Thus, if you are required to deal with any estate property in Hong Kong, you need to first obtain a grant of probate from the Hong Kong Court.

If a grant of probate has already been obtained to administer the deceased's estate from one of the following jurisdiction, namely, the Australian States of Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, then a grant of probate can be done by way of resealing.

The process is comparatively more straightforward and can be dealt with as soon as the original grant from one of the above jurisdictions is issued.

The Probate Registry in Hong Kong would require the following documents:

1. Death Certificate certified by the issuing authority;

2. Full copy original Grant of Probate certified by the issuing court; and

3. Certified Copy identification documents of the deceased and the executor/administrator.

As estate duty has been abolished in Hong Kong after 11th February 2006, it is no longer necessary to conduct estate clearance.

OLN assists client in dealing with the whole resealing process, including the following:

Ascertaining the assets of the Deceased in Hong Kong as at the date of death with the relevant bank or authorities;

Preparing all the papers for application for resealing a foreign grant of probate;

Deposing affidavit to verify the local estate of the Deceased;

Attesting the copy of the foreign grant;

Collecting the assets with the resealed grant of probate;

Administering the assets as per the executor's directions.

The all-round services of OLN avoid clients from having to travel to Hong Kong and go through the process themselves. Please contact our Probate and Estate Planning Department for details.

This article is for information purposes only. Its contents do not constitute legal advice and readers should not regard this article as a substitute for detailed advice in individual instances.