Writing a will as an expat in Hong Kong: what does it cover?

For most expats, the estate planning question feels uniquely complicated. You have a flat or investment account in Hong Kong, a pension or property in your home country, perhaps a bank account somewhere else entirely. You are not sure which country’s law applies, whether a will made here covers everything, or whether you need a lawyer in every jurisdiction before you can start.

That complexity is real. But it is not a reason to have nothing in place. A Hong Kong will covering your Hong Kong assets is a meaningful and sensible starting point — and for many expats, it is the most urgent gap to fill.

This article explains what a Hong Kong will does and does not cover, and how to think about the rest.

The foundational rule: different laws govern different assets

When someone dies with assets in multiple countries, there is no single law that governs everything. Hong Kong courts apply two principles inherited from English common law.

What a Hong Kong will actually covers

All assets physically located in Hong Kong

Including your flat, your HK bank accounts, your MPF, your investments held through HK brokers, and your personal belongings in Hong Kong. Note that your MPF passes through your estate rather than to a named beneficiary — see our article on MPF vs your will for the detail.

Movable assets elsewhere in the world

If Hong Kong is your domicile at the time of death, your HK will can in principle govern movable assets wherever they are held. Whether that will is recognised and enforced in another country is a separate question, and depends on that country’s laws.

What it does not automatically cover

Immovable property overseas — your home country property, an investment property in the UK or Australia, or a plot of land anywhere else. Each of those requires the law of that jurisdiction to be satisfied. A Hong Kong will that includes that property may not be sufficient on its own. You may need a separate will in that jurisdiction, or at minimum, legal advice there about whether your HK will is effective.Sources: Ask Legal Hong Kong; PBL Legal, Plain English Guide to International Estate Planning HK

The domicile question: why it matters more than you think

Many expats assume that because they live and work in Hong Kong, Hong Kong law governs their whole estate. This is not necessarily true.

Domicile in the legal sense is not where you happen to be living. It is the country you regard as your permanent home — where you intend to remain, or to which you intend to return. An expat who has lived in Hong Kong for fifteen years but always regarded the UK as home, maintains a family property there, and plans to retire there, may well be domiciled in the UK for legal purposes — even without having lived there for over a decade.

If you die domiciled outside Hong Kong, the law of your country of domicile governs your movable assets worldwide. Your HK will is still effective for your HK immovable property, but for movable assets the position is more complex.

This is genuinely a question for a qualified lawyer who understands your personal circumstances. Domicile is one of the most legally complex concepts in private international law. Bequest is a document preparation platform and this is explicitly outside the scope of what we can determine for you. What we can tell you is that the question is worth asking.

Does Hong Kong recognise foreign wills?

Yes. Under Cap. 30 Part III, a foreign will is treated as properly executed in Hong Kong if its execution conformed to the law of the jurisdiction where it was made, or the law of the testator’s domicile, habitual residence, or nationality at the time of execution.Source: Wills Ordinance Cap. 30, s.24; Lexology, Succession Law in Hong Kong

This means that if you have a valid will from the UK, Australia, Singapore, or another common law jurisdiction, that will can be recognised in Hong Kong for the purposes of dealing with your HK assets. In practice, a foreign executor may need to apply to have the foreign grant resealed in Hong Kong — an administrative process that a HK solicitor can assist with.

The practical case for a separate Hong Kong will

Even if you have a valid will in your home country, making a separate Hong Kong will has practical advantages.

The standard approach recommended by international estate planning lawyers is to have a will in each jurisdiction where you hold significant assets — with each will expressly limited to assets in that jurisdiction, and each containing a clause that it does not revoke the other wills.Source: PBL Legal; Global Property Guide HK Inheritance

The most common asset situations expats face in Hong Kong

Where to start

The complexity of an estate spanning multiple jurisdictions can feel paralysing. The most common mistake is to do nothing — because the full picture feels too complicated to sort at once.

The right approach is to start with Hong Kong, because your HK assets are most immediately governed by HK law and a HK will is the most straightforward thing to put in place. Then work through your other jurisdictions with qualified legal advice in each.