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In general, when someone dies their Will (assuming it is valid) is the final arbiter of where that person’s money and other property go. However, statutes in both England and Hong Kong (and other similar jurisdictions) introduced an important exception to this general rule: those being immediately maintained before the death of the testator could … Read more
A number of our recent blog posts have looked at Hong Kong estates disputes. The case of Ho Sin Ying v Chan Yui Ling and Maryo Development Limited (HCA 1531/2012) is another such dispute, but it has a couple of unusual twists. Rather than an argument over a Will or the administration of the estate, … Read more
A proposed beneficiary under a Will loses out because a solicitor fails to prepare that Will. Can that beneficiary make a claim against the solicitor? There is no contract between the potential beneficiary and the solicitor, so ordinarily there will be no claim for breach of contract. The question then is whether the solicitor could … Read more
With increasing numbers of international estates and the multi-jurisdictional litigation it can create, the recent Court of Appeal decision relating to the estate of Vannee Nativivat raised an interesting issue: can an executor appointed under a foreign Will bring proceedings in Hong Kong if they have not obtained probate in Hong Kong? Read more
Estates disputes in Hong Kong come in all shapes and sizes. We have previously covered disputes over Wills. The case of Cheng Tsang Kam Yung v Tang Kam Cheung concerned a dispute over who administers the estate. Read more
In previous posts, we have covered some Wills disputes in Hong Kong. However, the phenomenon of large estate battles is by no means exclusive to Hong Kong. The recent Indian case concerning the estate of Raja Harinder Singh Brar Bans Bahadur is another case in point. Read more
At our last private wealth seminar, we took an in-depth look at charities. A recent UK case has highlighted some of the curiosities which can arise in this context. Back in 1927, the UK national debt reached 160% of GDP (it is currently around 85%). it appears that this state of affairs inspired one public-spirited … Read more
Battles over the validity of Wills are becoming more and more common. A recent Court of Appeal case considered the step before any validity action, ie how someone gets hold of a copy of a Will at all. Section 7(3) of the Probate and Administration Ordinance provides a mechanism by which someone holding a testamentary … Read more
On 17 July 2013, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the Trust Law (Amendment) Bill 2013, which will come into operation on 1 December 2013. The purpose of the amendments is to modernise Hong Kong trust law, which is considered to be outdated and out of step with more modern trust laws in comparable jurisdictions … Read more
