It is not a rare phenomenon: your elderly parents in China is being taken care of by a remote relative while you are overseas; after your parent dies and you think of carrying out inheritance of the estate properties (real estates, bank deposits), to your big shock, that relative (whether cousin or someone else) produces a will out of the blue which says that your…
Very often we get inquiries from foreigners pertaining to purchase of China properties in the name of their Chinese girlfriend or wife for the reason that they are not qualified to purchase properties in China (China has placed restrictions on foreigners buying properties in China ever since 2006). But they are concerned about losing the property once their…
With more and more foreigners working and living in China, we have received quite a number of inquiries from foreigners in China who wish to divorce in China with their spouses who are also foreigners.
But what is the take of Chinese courts regarding jurisdiction over such cases? In other words, if such a case is submited to China courts for resolution, will China…
We are approached by a potential client inquring about an interesting situation: he and his mom are both living in Hong Kong, but his mom was actually incapacitated for some time and virtualy bedridden; now his mom has a property in down town Shanghai, French Concession Area, worth millions of dollars; he wants to sell the property to suppport the family and his…
I have to say congratulations to our own team! We have just closed a great deal for our client in selling their house in downtown Shanghai, the French Concession Area （法租界）.
The three-story house is the client’s ancetral property that has been built for almost 100 years, a western styled building in the best location of Shanghai. What’s more, this…
We have been helping and advising a good number of clients over the years who are the executors in wills made outside of China by testators, in regard of the administration and distribution of estates (real estates, corporate shares and bank deposits) located in the mainland of China.
Unfortunately in most cases, foreign executors would find themselves ending…
Just approached by a client from Southeast Asia who inquired about inheriting his Dad’s estate in China, a real property in Shanghai.
He contacted me because he felt suspicious of something that must have gone wrong about his current lawyer working on the inheritance matter. It has been almost a year and the client has spent most of their budget for the …
Part of the estate planning services always concerns the caring of the elderly people. After all, we are all getting old each day and we all probably lose capacity to act on our own some day in the future.
Guardianship is the legal system designed for people of no or limited capacity due to young age or loss of mental capability, so that their interests are being taken…
China has enacted its long-awaited Foreign Investment Law this March but will only come into effect as of January 1, 2020. So far this law is warmly welcomed and hailed at large by the international communities.
Well, there are a lot of comments on the Law and its impact and implications on existing and future foreign investment in China. But hardly is there any…
Pretty often I am approached by clients or by foreign peer attorneys inquiring about how they should deal with their China properties when they divorce in a foreign jurisdiction.
Some of them are too late when they call me. Kate (not the inquirer’s true name) is one of them.
She has been living with her husband in California for many years and now is the process…
Over the last 10 years, I and my team have been offering legal services related to inheritance and estate planning for clients from many other countries outside of China. We have written a number of posts on this blog in that regard.
As per request from an American lawyer, Ms. Jiah Kim, who specializes in cross-border estate planning catering to her American clients,…
In China, today is the first day of China lunar new year of pig.
The whole country is in a happy mood. A 7-day holiday has started from yesterday. A lot of celebration activities are going on in all parts of the country, from Beijing China Central Television to local TV stations, from big cities to small towns.
China Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is a time for family…
International or cross-border marriages in China and with Chinese have been on steady rise in the past, and thus international or cross-border divorces have seen increase as well in China. We have been repeatedly approached by clients who wish to divorce in China with his or her spouse that is also a foreigner.
With regard to divorce (without regard to child …
In most cases in the past years, we help foreign clients in dealing with inheritance or succession of real properties, mainly residential properties like apartments or houses in cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and even Suzhou.
Ocassionally, we received clients’ inquiries about inheriting chattels or personal properties (properties…
With so many Chinese emigrating to foreign countries while having substantial assets within China or so many foreigners holding China assets, it is no wonder that we have seen the increase of inquiries regarding estate plan for their China assets, mainly real properties, corporate shares or bank deposits.
I. Why Do You Need a Separate Will for Your China…
We have already written a few articles regarding inheritance by foreigners of corporate shares (a stock company limited by share) or equity interests (a general limited liability company) in a China company, where typically the deceased is a Chinese citizen being a shareholder in a China domestic company and the heirs (often spouse and children) have already…
This post is rather an effort of myself in learning property laws in common law countries.
As a lawyer, one of my main law practices is to help China’s high net worth individuals to work out their estate plan under which very often clients wishes to allocate their assets or properties in both China and offshore countries. It is critical for me to understand…
China has enacted its recently revised individual income tax law, a big overhaul of the law over more than 30 years from its inception.
Some of the changes will be set to have an impact on you, either foreigners or oversea Chinese.
1. New Definition of Tax Residents
In the prior version of the IIT law, a tax resident is one who has domicile within China or otherwise…
I have observed one interesting thing in my legal practice in family law area. While Chinese people within China are not much interested in making their estate plan, those overseas Chinese are however more keen to prepare for their late years of life and post-demise affairs.
With so many Chinese migrating to foreign countries across the globe, many of them don 
In the past a couple of days, four cities in China, Shanghai, Xi’an, Changsha and Hangzhou, has announced that they will restrict corporate entities in purchasing local properties, a new round of efforts in reining in local property market.
For a decade, China (mainly the central government) has been wrestling with property markets. On one hand, the…