Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it her policy to seek an agreement with the US Government on measures to minimise delays in UK probate cases where the deceased held assets in the US.

Applications for probate for the estate of an individual who died domiciled in England and Wales will normally be dealt with by reference to domestic laws.

Where an estate involves foreign assets, the onus is on personal representatives to assess which laws would apply in an individual case, and whether probate would be required in other jurisdictions to administer a cross-border estate.

Where it is necessary, private international law rules may need to be exercised to determine which law of succession should apply to the assets applies. These rules are well established and there are no plans to seek an international agreement with individual states.