Inheritance litigation in Hong Kong: types of disputes and litigation methods
As Hong Kong lawyers who handle various types of inheritance litigation, we encounter various Hong Kong inheritance litigations in our practice and have different handling methods for different inheritance litigation cases. Here is a summary of common types of estate litigation.
Litigation on Competing for Administrator of Estate
In some cases, after the death of the deceased, his different relatives want to become the estate administrator, but the court can only award the estate letters to one of them (or some people as joint estate administrators), resulting in litigation. Because the estate administrator has the power to manage and handle the estate of the deceased, who serves as the estate administrator is very important. Such disputes and litigation often fall into several categories:
- Disputes arising from status relationships, such as disapproval of the other party’s status as spouse, child, or adopted child, thereby initiating disputes and litigation over the other party’s status and priority as an estate administrator based on such status. For this type of dispute, the court should determine whether the identity relationship in the relevant dispute is legally established based on the facts and law.
- Based on a dispute arising from the authenticity or validity of a will. Because an executor is named in the will, if the will is invalid, the corresponding executor appointment will be invalid.
- Disputes and litigation arising from dissatisfaction with the estate applicant with priority and applying to the court to bypass the estate applicant with priority based on the “principle of necessity and convenience”. In such disputes, one party applies to the court to bypass theIntestate successionThe priority holder may bypass the executor designated by the will and appoint an independent third-party professional (such as a lawyer, accountant or trust company) to be the estate administrator, or apply for a person with lower priority to be the estate administrator. For details, see the article “How to get around an estate with priority? -A brief analysis of the “principle of necessity and convenience”》
- There is also a dispute where people with the same priority (for example, they are all children of the deceased) compete to be the administrator of the estate. For details, please see the article “Hong Kong Estate Administration: What should I do if multiple people apply for estate administration independently?》
Litigation of Authenticity and Validity of a Will
In litigation related to wills, one party usually holds the will and carries out inheritance and estate administration in accordance with the provisions of the will, while the other party claims that the will is invalid. The most common grounds for claiming that a will is invalid usually include:
- The form in which the will was signed does not comply with legal requirements, or
- the will is forged, or
- The testator is mentally incapable of executing a will, or
- The testator suffered undue influence from others when executing the will, or
- The testator did not intend that the document would become effective immediately upon signature (i.e. the document was merely a draft will)
- The document is not the deceased’s last valid will, etc.
Proving the authenticity of a will, or whether the testator is mentally competent to execute a will, will usually involve an expert report from a handwriting expert or a psychiatrist. For more information on the impact of the testator’s mental state on the validity of a will, see our other article “Making a Will in Hong Kong: How to ensure the testamentary capacity of the testator?》
Scope of estate: Does the Assets are part of the estate of the deceased?
In other lawsuits, the issue is what property belongs to the deceased’s estate and is subject to inheritance. Not all property in the deceased’s name belongs to the estate. For example, some property, although registered in the name of the deceased, may have been purchased by other relatives and registered in the name of the deceased, and the deceased may not own or only own part of the interest. At the same time, some property may belong to the deceased even if it is not in his name, or the deceased may have a debt.
Disputes as to the extent of such an estate, or proceedings as to whether certain property was the estate of the deceased, or proceedings to recover a claim or interest in which the deceased was entitled, should be distinguished from proceedings concerning who has the authority to act as administrator of the estate, This is a different cause of action. Such lawsuits should be brought by or against the estate administrator (or executor), and the estate administrator (or executor) sues or responds on behalf of the estate.
If an estate administrator (or executor) has not yet been appointed, how to proceed with litigation against the estate of the deceased? For example, a third party claims that the property in the name of the deceased was purchased with capital, but it is still in the name of the deceased, and no one has applied for and been appointed by the court as the estate administrator (or executor). How can the third party protect its own rights and interests? Woolen cloth? Under Hong Kong law, the relevant litigant (third party) can name the estate of the deceased as a nominal defendant in the litigation and apply to the court for an order for a person associated with the estate (such as the beneficiary of the estate) to represent the estate. proceed with proceedings and, if there is no such person connected with the estate, apply for a court order by the GovernmentLegal representative lawyerto represent the estate in litigation.
Litigation on Removal of Personal Representative of Estate
If the estate administrator (or executor) infringes upon the estate during the management of the estate, thereby harming the rights and interests of the estate beneficiaries, the estate beneficiaries can file a lawsuit in court and request the court to order deprivation of the estate administrator’s administrative rights. and re-appoint an estate administrator to administer the estate, and may claim damages from the estate administrator based on infringement.
Seeking direction from the court on matters relating to the administration of an estate
In the process of managing the estate, if the estate administrator (or executor) has questions about how to handle the estate, or the beneficiaries of the estate have different opinions (but do not want or do not want to) on the estate administrator’s behavior in managing the estate, Suitable for applying to the court to remove the estate administrator) can seek instructions from the court, and the court will intervene to give instructions on how to manage the estate. This is a separate type of court proceeding.
Regarding legal matters related to inheritance litigation in Hong Kong, Huanyin consults the lawyers of our Hong Kong inheritance lawyer team.