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Claims

Cross-border claim checklist

The questions to answer before claiming an asset held in a different country from where you live.

A cross-border claim fails on preparation far more often than on entitlement. This lists the questions to answer FIRST, whichever country is involved. It deliberately describes no country's process: those differ, they change, and getting one wrong here would send you down a route that does not exist.

Answers stay in this browser — nothing is sent to LifeWynQuestions reviewed 2026-08-27

Progress

0 of 9 answered

Section 1 of 3 · 35% of the score

What and where

Do you know which institution holds the asset, and in which country?

The country of the institution, which is not always the country of the account holder.

Do you know what type of asset it is?

A bank deposit, a pension, a policy and a security are claimed by different routes.

Do you know whether the asset has been transferred to a state or central scheme?

Many countries move dormant assets after a period. Ask the institution first.

Section 2 of 3 · 35% of the score

Who you are to them

Do you know on what basis you would be claiming?

Named beneficiary, nominee, heir and executor are different standings.

Do you know whether anyone else has a competing standing?

Better to find out before filing than during.

Have you confirmed the current requirements with the institution itself?

Ask them directly. Requirements change and are rarely well documented elsewhere.

Section 3 of 3 · 30% of the score

Evidence

Do you have proof of the death or the event that triggers the claim?

Often needed in a specific form, sometimes attested or translated.

Do you have proof of your own identity and of your relationship?

Both, usually. One rarely suffices.

Have you asked whether documents need certification, translation or legalisation?

The step that most often sends a claim back to the start.

Nothing answered yet. Your score appears once every question has an answer — a part-finished score would measure the questions you skipped.

How this score is worked out

Three sections in the order the questions have to be answered: what and where, who you are to that institution, and what evidence will be asked for. No jurisdiction-specific steps appear anywhere in this tool, by design.

Every question is yes/no and carries a weight of 1 to 3. A section scores the weight you answered “yes” to as a percentage of its total weight. The overall score combines the section percentages by the section weights shown on each heading, which always total 100, then rounds. Anything you have not answered counts as “no”, so a half-finished assessment always scores lower than the same situation fully answered — the score is never flattered by stopping early.

The score reflects only the answers you gave. It cannot see your documents, your accounts or the rules where you live, so treat it as a prompt for what to check next, not a verdict.

This is a self-assessment, not advice. It scores the answers you gave against a checklist we wrote — it does not see your documents, your accounts or your jurisdiction, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. What is required varies by country. Treat the score as a prompt for what to look at next, and speak to a qualified professional about your own situation.

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