Estates spanning China and Australia
Australian probate is state-based, and each state has its own procedural requirements.
A deceased held a Sydney property and Chinese bank deposits, with heirs in both countries.
Review both wills together for consistency before any administration begins.
The position in one paragraph
Australian probate is state-based, and each state has its own procedural requirements.
The Sydney property is dealt with through state probate, while the Chinese deposits are dealt with in China. A Chinese will and an Australian will can both be valid, and where they overlap the potential for conflict has to be identified early rather than discovered during administration.
A typical situation
A deceased held a Sydney property and Chinese bank deposits, with heirs in both countries.
Having two wills that inadvertently revoke one another. This is a drafting trap that becomes expensive once the person has died and cannot clarify their intention.
What distinguishes this from a purely domestic case
The Family Court applies a four-step property adjustment process, and superannuation is treated as property that can be split.
On the China side, the connecting factor has to be established on the documents: A Chinese court deals with China-situated estate assets. Assets abroad are governed by the law of the place where they sit, with China's conflict rules determining which law applies to succession.
The practical sequence in a Australia-connected matter
- Separate the question of who inherits from the question of how the assets are actually transferred
- Establish the applicable law for succession, which can differ between movables and immovables
- Authenticate the death certificate, the will and the relationship documents
- Address the practical release of each asset with the institution holding it
DFAT can combine authentication and translation in one service, which shortens the document stage noticeably.
How Australia documents are handled
Apostille issued through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), which also offers a combined authentication and translation service.
Marriage certificates come from the state or territory registry, so the document must be from the correct registry before authentication is sought.
Marriage certificates come from the state or territory registry, so the certificate must be obtained from the correct registry before anything else.
What has to be decided before filing
Review both wills together for consistency before any administration begins.
The boundary to plan around is this: Agreeing the shares and realising the assets are two separate problems; both need to be planned, and the second is usually harder. Where value sits in Australia — typically Sydney or Melbourne property, superannuation, corporate equity — it is handled by agreement or by a separate route there, not by an order the Chinese court could enforce directly.
If your situation has a Australia element
Inheritance cases stall when the evidence of the family relationship is incomplete. Send us the family tree and where each asset is held, and we will set out the route.
For Australian matters, superannuation and any family trust need to be identified early. Both sit outside the reach of a Chinese court, and if they are discovered after the China division is fixed, that value is effectively lost from the pool.
Frequently asked questions
Free initial review of jurisdiction, documents and enforceability — before any cost is committed.