Hong Kong Expats Urged to Write Wills

According to a recent client survey by investment firm The Henley Group, about 70% of those polled, who are predominately expatriates in Hong Kong, had not written a will.

Henley Group CEO Mark Rawson was not surprised. “People don’t think about these things until they are forced to think about them . . . [i]t is like tax returns – anything that is unpleasant we tend to put off.”  One of the main triggers that motivates clients to write a will is starting a family.  Another is seeing a friend that died without their affairs organized.

Hong Kong residents who die without a will have no control over what happens to assets and who will look after children.  Dying intestate may also unnecessarily expose your estate to estate taxes.  Although putting a valid will in place is a simple process, the taboo subject of mortality in Asia likely contributes to the great reluctance to deal with this important matter. 

See Mary Kavanagh, Hongkongers Urged to Write Their Will as Survey Shows Most Do Not Have One, South China Morning Post, Nov. 19, 2013.