By Alfred Ip, Partner and Notary Public

Domicile is a concept which is so complex and novel that most people do not understand, and yet it plays an integral part in estate planning.
Domicile Ordinance came into effect on 1st March 2009.  According to that ordinance, every individual has a domicile and a domicile only, and the court will determine an individual’s domicile based on Hong Kong laws.

By Alfred Ip, Partner and Notary Public

In some intestate or resealing of foreign grant cases, the court would require guarantee¹ to be provided by two sureties² as a condition of issuing Letters of Administration in order to ensure due administration of the estate by the administrator.  Such requirement has been removed in the UK as early as 1972, but it is nevertheless retained by the Probate Registry in Hong Kong.

In an age when digital possessions are increasingly becoming an important part of our lives, questions arise as to who will own our online data? How can we make sure our loved ones can legally bequeath our online information?

Why is it important to pass on your digital footprints in a will?

Many of us are only concerned about passing on our financial assets, properties, cars and other valuables but we have overlooked the importance of passing on things like our emails, online accounts, photos, blogs, and contacts. Living in the age of the birth of machines, these ‘e-affairs’ are equally important.

It is very well for online providers to uphold users’ privacy. Without logins and passwords, our family may never be able to get access to our online assets. Social websites such as Facebook and MySpace offer the option for family to freeze the deceased’s profiles by way of ‘memorialisation’ but Flickr refuses all access. While some email providers, including Gmail and Hotmail, will give up the deceased’s password upon the proof of death and proof of relationship, Yahoo! refuses all access. A deceased’s e-affairs can forever be left undone if relatives have no access to these digital possessions.