How can a lawyer abroad get the China side of an estate or divorce handled?
Bring in a lawyer licensed in mainland China for the advice and the steps that happen there. June Zhang, a PRC lawyer in Xiamen practising since 1998, works with lawyers outside mainland China whose clients have an estate, property or a family case in China. She advises on Chinese law, prepares the documents your client signs abroad, and handles the notary, registry, bank and court steps in China. Foreign law and proceedings outside mainland China stay with you.
What can a PRC lawyer do for a lawyer abroad?
- Written advice on Chinese law. Who inherits the property in China, what a will or a marital agreement does to it, and whether a foreign judgment can be recognised. A written inheritance assessment is USD 1,950; the assessment of a foreign divorce judgment is USD 1,250.
- Documents your client signs abroad. Powers of attorney, declarations and renunciations in Chinese and English, with the route for notarisation and an apostille or legalisation, so each heir signs once. USD 650 for the first heir.
- The steps in China. The inheritance notarisation, registering a flat in the heir's name, bank deposits, company shares, and selling a property and sending the money abroad. Each step has its own fee on the services page.
- Court work in China. Recognition of a foreign divorce judgment, appointment of an estate administrator, and inheritance, partition and divorce cases. See court applications and court cases.
Why does this need a lawyer licensed in China?
A foreign law firm's office in China may not handle Chinese legal affairs. It can instruct a Chinese law firm on behalf of a foreign client (Regulations on Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China, Article 15).
In court, a foreign party who wants a lawyer must instruct a PRC lawyer (Civil Procedure Law, Article 274). A lawyer from the party's own country can act only as a non-lawyer agent (Supreme People's Court Interpretation of the Civil Procedure Law, Article 526).
Which law applies to an estate in China?
When there is no will, Chinese law decides who inherits a flat or land in China, whatever the deceased's nationality or residence; movable property, such as a bank deposit, passes under the law of the place where the deceased habitually lived at death (Law on the Application of Law to Foreign-Related Civil Relations, Article 31). Wills, estate administration and estates with no heirs each have their own rule; they are set out in which country's law applies. Chinese law's order of heirs is explained under statutory heirs.
How does working together run?
- Send a short summary with the names of your client and the other people involved, such as the other heirs or the spouse. A conflict check comes first.
- You get a reply within one working day (Beijing time; weekends and Chinese public holidays not counted), in English.
- The scope, the fee and who the engagement is with are set out in writing before any work starts. Fees are fixed or staged.
- Documents are asked for after the conflict check, with a note on how to send them.
Referral fees and confidentiality
No referral fee is paid on a matter you pass on. Chinese law bars lawyers from winning work by paying one (Lawyers Law, Article 29).
A PRC lawyer must keep confidential what a client, or anyone else, does not want disclosed (Lawyers Law, Article 41).
Matters she has handled
They include an estate with heirs in Australia and Canada, settled by mediation; a share in a flat in China inherited through notarisation by a Hong Kong resident, without going to court; and family homes divided between relatives. Names, places, dates and amounts have been removed. See selected matters.
Questions lawyers abroad ask
Can the client stay abroad throughout?
In an inheritance handled through a notary office, often yes: the powers of attorney and declarations are signed abroad and the work in China is done for the heirs. In a divorce case before a Chinese court, a party who has a lawyer must still attend in person unless they can't express their wishes; a party who truly can't attend must give the court a written statement (Civil Procedure Law, Article 65).
Is the advice given in writing, in English?
Yes. If a court or an authority abroad needs it in a particular form, say so in your first message, so that the form can be agreed before the work starts.
Does she act in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan?
No. She acts in mainland China. Judgments from Hong Kong and Taiwan can be put before a mainland court for recognition; the fees are under court applications.
If your client has an estate, a flat or a family case in China, send a few lines with your client's name and the names of the other people involved. A conflict check comes first. How the work and payments run is on how we work.
Related reading
- Inheriting Property in China From Abroad: Steps and Fees
- China Inheritance Documents: Checklist for Heirs Abroad
- Is a Foreign Will Valid in China? How Heirs Use One
Sources
- Regulations on the Administration of Representative Offices of Foreign Law Firms in China (2024 revision), Article 15.
- Civil Procedure Law of the PRC (2023 amendment), Articles 65 and 274.
- Supreme People's Court Interpretation on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law (2022 amendment), Article 526.
- Law of the PRC on the Application of Law to Foreign-Related Civil Relations, Article 31.
- Lawyers Law of the PRC (2026 amendment), Articles 29 and 41.
Translations of Chinese law on this page are unofficial.