Inheritance Law in Hong Kong: How Estate be Distributed?
In case the deceased died without leaving estate in Hong Kong but without leaving a will, it is crucial to know who will be the heirs under the law of intestation, i.e. who will be entitled to be distributed with the all or part of the estate left by the deceased.
Inheritance laws applicable to decide on the distribution of estate
Hong Kong Inheritance law follows the old English rule that the laws of the deceased domicile place applies to the inheritance of movable property (i.e., personal property), and the law of the place where real estate locates applies to the inheritance of immovable property (i.e., real property). For example, if an English citizen with domicile at place England die intestate (without will) leaving both real property （eg. land, flat or house) and personal property (eg. deposit, and shares) in Hong Kong, Hong Kong laws will apply to the distribution of the real property, and English law will apply to the distribution of the personal property.
Entitlements to Estate in case of Intestation (without will)
How estate will be distributed in case of intestate under Hong Kong laws is provided by Article 4 of the Intestates Estates Ordinance, which provides the following rules.
Senerio 1: In case the deceased died leaving a spouse, but without leaving any issue, parent or sibling, the surviving spouse will be enttiled to all the residuary estate, meaning the assets after paying all debt or other liabilties.
Senerio 2: In case the deceased died leaving both spouse and issues, the surviving spouse and issue will be the heirs to the estate. This is so regardless of even if the the deceased leaves behind any parent or sibling. In such a case, the survivin spouse will be entitled to all the personal chattels left by the deceased and a sum of HKD 500,000 and then a half of the remaining estate, and the issue(s) shall be entitled to the other half of the remaining estate. If there are more than one issues, then the issues shall share the other half of the remaining estate in equal shares.
Senerio 3: In case the deceased died leaving issue(s) but no spouse, the survising issue(s) will be entitled to all the estate. This is so regardless of whether the deceased leave behind any surviving parent or sibling.
Senerio 4: In case the deceased died leaving no issue but leaving spouse and parent, the surviving spouse will be entitled to be distributed with all the personal chattels left by the deceased and a sum of HKD 1,000,000 and then a half of the remaining estate, and the parent(s) shall be entitled to the other half of the remaining estate. If there are more than one parent, then all the parents shall share the other half of the remaining estate in equal shares.
Senerio 5: In case the deceased died leaving no spouse and no issue, but leaving parent(s), the parent(s) shall be entitled to all the estate. This is so regardless of whether the deceased leave behind any surviving sibling.
Senerio 6: In case the deceased died leaving no spouse, no issue, no parent, but leaving surviving siblings, then the surviving siblings shall be entitlted to all the estate.
For any issue regarding inheritance and probate matter in Hong Kong, you are welcome to contact our Hong Kong Inheritance and Probate Lawyer for a consultation.
To know more about the procedure of inheriting estate in Hong Kong, please read another article of ours: How to Inherit Estate in Hong Kong.