While we hope this guide provides clarity during a difficult time, this is general information about cross-border inheritance procedures—not legal advice for your family's situation. Probate, notarial succession, foreign exchange, and tax rules change and turn on facts. Instruct qualified counsel in each relevant country before you renounce rights, sell property, or move funds. Using this site does not create an attorney–client relationship.
Reviewed byCharlotte Whitmore, solicitor at Willowfield Solicitors, London. Focuses on cross-border private wealth, wills, probate, trusts, and inheritance tax for international families. View directory profile →
Review tier: Reviewed by — accuracy review of drafts (succession procedure orientation, Apostille formalities, multi-country estate/tax framing, and SAFE repatriation description as general information). Content remains general orientation — not legal advice for a specific estate, and no attorney–client relationship is created by reading these pages.
Practice Note from Charlotte Whitmore: Families are often delayed by months because names on foreign passports do not perfectly match names on old Chinese household registers (hukou), title deeds, or bank records. Reconcile every spelling and character variant—including former married names—before the first notary appointment, and keep the same translation string through Apostille packages, renunciations, and bank remittance files.
Source register · primary authorities and verification
Sources & trust
How to use this guide
Primary sources cited on this page: ? Decedent death certificate (apostilled/legalized as required); ? Decedent Chinese ID / passport copies; hukou extract if available; ? Heir passports; Chinese names / name-variation list; ? Marriage certificates (decedent and heirs as relevant); ? Birth certificates or kinship proofs for each heir; ? Family tree of first-tier heirs (spouse, children, parents); ? Renunciation declarations for heirs not taking property (apostilled if signed abroad); ? Powers of attorney for China agents (form accepted by target notary); ? Contact sheet for all heirs across countries; ? Real-estate ownership certificates / registry extracts; ? Bank name, branch, account identifiers; ? WeChat / Alipay / securities account notes.
Editorial, AI and verification policies
This page is general information for orientation. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship.
Legal boundary: Prefer primary statutes, judicial interpretations, and official guidance when making decisions. Where this guide links to city hubs or lawyer listings, verify credentials and engagement terms directly with counsel. Full disclaimer · Request a consultation.
Consultation preparation
What to prepare before contacting counsel
Send a focused first package so counsel can check conflicts, understand scope, and identify urgent deadlines.
A concise timeline and the result you want to achieve.
Names of all parties and affiliates for a conflict check.
Key contracts, notices, correspondence, filings, or decisions.
Known deadlines, preferred language, location, and budget constraints.
Topic counsel
Lawyers relevant to this topic
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Use International Lawyers for host-country counsel. Use Find Counsel when a PRC workstream (ODI, SAFE, onshore entities, mainland contracts) still sits beside the destination matter.
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