Introduction

For individuals who are not domiciled in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), but who personally own assets situated in the BVI, they may have a separate Will governed by BVI law to dispose of such assets and to facilitate the later probate process. Under BVI law, the applicable law for both the formal validity and essential or material validity of a Will of a foreign domiciled person depends on the nature of the assets. For immovable property situated in the BVI, the applicable law is the lex situs, meaning that of the BVI. For movable property, such as cash in bank, shares in BVI companies or interest in a BVI partnership, the applicable law is the law of the deceased’s last domicile. The situs of BVI company shares is determined by section 245 of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004, which provides that:

‘For the purpose of determining matters relating to title and jurisdiction but not for