portugal; where there is an English-language will naming an executor, that executor can usually apply in the ordinary way. Either way, the registry needs to know what Portuguese law says: who the heirs are, who may act for the estate, and what the Portuguese documents mean.
How Portuguese law is proven to the registry
By a short written statement of Portuguese law from a lawyer qualified in it (rule 19; since 2020 a witness statement is enough, without a sworn affidavit). We prepare it in English, addressed to the registry's questions, as the lawyer registered with the Portuguese bar who is also an English and Irish-qualified solicitor: one author, both sides understood. It is our certificate of foreign law, at a fixed fee (free where we handle the Portuguese estate).
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland
Scotland uses its own procedure (confirmation), and Northern Ireland its own probate office; Ireland too has its own. Each asks the same underlying question, what Portuguese law says, and we answer it for each.
And tax
The Portuguese stamp-duty return is ours. UK assets can fall within UK inheritance tax whatever the person's residence, and that is a question for a UK adviser: we say so early, so the UK side is not left until last.
If you are the family, or a Portuguese professional advising them, send us a short summary: what is in the UK, where the person lived, and whether there is a will. We will tell you exactly what the UK side needs, and what our part costs.