A will written at home may not do what you think out here

Most people I meet give one of three answers when I ask about their will. They have not written one. They wrote one in the UK years ago and have not looked at it since. Or they assume their husband or wife simply inherits everything, which is the most common answer and the least reliable.

Here is the part that catches people out. Your will does not follow you around the world. Assets are generally dealt with under the rules of the place they sit. So a will written at home can deal neatly with a house there and do very little about a bank account, a car or a property here. If you own things in three countries you may need more than one document, written so they do not contradict each other.

In the UAE, if you die without a will the local courts recognise, local succession rules can apply to your UAE assets, and what happens then may not match what you intended. Accounts can be frozen while it is worked through. For a family that has just lost somebody, that is the worst imaginable time to find out.

There are routes through it. A DIFC will can cover UAE assets and, more importantly for most parents, can appoint guardians for children living here. Abu Dhabi has its own registry. Which route fits depends on where you live, what you own and where you own it, and it is worth getting right rather than getting done quickly.

Three things worth checking this month

Name the beneficiaries on every policy and every plan. This is faster than writing a will and it is routinely missed. A death in service benefit or a pension with nobody nominated can end up somewhere you would not have chosen.

Write down what you own and where it sits. Not the values, just the list. Most people have never seen theirs on one page, and you cannot plan around what you cannot see.

Decide who would raise your children if neither parent were here. If nobody is formally appointed in the country where they live, a court decides instead of you.

None of this is expensive and none of it takes long. It is simply the job that never reaches the top of the list, because the reward for doing it is invisible and the cost of skipping it lands on somebody else.