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.
Outcome
According to the team’s case report published on 12 May 2023, the client completed the inheritance procedures and the conversion and outward remittance of the funds with the team’s assistance. The matter proceeded through inheritance notarisation; the report does not describe a court judgment.
Cross-border context and the client’s needs
The deceased was a US citizen who died intestate, leaving RMB deposits at a bank in mainland China. The client, the surviving spouse and a statutory heir, habitually resided in the United States and could not conveniently return to China to handle the matter. After confirming that there was no dispute among the statutory heirs, the team recommended proceeding by inheritance notarisation.
Identifying the estate and the applicable succession rules
The original report distinguishes the choice-of-law issues for intestate succession from those for matrimonial property, citing Articles 31 and 24 of the PRC Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-Related Civil Relations. Relevant foreign rules on both intestate succession and matrimonial property needed to be ascertained to establish the scope of the estate and protect the spouse’s interests. In this matter, the notary office commissioned a foreign-law ascertainment centre at East China University of Political Science and Law to investigate the relevant foreign law and provide a written legal opinion.
The team’s role as estate administrator
The overseas heir selected the team to act as estate administrator, and the team obtained a notarial certificate confirming that status. The original report cites Article 1145 of the PRC Civil Code concerning the selection of an estate administrator. A formally evidenced role helped the team coordinate the continuing administration work with the notary office and the bank in China.
From inheritance formalities to delivery of the funds
The team provided legal services throughout, handling or coordinating delivery of legal documents, the inheritance-notarisation application, deposit enquiries, inheritance procedures, receipt and payment of expenses and their settlement, foreign-exchange conversion, outward remittance and related issues arising during the process. The work extended beyond establishing inheritance rights to the banking steps needed to deliver the funds abroad.
Relevance for international counsel
The matter illustrates how foreign-law ascertainment, estate-administrator status, inheritance notarisation and banking procedures can interact when an overseas heir inherits Chinese bank deposits. The team handled the China-side process, while the institution commissioned by the notary office provided the foreign-law opinion. The case offers a practical illustration of the distinct institutional responsibilities in cross-border estate administration.
Team and original report
Handling lawyers: Mingyue Gao, Yulu Huang and Yiwen Zhu. Original byline: Yiwen Zhu. Original Chinese report: “Introducing the estate-administrator mechanism to successfully handle a cross-border inheritance matter | Team case”. Published on 12 May 2023.
Read the original team report (Chinese)
An anonymised account based on the team’s 2023 report. Legal references describe the reported matter; this is not advice on a current case or a guarantee of outcomes.