When your client has assets in Australia, we act as your Australian counsel. Chua Tan Associates handles Australian probate, estate administration, Wills and trustee matters for clients of lawyers, notaries, private bankers and trust companies in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China and elsewhere. We work in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, in every Australian state and territory, and the client relationship stays with you.
What we do for your clients
Australian probate and administration
Applying for an Australian grant where the deceased left assets here, including where a grant has already been made in another country. We then collect the assets, pay debts and taxes, and distribute.
Acting for an overseas executor
Your client’s executor can stay overseas. We act as their Australian lawyer or attorney, or as independent executor, co-executor or administrator where that suits the family better.
Australian Wills for overseas clients
A Will for the client’s Australian assets, drafted to sit alongside the Will you hold at home so that neither revokes the other.
Property, banks and investments
Australian real estate, bank accounts, shares and superannuation. We arrange valuations and sales through licensed local agents, and coordinate tax returns and clearances with the estate’s accountant.
Trusts and trustee roles
Acting as trustee of a testamentary trust, as a neutral replacement trustee of a family trust, or as appointor or guardian where an independent person is needed.
Disputes and independent roles
Family provision claims and contested estates, mediation between family members in different countries, and availability for appointment as independent administrator.
Our principal, Kin Wee Chua, is a notary public, so documents your client needs to use overseas, and foreign documents needed for Australian courts, can be dealt with in the same office.
How we work with referring lawyers
- Your client stays your client. We report to you as the matter progresses and, with the client’s consent, to the family. We act only on the Australian part of the matter you send us.
- One point of contact. Correspondence in English or Chinese, and Australian documents explained to the family in Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Fees agreed in advance. Where possible we quote a fixed fee for each defined stage. Australian law requires us to give the client a written costs disclosure, and we send you a copy.
- Every state and territory. Grants are made in the state where the assets are. We act nationally, working with trusted local practitioners where needed. See our state guides.
- Accountable. Estate money is held in our regulated trust account and the executor receives written accounts.
- Reciprocal. Our Australian clients often hold assets in Asia. We are glad to hear from firms who can act for them there.
Starting a matter: what to send us
- The death certificate, with a certified English translation if it is in another language (we can arrange NAATI-certified translation).
- Every Will the deceased made, in any country, and any grant already issued overseas.
- What you know of the Australian assets: property addresses, banks, share holdings, superannuation funds and any Australian debts.
- The executor’s and beneficiaries’ names, countries of residence and contact details.
- If there is no Will, a short family tree.
We will tell you which state or states the application is needed in, what the executor will need to sign (and where they can sign it overseas), and an estimated timetable.
Questions overseas lawyers often ask
There is already a grant in our country. Is an Australian grant still needed?
Usually, before Australian banks, share registries or land titles offices will deal with assets of any size. Depending on the state and the country of the original grant, it may be possible to rely on that grant rather than starting again. We will advise on the most efficient route for the particular estate.
Does the executor need to travel to Australia?
No. Documents can be signed overseas before a notary or an Australian consular officer, and we can act for the executor in Australia throughout.
Which state does the application go to?
Generally the state or territory where the assets are, and real estate in particular. Where there are assets in more than one state, we coordinate the applications.
Our client is alive and wants to plan ahead. Can you help?
Yes. An Australian Will for the Australian assets, an enduring power of attorney, and the choice of an executor based in Australia make administration much simpler when the time comes. We can also be named as executor, alone or with a family member.
Tell us about the estate
A short message is enough. We reply in English, Mandarin or Cantonese, and quote fees in writing before any work starts.
Your contact
Justin Chua
Lawyer · Nationally accredited mediator · STEP Affiliate
Justin handles the firm’s estate, executor and trustee work for overseas families. He has studied and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China, Vietnam and Myanmar, holds a commerce degree majoring in accounting, and sits on mediation panels around Australia.
We will be happy to discuss a matter, or simply to meet your firm. Get in touch · +61 3 9602 3988 · chuatan@tpg.com.au
Level 2, 262 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 · +61 3 9602 3988 · chuatan@tpg.com.au · WeChat: chuatan262
Professional executor & trustee services - Case studies
General information only, not legal advice. The position for a particular estate depends on its facts and the law of each jurisdiction involved.
简体中文 
English (Australia) 
繁體中文