Expats making a will in HK

S

Shenzhennifer

Registered User
Since we now have a child, I have decided that we need to make a will just in case anything happens to us, particularly if our son is left alone.
Does anyone have any experience with making a will in HK?
My husband and I are from 2 separate countries, with 2 languages, and have essentially been gypsies for the past few years, and we have no idea how long we`ll be in HK or where we will live after here. All of this makes it very complicated, and worse, EXPENSIVE. I have consulted a will firm here and their fees are more than I thought, especially since our case is not cut and dry.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I would love any advice, thanks~
 
Hi Jennifer

Is there any option to do a "DIY" will in your home country? In my home country you can buy a kit and make your own will. Unless you own an apartment in Hong Kong, I don't think there is any need to have a will prepared in Hong Kong. We prepared ours a few years ago before we moved to Hong Kong and I checked with the lawyer at home and they said no need to do a new one just because we had moved to Hong Kong. Might be worth looking into that as an option?

SB2
 
Hi starbucks2-
I was thinking about that actually. But that seems to be a more viable option for those with a simpler situation. Ours is not since we are an international couple living in a third country. I do hesitate to have it done in HK though, since I`m sure we will have to have it changed again once we leave, whenever that will be. Also, we have to name guardians(or possible ones to be duked out at the time), as well as temporary ones since the guardians live in our home countries. Plus Canada`s and Japan`s laws (eg inheritance tax) are different so I would really want a lawyer who specialises in international law who can just tell us how to do everything. If you goof it up, the results can be detrimental, and that is not a risk I want to take for my son. It`s such a complicated subject, X 2.
Sometimes I miss my uncomplicated life of those moons ago...:)
 
We had a Will drawn up by a solicitor in our home country (Australia) when we came back for a visit, we were living in the UK at the time. Our solicitor said we did not need to get another will in the UK, and we didn't bother when we moved to Hong Kong.

Oh just read your last post...sounds complicated!! Best of luck!!
 
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Jennifer

It does sound complicated. If you have real estate in Japan and Canada then I guess those laws are relevant too. We only have personal effects here so that is why we never considered Hong Kong laws as relevant. The only property we own is in our home country.

We never named guardians for our son in our wills (which were written before he arrived) and expect that our families (who are admittedly both in the same town in the same country) would take him if anything happened to both of us. If there was any dispute on that, not that I'd expect that, then I suppose the two families would have to go to court to fight for custody. Our wills were drafted before kids but contemplated kids so no changes required there either.

You may be hard pressed to find someone in Hong Kong who is familiar with death duties etc in Japan and Canada but it sounds like with your complicated situation, it may be money well spent seeing a professional.

Good luck

SB2
 
We have 2 kids now and also would like to make wills here in Hong Kong.

We did find a company in Hong Kong that specializes in making wills. We've been in contact with them, but have not yet found the time to meet and begin the process, so I cannot comment on how good they are.

Not sure if I can post the name and website here, so please PM me if you'd like that info and I'll send it along. The website is very informative.
 
I hear you on the cost, we are about to do a will here and I was surprised at the price.

For us it is really only to name temporary guardians (our helpers) so the kids are not taken into care should something happen to us both.

For now we have a signed letter kept in our home explicitly stating we wish our children to stay in our home with our helpers until our family members get here from NZ and that under no circumstances are they to be taken into care.

Although this probably wouldn't hold much water, we thought it was at least something until we get the will sorted.
 
Generally speaking you should have a Will for each country where you hold assets. This will make life easier for your Executors and will liquidate the assets quicker. You should also have a HK Will to deal with guardianship of your children (if you are living here).
 
Lots of different issues related to making a will in HK. Is it mainly to appoint a guardian for your child? if so, this is really important. If not, and depending on your family relationships, there could be nasty family disputes over custody of your son. Worse case scenario is abduction of the child by one side of the family against the other, which is distressing esp if already trying to cope with bereavement.

I heard that HK has not only HK law governing wills but also allow setting up will provisions for assets owned in other countries. However I don't really know how it works in practice.

There are some arrangements you can make to deal with assets that fall outside the will, eg pension funds and insurance policies where the beneficiaries are already named. Having joint ownership of real estate and motor vehicles will also help sometimes.

However this still leaves bank accounts and singly-owned real estate, motor vehicles and personal property that still needs to be addressed in a will

Aside from a country-by-country approach suggested earlier, it is possible to offshore ownership to a trust company that is set up. A good idea to put everything under one roof and for tax efficiency reasons, however this requires proper financial and tax advice.

All said, it depends on the complexity of your asset ownership and in inheritance plans. May be necessary in the end to pay a certain amount for prof advice to suit your circumstances.
 
It can be very simple (all my assets given to xxx absolutely upon my death) or very complicated depending on how you wish to settle your assets.

The salient points however are:

- Your proper names and all aliases and identification numbers like HKID or Passport numbers.
- Your address
- Full name(s) of executor (who can be a beneficiary) and ID numbers
- Full name(s) of beneficiaries (who can be the executor but not the witness) and ID numbers
- Any burial instructions
- Instructions on the division of your assets and any specific direction/discretion given to the executor…..

The will we are drawing up will include:

1. How assets will be handled in the event (i) one spouse were to pass away, (ii) both spouses were to pass away, (iii) the entire family were to pass away.

2. Who will act as guardian to our children in the event both the parents were to pass away.

3. Who will act as trustee for our assets (for the children) - need 2 executors for children below 18 year old.

4. How/When assets will be transferred to the children.

5. How assets are to be managed under the trust.

etc etc.

The will can include all assets/cash (i.e. cash, investments, insurance payout). But if you have substantial assets outside HK, it is advised to also have a similar will drawn in the respective countries.
 
we had a will drawn up in the US for our son which names guardians in Asia should something happen to us here. We wanted it from our home country because we will eventually settled back in New York and logistically it's easier.
 
The reason why you need a Will in each country is so that you can obtain Probate. This is simply a piece of paper which allows your Executors to cash in on assets. Eg; a bank will require it + if you are selling property etc etc. Without probate, everything will take a little bit longer and is a little more complicated.

It is also about communication - tell your Executors that they are Executors. Plus tell your Guardians etc and discuss how you would like the money to be spent for your kids - eg; private schools? uni? cars? and at what age they can have access to the cash.

I think that a Will is required in HK to deal with guardians so that your Guardian has the right to take the child out of the country.
 
Agree with sazzy that it will be harder without a will in HK but not impossible - I have received legal advice to confirm this in the past. Our wills would go to court and obtain probate in our home country and then be brought to HK for enforcement in HK. May need to get the HK courts involved but between my home country and HK, it would likely be a rubber stamp exercise. As long as the will is endorsed in HK then I have been told there is no need to have a HK will to solely deal with taking the child out of HK. This may not be the case with some other countries where relations are not as good between that country and HK. Best to take advice on your own situation as each persons situation will vary.
 
It's also good practice, to keep record of our assets in a excel spreadsheet, and update that on a regular basis.

When my child is older, I'll also tell her that if something happens to us (touch wood), this is who you go to (name, telephone etc), and this is the sheet where you can find all our assets.

Morbid subject, but necessary :) Also looking into insurance etc.
 
It's also good practice, to keep record of our assets in an excel spreadsheet, and update that on a regular basis.

When my child is older, I'll also tell her that if something happens to us (touch wood), this is who you go to (name, telephone etc), and this is the sheet where you can find all our assets.

Morbid subject, but necessary :) Also looking into insurance etc.
 
My head is spinning from all this information. Thanks all, I will try to think about what is the best thing to do for our situation. I should probably talk to a lawyer here, one with a free consultation too!
 
Jennifer, please also let me know where you can find a lawyer with free consultation, we will go to him/her too.
 
Helpers as legal guardians

Leah, I read recently that you need to be careful making your helper a temporary guardian, because if anything happens to you as their employer, then their work contract ceases, and they may not be able to stay in HK to be Guardians. May be worth checking this out.
 
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