Taiwan has strong economic and social connection with Hong Kong SAR. It often happens that some Taiwan residents passed way leaving estate assets in Hong Kong. In such circustances, how do the heirs inherit the estate in Hong Kong?
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Application for a grant from the High Court of Hong Kong is the required for Inheriting Hong Kong Estate by Taiwan Resident
Hong Kong has a common law legal system under which the inheritance of any estate in Hong Kong must by way of the appointment of a estate representative. That means the appropriate persons, such as exectutor of a will, or the heir(s), shall apply to the Probate Registry of the High Court to be appointed as executor of the will or to be an administrator of the deceased’ estate in Hong Kong. After the appointment is make (we say a grant is issued by the court) the person appointed by the court shall have the authority to collect the deceased’s estate in Hong Kong and to mangage the estate. Similarly, for inheriting Hong Kong estate by Taiwan Resident, the executor or intended administrator shall apply for the High Court of Hong Kong for a grant.
Inheriting Hong Kong Estate by Taiwan Resident: Hiring a Hong Kong law firm is Required
Under Hong Kong law, no peson other that a solicitor shall be entiteld to represent client with the probate matter or give advice on this respect. Therefore, for Taiwan resident inheriting Hong Kong estate, the executor or intended administrator shall engage a Hong Kong solicitors firm for the application of a grant.
Also, if the deceased is a Taiwan resident, it will be essentially necessary for a Taiwan lawyer to issue a legal opinion under Taiwan law as one of the documents in support of the Hong Kong application. Therefore, the client will also need a Taiwan lawyer to assist in issuing the legal opinion.
Who are the beneficiaries of the Hong Kong Estate: the governing law
If the deceased is a Taiwan resident but left estate in Hong Kong, is it by Taiwan law or Hong Kong law to decide who are the beneficiaries of the Hong Kong estate and their respecive entitle share to the estate? On this point, it depends on whether the estate left in Hong Kong is real estate such as land, house, flat, or personal estate such as cash, security, etc.
Under Hong Kong conflict of law, for real estate left by deceased, Hong Kong law shall apply to decide who are the beneficiaries. On the other hand, for personal property left by the deceased in Hong Kong, the law of the deceased’s domicile place (if the deceased was Taiwan citizen then it is Taiwan law) shall apply to decide the who are the beneficiaries of the estate.
The Documents required for Application for grant in Hong Kong by Taiwan resident
Usually the main documents required include:-
- the death certificate of the deceased
- the document evidencing the relationship between the applicant and the deceased
- the docuements evidencing the identity of the deceased, the applicant and the beneficiaries
- the will or other testamentary documents (if any)
- a legal opinion issued by Taiwan lawyer explaining who are entiteld to estate under Taiwan law (if the estate in Hong Kong is personal property)
Notarization and Legalization of Taiwan Documents for use in Hong Kong
Please note the for documentes created in Taiwan, notarizationa and legalization procedure is required for use in Hong Kong. The procedure include:-
- documents shall first be notarized by Taiwan a Notary Public;
- the notarized documents furthe be legalized by the foreign department of the Taiwan government in Taiwan,
- the documents further need be legalized by the Hong Kong Affaires Office of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.
For any matters regarding inheritance of estate in Hong Kong by Taiwan resident, please do not hesitate to contact us for inquiry.