Heirship can pass the value — staying a recorded shareholder is Company Law and foreign-investment, not family custom.
Shares and LLC equity are estate assets. A foreign heir may be entitled to the value even if other shareholders’ consent, right of first refusal, or FI negative-list rules block an easy name change. Outcomes: registration as shareholder, buyout, or company dissolution fights. Listed shares have a different CSDC path. AOA clauses on death matter. This is not the divorce-equity page. Do not file a SAMR change on a foreign probate PDF.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
What entity?
LLC, joint-stock, listed, FI.
TypeAOA on death/ROFR?
Other shareholders.
AOAIs the heir a permitted investor?
Negative list / FI.
FIValue vs registration?
Buyout vs name change.
RemedyWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Can a foreign heir become a WFOE shareholder?
Often yes in value; the FI/SAMR path still has to be walked. Negative-list businesses are harder.
What if co-founders refuse?
Company-law and succession-law remedies — usually counsel, not a wiki.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.