Affidavit of Foreign Law (legal opinion) in Support of Probate Application in Hong Kong
When foreign residents (or Mainland resident) inherit Hong Kong movable property, they need provide a legal affidavit from a foreign lawyer
I wrote in another article “Hong Kong inheritance lawyer: How to handle cross-border inheritance between Hong Kong and the Mainland” The article mentioned that in inheritance cases, for the determination of heirs and inheritance shares, the law of the place where the deceased was domicile (roughly equivalent to the place of residence or habitual residence in mainland law) at the time of death applies to movable property, while to immovable property The laws of the location where the real estate is located shall apply. Therefore, if the deceased was a resident of Mainland China and left movable estate in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong High Court will usually need to know who is entitled to inherit the estate under the laws of the deceased’s place of domicile (Mainland China) when handling the estate application. person, the inheritance share of each heir, etc. Hong Kong High CourtApplicants are usually required to submit a legal affidavit issued by a mainland Chinese lawyer explaining this.
Requirements on the Content and Form of Legal Affidavits (Legal Opinions) from Foreign Lawyers
The lawyer issuing the legal affidavit shall have experience of not less than five years Lawyer practice experience. The legal affidavit must comply with the requirements of Hong Kong law in form, and must be signed and sworn in front of an oaths administrator in Hong Kong. In terms of content, the legal affidavit issued by a Chinese lawyer should clearly state the legal facts and assumptions on which the legal opinion is based, list all relevant legal provisions, apply the law to the facts, and draw conclusions. The content of the legal affidavit should at least include: who is the person who has the right to inherit the estate, who has the right to manage the estate, whether legal procedures for inheritance are required under local law, whether the interests of minors are involved, whether life rights are involved, etc.
Legal knowledge and experience in issuing Affidavit of Foreign Law in Hong Kong Probate Procedure
The issuance of a legal affidavit for Hong Kong inheritance proceedings requires not only that the Chinese lawyer who issues the affidavit have knowledge and experience in Chinese law, but also that the lawyer who issues the Chinese legal affidavit must have experience in issuing a Hong Kong inheritance legal affidavit. It is not enough to just understand the laws of mainland China, because he needs to know which issues to issue legal opinions on, what content they contain, and in what form to issue legal affidavits, etc.
For clients who need to issue legal affidavits from Mainland China lawyers in Hong Kong inheritance legal proceedings, it is best to seek assistance from a law firm with extensive experience in handling Mainland-Hong Kong cross-border inheritance inheritance. Our firm is a local Hong Kong law firm that specializes in handling Mainland-Hong Kong cross-border inheritance matters. We also have an associated mainland China law firm (Guangdong Hong Kong Law Firm) in Shenzhen to handle mainland China legal affairs. When handling Mainland-Hong Kong cross-border inheritance matters, our firm can provide clients with Hong Kong legal services and Mainland China legal affairs (including the issuance of Mainland China legal opinions). If a client entrusts our firm to handle inheritance matters in Hong Kong, there is no need to separately entrust a mainland Chinese lawyer to issue a legal opinion.
For information on the procedures for mainland residents to inherit Hong Kong inheritance, please refer to our other article “How to handle inheritance by mainland residents from Hong Kong》。
Regarding the issuance of legal affidavits (legal opinions) from Chinese lawyers in Hong Kong inheritance legal proceedings, please consult our firmCross-border inheritance teamlawyer.
Regarding the issue of issuing legal opinions on Hong Kong’s inheritance laws as a Hong Kong lawyer in inheritance legal proceedings in Mainland China (including Mainland China’s inheritance proceedings and notarial inheritance proceedings), please see another article of our firm “How to provide legal advice for China” Legal opinions issued by Hong Kong lawyers for inheritance legal proceedings in the Mainland.
