Estate matters spanning China and Canada
Probate is provincial in Canada, so a single estate can require two separate grants.
A parent died in China with a bank account in Vancouver and property in Shanghai. The will was made in China and names children in both countries.
Start both proceedings in parallel and expect the Canadian probate timeline to govern the overall schedule.
The position in one paragraph
Probate is provincial in Canada, so a single estate can require two separate grants.
Canadian institutions will not release the account on the strength of a Chinese will; they require a provincial grant of probate. Meanwhile the Shanghai property is dealt with in China. The two proceedings are independent, and the slower one usually determines when the family actually receives anything.
A typical situation
A parent died in China with a bank account in Vancouver and property in Shanghai. The will was made in China and names children in both countries.
Assuming the Chinese will is sufficient for the Canadian institution. It is not, and the probate application has its own notice period and documentation requirements.
What distinguishes this from a purely domestic case
Quebec applies a civil-law regime close to community property; the common-law provinces use deferred sharing or judicial discretion.
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 Canada-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
Apostille has only been available since January 2024, so documents prepared earlier followed the longer consular route.
How Canada documents are handled
Apostille in force since 11 January 2024. Issued by the competent provincial or territorial authority, or Global Affairs Canada for federal documents.
A marriage certificate is a provincial document, so the province of issue — not where you now live — determines where the Apostille is obtained.
A marriage certificate is a provincial document; a federal document follows an entirely different certification route.
What has to be decided before filing
Start both proceedings in parallel and expect the Canadian probate timeline to govern the overall schedule.
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 Canada — typically Vancouver or Toronto property, RRSP and TFSA accounts, 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 Canada 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 Canadian matters, the province that issued the document controls the certification route, and the province where the assets sit controls the entitlement analysis. Those are two different questions and they are frequently conflated.
Frequently asked questions
Free initial review of jurisdiction, documents and enforceability — before any cost is committed.