My (Chinese) wife and I are looking into setting up Wills primarily to ensure chosen custody of our child, should we both snuff it at the same time. I've got a Will in UK for our UK assets, but I think we need to do something similar in China too.

Has anyone trodden this path before? Any recommendations for lawyers with international family Wills experience (ideally Kunming based and with some English). Any pitfalls to avoid? Thanks.

Pitfall. If any property (or part thereof) is in the child's name now, and the child gets married. Should your child die her husband will inherit her share, which may cause problems if you are still alive. Especially, if the family is avaricious, and maybe see foreigners as less entitled. This can be a real problem if you have property that you are not named on the deeds.
Similar pitfall. If you are not named on the deeds, if your wife dies, and your daughter inherits, or has other claim on property, her husbands family may put her under pressure to cut you off. Especially if we are talking of a step child (non blood relation to you).

@ocean
Can't help on the will thing, but can offer non-professional legal advice on chinese contract law - you'll need TWO versions - the Chinese version, which is dominant in China, and the English translation, which is for reference or additional clarification purposes only.

Imagine the reverse - having an English-language contract in the UK with Chinese components - the courts really wouldn't know what to do with it - which will cause essentially infinite delays.

If you both die at the same time, in regards to a childs inheritance, it is the will of the youngest parent which is used to divide assets.

That may be helpful to you.

You could get your British will attested at the Chinese consulate in Britain, once it has been attested with the stamp that paper holds legal status within China in theory.

The other thing is a lot of the inheritance laws are already in place without a will. IE your property will be transferred to your oldest child etc. These come as standard in the marriage and family planning laws of China. How changeable they are may be open for interpretation, but there is a basic system in place for this.

Have the people around you know your intentions should the worst happen i.e family and/or close friends. Provide contact details and addresses of the desired custodian together with a signed letter stating your wishes. The Chinese authorities would not want to hold onto the child, rather they'd be happy that the situation is dealt with domestically (out of court) as a private family matter, especially since it involves a foreign parent. For peace of mind you can leave a copy of the letter with a local certified lawyer whom the people you have entrusted to contact should any person want to throw a spanner in the works i.e claim the child.
For reference, lawyer Edmond Yang's English is impeccable. You can find his details on this site.

Thanks all for the advice. Appreciate it.

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