Making a will as a British expat in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of the more straightforward places for a British expat to plan an estate. It's a common-law system with broad freedom to leave your assets to whom you choose, and it abolished its death tax years ago. But a few things catch people out: jointly held assets pass outside your will entirely, your MPF goes into your estate and needs a grant before it can be paid out, intestacy splits your estate in ways you probably wouldn't expect, and your UK assets still answer to UK rules. If you have meaningful assets in both places, the sensible setup is a Hong Kong will for your Hong Kong assets alongside a UK will for your UK ones.

Here's what matters.

You can largely choose your heirs

Like England and Wales, Hong Kong gives you broad testamentary freedom. There's no forced heirship reserving fixed shares for your children, so a valid will lets you decide who gets what. The main limit is the same as the UK's: a spouse, child or dependant who hasn't been reasonably provided for can apply to the court for provision under Hong Kong's equivalent of the Inheritance Act. So you can leave someone out, but a genuine dependant may still have a route to claim. That's a reason to draft carefully rather than carelessly.

To be valid in Hong Kong, a will must be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two people. A UK will that was properly executed is generally recognised in Hong Kong, and a UK grant of probate can often be resealed there to deal with Hong Kong assets. But coordination still matters, for the reasons below.

What your will doesn't control

This is the part that surprises people. A good deal of what you own may pass outside your will completely.

Your MPF is the exception people get wrong. Unlike a UK pension, Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund forms part of your estate when you die: your executor claims it with a grant of probate, and it passes under your will, or under the intestacy rules if you have none. If much of your Hong Kong wealth sits in your MPF, that is a strong reason to have a Hong Kong will. Life insurance with a named beneficiary, and overseas pensions with a death benefit nomination, are different: they usually pay out directly, outside your estate. Keeping those nominations current is a separate job from writing your will, and just as important.

How you own assets matters too. Anything held as joint tenants, a home or a bank account in joint names, passes automatically to the surviving co-owner and never enters your estate. A share held as tenants in common does form part of your estate and follows your will. Many couples aren't sure which way they hold things, so it's worth checking.

Intestacy doesn't do what you'd expect

If you die without a will in Hong Kong, the Intestates' Estates Ordinance decides who inherits, and the result often differs from both your wishes and the UK position.

If you leave a spouse and no children, parents, brothers or sisters, your spouse takes everything. But if you leave a spouse and children, your spouse takes your personal belongings, a fixed sum of HK$500,000, and half of what's left, with the children sharing the other half. If you leave a spouse and parents or siblings but no children, your spouse takes your belongings, HK$1,000,000 and half the residue, with the rest going to your parents or siblings.

That last one is a real trap for British expats. Under English intestacy, a spouse with no children usually inherits the entire estate. In Hong Kong, the same spouse shares it with your parents or siblings. Rely on intestacy across two systems and your family can end up with outcomes neither you nor they expected. A will removes the guesswork.

Tax: simpler than you might fear

Hong Kong has no inheritance tax or estate duty. It was abolished on 11 February 2006, so your heirs receive the full value of your Hong Kong assets with no local death tax and no estate-duty clearance to obtain. That makes the Hong Kong side genuinely simple.

The UK side is the one to watch, and the rules changed on 6 April 2025. Whether your worldwide assets fall within UK inheritance tax now turns on long-term residence: broadly, if you've been UK resident for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years, your worldwide estate is in scope. A British expat who has spent most of the last two decades in Hong Kong usually won't meet that test, so their Hong Kong assets generally sit outside UK inheritance tax. But anything physically in the UK, a property or UK accounts, stays taxable wherever you live. The nil-rate band remains £325,000 with 40 per cent above it, and there's no UK-Hong Kong inheritance tax treaty, though with no Hong Kong death tax there's no double-tax clash to resolve.

One will or two

Because Hong Kong assets are dealt with through Hong Kong probate and UK assets through UK probate, most expats with meaningful assets in both are best served by two coordinated wills: a Hong Kong will for Hong Kong assets, a UK will for UK assets. That lets the two administrations run in parallel rather than one waiting on the other, and lets each will meet its own jurisdiction's formalities.

The risk to manage, as always with more than one will, is accidental revocation. A standard will revokes all earlier wills, so a later one can wipe out the other unless each is limited to its own jurisdiction with a carefully drafted clause. They need writing to work together, not one after the other in isolation. Bear in mind too that Hong Kong institutions freeze accounts on death until a grant is produced, so probate will be needed for solely held assets either way.

A couple of real situations

A British couple in Hong Kong own their flat as joint tenants, each have an MPF, and keep an ISA and a house in the UK. The flat passes automatically to the survivor, but each MPF falls into the estate of whoever dies first, so their Hong Kong wills should leave it to each other. Their UK house and ISA need a UK will and stay within UK inheritance tax as UK-situated assets. A Hong Kong will tidies up anything held solely or as tenants in common.

A long-settled expat with HK$2 million across Hong Kong accounts and investments, plus a modest UK portfolio, has been out of the UK for 18 years. His Hong Kong wealth is almost certainly outside UK inheritance tax under the long-term residence test, but his UK portfolio remains UK-situated and in scope. He needs a Hong Kong will, which will also cover his MPF, and a coordinated UK will, with any pension nominations kept up to date.

Where this leaves you

Hong Kong makes the local side easy: broad freedom to choose your heirs and no death tax. The work is in the details: joint assets that bypass your will, an MPF that depends on it, and keeping your UK assets properly covered, since those still face UK inheritance tax and UK probate. For most expats with assets in both places, a Hong Kong will and a coordinated UK will, plus current nominations, cover the ground.

A clear, valid UK will is the anchor for the UK side of that plan. That's what Expat Legacy provides: a properly drafted UK will for British expats, in plain English, ready to sit alongside your Hong Kong arrangements.

Sources

• Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Ordinance (Cap. 481), Community Legal Information Centre, Hong Kong
• Estate Duty, Inland Revenue Department, Hong Kong
• Inheritance Tax if you're a long-term UK resident (GOV.UK)
• Inheritance Tax (GOV.UK)

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your position depends on how your assets are held and your own UK residence history, so it's worth getting advice tailored to you, on both sides, before you act.