Macau SAR is very near to Hong Kong and traditionally has very close economic and social connection with Hong Kong SAR. When Macau residents passes away leaving estate in Hong Kong, how do the heirs inherit the estate in Hong Kong?
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Obtaining a grant from the High Court is the required for Inheriting Hong Kong Estate by Macau Resident
Under the basic law of Hong Kong, Hong Kong has a common law legal system under which the inheritance of estate 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 or administrator of the deceased’ estate in Hong Kong. By being appointed by the court to be the personal representative of the estate, the personal representative, i.e. the executor or aministrator, shall have the authority to collect the deceased’s estate in Hong Kong and to mangage the estate. Therefore, for inheriting Hong Kong estate by Macau Resident, the executor or intended administrator shall apply for the High Court of Hong Kong for a grant.
Engaging a Hong Kong law firm is Required for the Application of a Grant
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 Macau resident inheriting Hong Kong estate, the applicant, i.e. the executor or intended administrator, shall engage a Hong Kong solicitors firm for the application of a grant.
Further, if the deceased is a Macau resident, it will be essentially necessary for a Macau lawyer to issue a legal opinion under Macau law to state that under the Macau law (the law where the deceased died domiciled) who is entiteld to apply for a grant. This legal opinion will be one of the documents in support of the Hong Kong application. Therefore, the client will also need to engage a Macau lawyer to issue the legal opinion.
Who are the beneficiaries of the Hong Kong Estate: the governing law
If the deceased is a Macau resident but left estate in Hong Kong, is it Macau law or Hong Kong law applied to decide who are the beneficiaries of the Hong Kong estate and their respecive entitle share? 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 Macau citizen then it is Macau law) shall apply to decide the who are the beneficiaries of the estate.
Documents required for Application for grant in Hong Kong by Macau 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 Macau lawyer explaining who are entiteld to estate under Macau 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 Macau, notarizationa and legalization procedure is required for use in Hong Kong. The procedure include:-
- documents shall first be notarized in Macau by a Macau Notary Public;
- the notarized documents further be legalized by an Hugue Appostille （both Macau and Hong Kong are signatory territory of the Hugue Convention on Appostille)
For any matters regarding inheritance of estate in Hong Kong by Macau resident, please do not hesitate to contact our Hong Kong Inhertiance and Probate lawyer for inquiry.