Recently, Attorney Gao Hexin successfully assisted Ms. Y, a Chinese-American, in completing the notarization process for inheriting domestic estates in China.
Ms. Y had moved abroad for work many years ago and later obtained foreign citizenship. A few years ago, her parents and sister passed away, leaving behind an estate in China. Ms. Y explained that her sister, who was divorced, had not remarried and had no children.
Upon accepting the case, we first analyzed the legal relationships involved. Based on the information provided by Ms. Y, we confirmed that the estates left by her parents and sister should legally be inherited solely by Ms. Y.
Next, we considered the appropriate inheritance procedure. Since there was no dispute regarding inheritance in this case, we recommended that Ms. Y proceed with notarization.
We then reviewed the documents provided by Ms. Y and initiated preliminary discussions with the notary public. During the review, we found that although Ms. Y was legally entitled to inherit, the provided documents did not fully substantiate her claims. Additional evidence, particularly her sister's divorce certificate, was required to complete the notarization process. The household registration record indicated her sister's marital status as married. However, Ms. Y could not provide her sister’s divorce certificate and was unsure whether her sister’s divorce was divorced through a civil agreement or court proceedings—or whether it was formalized divorced at all. If her sister had not legally divorced, her former spouse might have a claim to the estate. Complicating matters, Ms. Y and her family had lost contact with her sister’s ex-spouse for over two decades.
Therefore, the first critical step was to obtain her sister's divorce certificate. We began by contacting the marriage registry in her sister's last known place of residence to inquire about the procedures for accessing marriage records. We learned that records from before 1999 had been transferred to the local archives, while records from 1999 onward remained with the civil affairs bureau. As a result, we might need to investigate three potential sources: the court, the civil affairs bureau, and the archives. After traveling to the city, we conducted a search at the court but found no divorce judgments or mediation records of her sister. We then visited the marriage registry, where, after submitting the necessary authorization documents, staff provided the divorce records. This critical evidence brought a significant breakthrough in the case.
The second document we needed was the death certificate of Ms. Y's mother. Based on Ms. Y’s recollection, her mother had passed away in a Beijing hospital, but no death certificate was included in the provided documents. Our team confirmed the hospital and crematorium involved through phone inquiries and then obtained the death notice and cremation certificate by presenting the appropriate investigation documents.
The next task was to access the deceased’s estate information. In this case, the estates of the three deceased individuals were held across different banks. Each bank had different requirements for accessing information related to foreign inheritance. After coordinating with the notary office, they issued an inquiry letter, enabling the attorney to retrieve account information from each bank. Eventually, the banks provided deposit inquiry statements for the estates. With these documents in hand, and after supplementing additional materials as required by the notary office, we successfully assisted Ms. Y in completing the inheritance notarization process.
For further inquiries, please contact Attorney Gao Hexin:
Tel: 86-136-1115-8067
Email: gaohexin@163.com; gaohexin@jingsh.com
