I could use some help as I’m quite lost on this matter.
My father just passed away in Taiwan and is passing his condo 1/3rd to his wife, 1/3rd to me, and 1/3rd to my sister. My sister and I live in the US and have dual U.S./Taiwan citizenship. She has a 1-year-old and I have a 2-month-old so it’s hard for us to travel to Taiwan right now.
Does anyone have any experience or insight on the matter of getting an inheritance in Taiwan while being in the U.S.? We’re thinking about getting a lawyer in Taiwan who is fluent in English to help us. Our Mandarin is not good enough for legal matters. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you.
Edit: I grew up in Taiwan from ages 1-12. To my understanding, in California, we call these types of buildings Condos. Wikipedia says this, " A ‘condominium,’ often shortened to ‘condo,’ in the United States of America and in most Canadian provinces, is a type of living space similar to an apartment but independently sellable and therefore regarded as real estate. I didn’t realize it would be something different in English in Taiwan…
This has been more frustrating than helpful. Forget I asked.
I don’t know how to delete this or I would.
The biggest difference between a condo vs . apartment is ownership. An apartment is defined as a residence that is rented, often as part of a larger residential building. A condo is similar in structure to an apartment — usually a unit within a larger residential building — but condos are owned instead of rented.
A real estate broker should be able to help, especially now that you’ll have to divide the property three ways, and currently there’s only one deed with one name on it. Beware of inheritance tax, which can take a big bite out of the inheritance.
Don’t see a reason why not, but keep in mind they don’t have trusts in Taiwan so it would need to be an overseas trust so there could be an issue with acquiring the assets
I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble getting the kind of information you need.
This will probably be a significant time commitment, so you should also try to figure out how much the apartment is worth. Even a rough estimate may give you an idea about whether this is worth spending at least a few months on this.
My own dad passed away last year (not in Taiwan, in my home country) and my siblings and I have spent a lot of time working with lawyers and making decisions on things that need to be sold or somehow shelved.
It does seem like you will need to get a lawyer, who would be helpful not only in explaining the terms and laws but also could be useful should you end up facing your dad’s wife’s own lawyer and want to negotiate.
These are probably big firms. Use it as a starting point to get your bearings. What I might do in your shoes is plan a trip to Taiwan to assess the property and find a lawyer. Maybe a 2 or 3 week trip.
Before coming over, build a list lawyers to meet personally and tell your story. Use the names of the firms in that list to search LinkedIn for profiles in English. Invite them to connect, and if at least 10 people respond, it might be worth reaching out and asking to meet face to face or via Zoom. While their firms may be out of your price range, they will probably know a lawyer in her own practice who could help you. Work the network.
While you are in town, you may also gain deeper insight in your dad’s widow’s situation. I wouldn’t expect much, but you would be in a better position to figure this out here than there. Hopefully, you have extended family who can help.
Good luck with this. It isn’t fun or easy, but it could very well be worth it. Real estate in Taipei is considered highly valued ymmv
How might you go about trying to assess the value of your property from a distance? At this stage, although it’s wildly inaccurate, look for comparables in the area, hopefully you will find some very close, ideally in the same building, i.e., you know the address.
591 is currently (still?) the biggest real estate website here. I’ve just taken a peek and it doesn’t seem to have any English, and I’m struggling to figure it out (search Forumosa for tips people may have shared on how to use it, although they could be a bit dated)
Consider using Spacious, which is a HK based app that is in English and covers Taipei, i.e., assuming your dad’s property is in Taipei.
And use AirBNB as well to get a very rough and optimistic sense of the potential rental income.
I think 591 and Spacious also cover property sales, which is probably more relevant to you in assessing the value, since your family should consider liquidating it and splitting the proceeds 3 ways or negotiating a buyout of 1 or more parties.
Again these are very blunt approaches, plus you do not know the actual current state of the property, which will impact any valuation. Can any friends or relatives in Taipei help you with this? They could take photos and send them to you - internal and external. Even just pictures of the building and neighborhood could be of some value. Plus, if you do connect with legal counsel or if discussions with your dad’s widow warm up, they could be helpful in those conversations, even before you or your sister visit personally.
Don’t forget it will help if you know how large the apartment is in Taiwan Pings. The websites I mentioned assume you will size things in these units.
You mentioned that both you and your sister have very small children to care for. I think this is a blessing, because if either of you can plan a visit to Taiwan, you at least wouldn’t be dealing with disrupting any school schedules.
Although bringing them along with you will make things significantly less convenient (you would want to be very mobile when you are on the ground here talking to as many realtors and lawyers as you can), it is certainly doable. There are far less convenient and less hospitable places.
I once asked a friend at a well established law firm what legal advice I could seek in Taipei in English on a budget. He said I would have to look around for sole practicioners (search these forums for ideas how to do that). He also said there are English-speaking lawyers at Legal Aid in Taiwan, which is a non-profit organization that is designed for people who cannot afford to engage a law firm. I know Forumosans have effectively use Legal Aid so there should be stories about this on the forums, although more likely concerning lawsuits over unpaid salary.
I thought you mentioned that you were in touch with AIT (the US embassy) – but I don’t see it in your original post (OP).
AIT has tips and links to how you might find English speaking attorneys. Look for similar advice and lists on the websites of other English speaking embassies - particularly the UK, Australia, Canada, and NZ. You might even check the respective Chambers of Commerce (AmCham, BritCham, etc)
AIT’s American Citizen Services could be helpful and you may need their assistance at some point should you enter late stage negotiations and want to authenticate any documents. I don’t know who currently is heading the department but their previous one was an awesome and very resourceful person.
One more thing that I think is really important: try not to use any lawyers at all
Although most of the advice so far has been about getting legal counsel, this is because you may not be familiar with the laws around inheritance, wills, and probate. I suggested speaking to lawyers because they are a first line resource of up-to-date knowledge about these specific topics. Also, you may well need their services eventually if things with your stepmom get ugly (which they probably will if she has already lawyered up).
So, while you are gathering insight into the legal aspects of your claim, and doing due diligence on the property to decide whether this venture is worth it in the first place, try to work things out with your dad’s widow WITHOUT any lawyers around. Personally, I prefer to get lawyers involved to only formalize agreements or contracts - to make sure they are compliant and, hopefully, airtight under the law (how I wish). Unfortunately, with my own father’s estate, there were lawyers already in place - and don’t get me wrong, these are some of the most respectable, accomplish, and smartest people I know.
But from a client perspective, getting lawyers involved adds time - YEARS OFTEN - to a negotiation. It just takes so long. Is your dad’s apartment going to be worth that commitment of time and attention? You just had a kid and the next few years are the most formative for the child and the most satisfying for the parent - are you prepared to spend some amount of time (potentially significant) shuttling back and forth for this property? In some cases, YES - the apartment will be a major part of your child’s nest egg - it’s non-negotiable. But if Taiwan is already not in your life, it’s understandable that you will want to focus on other priorities. Be prepared to make your stepmother an offer to sell to her your stake(s) in the apartment - and save yourself the additional heartache and expense from the start.
If you have a relationship with your stepmother - work things out somehow, which means coming to an agreement on what will ultimately happen to the apartment. There are property taxes that have to be kept up, so if this starts to look like a long process (>2 years), you all will need to decide how to keep the government out of this situation. Or else that’s another layer of learning and time you will eventually factor in - first lawyers, now accountants? Ugh
Recognize that this may take a long time to resolve, even when everyone is on the same page already. With lawyers deeply involved, you may have to pay them. Try to limit their role to the formality stage.
And if you don’t have a good relationship with your stepmother, consider walking away from the apartment. Life is too short. The apartment may not be worth-keeping because of the time and legal expenses involved. The opportunity cost is too high. Only you and your sister can determine this, but seek advice or insight from relatives, lawyers, realtors, and your stepmother.
I recently signed a commercial agreement between 2 small businesses: mine in Taiwan and a licensing partner in Canada. I insisted there should be a mandatory arbitration clause, and proposed we use the arbitration center in Singapore as a compromise. On the arbitration center’s FAQ, they point out that cases can be expected to take at least 9 months to resolve. To me, this suggests that even a simple legal case would run far longer, and at greater expense.
Of course, part of including such a clause is a deterrent - we only “go there” as a last resort. It’s gotta be worth the time and prize. The same holds for your dad’s apartment. It’s definitely worth something, but is it worth the possibility of lost time and income over the next X years?
