MINGYUE GAO · GUANTAO, SHANGHAI
Legal services for entrepreneurs, families with cross-border ties and families with additional care needs, focusing on family law, succession and long-term protection.
Based in Shanghai · China-related matters and cross-border coordination
Contact Mingyue Gao
CHAMBERS GREATER CHINA
EVENTS & NEWS
Sharing expertise.
Opening new conversations.
International exchange · 2026
Chantilly, France, 7–9 October 2026. Mingyue Gao shared professional perspectives, built friendships with international colleagues and laid the groundwork for future cross-border collaboration.
Read full articleAcademic exchange · 2025
A 2025 academic appointment as a visiting scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School.
Read full articleInternational exchange · Source: STEPCN
Xi’an, 25–26 October 2024. Mingyue Gao and Yue-En Chong discussed planning for loss of mental capacity, family financial protection and succession. Source: STEPCN.
Read full articleA full salon review examining estate transfers, trust arrangements, guardianship, care and long-term responsibility through the needs of families with special needs.
Read full articleInvited Talks · 2026
An invited lecture on Chinese family law from a constitutional perspective, connecting constitutional principles with family law theory and practice.
Read full articleInvited Talks · 2026
An invited lecture connecting Chinese constitutional perspectives with family law practice, exploring the protection of rights and the balancing of values in marriage and family relationships.
Read full articleNo updates in this category yet.
01 / ABOUT
Mingyue Gao is an Equity Partner at Guantao’s Shanghai office. His practice brings together legal research and practical experience in family law, trust law and charity law.
He leads a team handling complex family and succession matters for entrepreneurs, families, banks, insurers and trust institutions. His work places particular emphasis on dignity, philanthropic legacies and succession arrangements for people with additional support needs.
Fellow, International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL)
Visiting Scholar, Yale Law School (2025)
About the visiting scholarship
Professional Mentor, Master’s Programme, Fudan University Law School
Member, Marriage and Family Law Committee, Shanghai Bar Association
Chambers: 2026 · Band 4; 2025 · Up and Coming
02 / PRACTICE
Connecting personal wishes, family relationships and wealth arrangements.
Counsel on marriage, parentage, guardianship and family property disputes, with a focus on individual rights within complex family relationships.
Explore this serviceAdvice on succession through wills, trusts, estate administration and inherited equity, including issues at the intersection of family relationships and capital markets.
Explore this serviceExperience in voluntary guardianship, guardianship supervision and coordinated estate administration, supporting the long-term needs of older people and people with disabilities.
Explore this serviceAssistance with the establishment and supervision of charitable trusts, connecting philanthropic intentions with family succession.
Explore this serviceCASE FEATURE · CHINESE & INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE
A case represented by Mingyue Gao attracted reporting in China and internationally. This feature traces jurisdiction, counsel’s work and developments reported in 2024.
The Paper · The Beijing News · Sixth Tone · Reuters · The Guardian · AP
Read the case feature and media coverage03 / SELECTED EXPERIENCE
Cross-border family matters, estate administration and succession
Cases ordered by public report date, newest first
Published ·
Working with Australian counsel, the team coordinated foreign-law analysis, review of an overseas will, protection of a minor heir’s interests and cross-border document formalities, helping the heirs collect bank deposits and register inherited real estate in China.
Read the full caseReport published ·
Mingyue Gao is a named executor under the Hongying Educational Assistance Charitable Trust’s testamentary arrangements, reported by Shanghai Trust as Shanghai’s first testamentary charitable trust with a trust company as trustee.
View matter and public sourcesReport published ·
Mingyue Gao’s team participated in Shanghai Trust’s Xinrui · Zhenyi testamentary trust project, connecting will execution, notarial escrow and trust services.
View matter and public sourcesReport published ·
Appointed by the overseas heir as estate administrator, the team coordinated foreign-law ascertainment, inheritance notarisation and banking procedures, helping complete the inheritance of RMB deposits in mainland China and their conversion and remittance abroad.
View matter and public sourcesEstablished the Mingyue Lawyer Educational Charitable Trust and assisted family business clients in setting up charitable trusts and acting as trust supervisor. Experience includes projects combining wills and charitable trusts.
Experience includes the Shanghai matter involving an older person’s bequest to a fruit vendor and related voluntary guardianship arrangements, alongside guardianship supervision and disputes over family guardianship.
SELECTED CASE · MEDIA COVERAGE
Mingyue Gao and his team represented the fruit vendor in the inheritance dispute.
The dispute concerned the validity of a legacy-support agreement and the distribution of an older man’s estate. Public reporting identifies Mingyue Gao and his team as counsel in this widely covered case involving older people’s rights and succession.
The Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court dismissed the relatives’ appeal and upheld the first-instance judgment.
Legacy-support agreements / Older people’s rights / Guardianship and succession
The Paper’s reporting was republished by CNR. Shangguan News, National Business Daily and Zhejiang Seniors Daily also covered the case.
Republishes The Paper’s reporting, identifying Mingyue Gao’s team as counsel for the fruit vendor.
Read report · ChineseShangguan NewsReports the first-instance outcome and identifies Mingyue Gao as the fruit vendor’s lawyer.
Read report · ChineseNational Business DailyCovers the appeal: the relatives’ appeal was dismissed and the original judgment upheld.
Read report · ChineseZhejiang Seniors DailyDiscusses the legacy-support agreement dispute and the judgment provided by counsel Mingyue Gao.
Read report · ChineseEstate administration matters involving inherited equity, cross-border succession, bank safe-deposit box inventories and property transfers.
Representation and public-interest work involving same-sex partners’ parentage, guardianship and cohabitation property disputes, as well as equal access to transport for people with disabilities.
Read the same-sex parentage, guardianship and custody case featureIDEAS & CONVERSATIONS
From marriage to life, and from law to lived experience.
Exploring relationships through questions, stories and listening.
Understanding rights, responsibilities and choices in intimate relationships.
Read all ten essaysA series of questions exploring commitment and boundaries in marriage, and the relationship between personal wishes, family responsibilities and financial arrangements.
Bringing family questions into stories and different perspectives into view.
Read all seven storiesLooking at family situations through storytelling, exploring the emotions and circumstances behind conflict and how law responds to the complexity of family life.
Starting with listening, making room for different lived experiences.
Explore Mingyue Listens · 4 essaysMaking space for individuals and families to be heard, understanding their needs and considering how dignity, care and rights take shape in everyday life.
Reflecting on what matters most at life’s defining moments.
Read Question 1: Why Are We Afraid of Growing Old?Questions about autonomy, care, wealth and legacy: how to express personal wishes, plan for the future and pass values on to the next generation.
MINGYUE’S JOURNEYS
Seeing the world through travel.
Understanding life through learning.
Personal accounts of travel and learning around the world: places visited, people met, and observations and reflections along the way.
LATEST ESSAY · FRANCE · 2026-10-12
From the Picasso museum to the Orangerie: reflections on the future of art collections, legal arrangements and cultural legacy.
Read the latest essayFOR INTERNATIONAL COUNSEL
Coordinating China-related family, succession and care matters with overseas counsel, tax advisers and trust professionals. Working languages: Chinese and English.
For international counsel →04 / RECOGNITION & CONTRIBUTIONS
2025 / 2026 · Chambers Greater China Region Guide
Private Client/Wealth Management (PRC Firms)
2026 · Hurun
Recommended lawyer in the family office service ecosystem
2026 · Lüxin News
Recognition for excellence in family law
Deputy Editor, Frontiers of Family Office Management in China
Contributor, Research Report on Adult Guardianship Services in China (2025)
Consulting Expert on Civil and Administrative Cases, Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Board Member, Shanghai ForNGO Legal Research and Service Center
05 / CONTACT
Start with a brief outline, the parties’ names and any important deadline. Please wait for conflict checks and guidance before sharing detailed confidential material.
First contact and engagement →Equity Partner · Guantao, Shanghai
+86 138 1690 8428
+86 21 2356 3298
22F, L’Avenue, 99 Xianxia Road
Changning District, Shanghai 200336, China