US daughters inheriting property from Taiwan father

You might already read, and some details have been changed, but these threads might give some idea on taiwanese inheritance.

Chinese info on estate tax (Google translator does ok job.)

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I know someone who was in this situation. Her father passed away and in his will the property was to be shared. The daughter grew up in the US with her parents and was very close to her father. They spoke Taiwanese at home so she never learned Mandarin.
She moved here to get it settled and the relatives pretended to be nice and then tried to talk her into walking away from it. Money brings out the uglies in people.
Nonetheless, her father wanted to have her share and the will should be respected.
She did prevail, the apartment was sold, and now doesn’t to worry about money. @Wren I might be able to get the name of the lawyer for you that helped my friend. Would that help?

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I mentioned this situation to my wife. She pointed out that if there is no will defining the split and the wife was indeed married to the father, then the wife would have sole claim on the apartment. If the wife’s marriage is not documented, then only the daughters would have a claim on the apartment. These are things the OP could verify with a Taiwan lawyer.

That said, my wife didn’t see a need for a lawyer since everything could be settled here without one. When we bought our apartment in Taipei, we did not have a lawyer present. In addition to the “land scribe” there was another person who I thought was a lawyer but was not - so, I thought this was some kind of witness.

The daughters should make confirm their understanding of her father’s ownership through his household registration (I guess the wife’s legal status could be verified there as well) – so the OP should know where the Household Registration Office for the apartment’s district is as well.

This is wrong, the spouse doesn’t inherit anything unless there is a will.

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it is not true. Spouse and each child have the equal right.

Civil Code

Article 1144
Each spouse has the right to inherit the property of the other, and his or her entitled portion is determined according to the following Subparagraphs:
(1) Where the spouse inherits concurrently with heirs of the first order, as provided in Article 1138, his or her entitled portion is equal to the other heirs;


If OP’s father and his wife didn’t make any special aarrangement, half of property and assets they got after their marriage are spouse’s. The remaining half and father’s own property and assets which he got before the marriage are inherited property. If there is no will, each of spouse and two children has a claim of 1/3 portion.

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You sure about the spouse ? I was under the impression they do not inherit anything, unless there is a will that instructs otherwise

where did you get the impression? Taiwanese law says spouses have the right.

Thank you for setting me straight!

Hi Aikaili,
I am also in a similar inheritance situation with my brother in Taipei (I reside in the US) and came across this post via internet search looking for some insight. I apologize for reaching out like this but would it be possible to get the lawyer info that helped your friend? I apologize to the community if this post is inappropriate as I’m a noob/just created my account and don’t know how to reach out in private.
Thank you

Let me ask my friend for her recommended for the lawyer.

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Hi me too!!! Same as above poster!
My grandpa put me in his will and I’m Us citizen & Taiwan citizen. He put my name on multiple properties in Taiwan. I’m planning on getting married to my bf and of course my grandpa is traditional so he does not know. The rest of my family knows. But just wondering if I change my last name getting married in US. Will it affect my inheritance from my grandpa in Taiwan? Help pls! If so we’ll postpone the official marriage

if you have multiple properties in TW (real estate ?) they could be worth several million USD. if you are bringing in so much money, tell your bf to take your name :stuck_out_tongue:

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might also want to sign prenups

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I hope you get the whole lot by yourself and not have to share with others which can turn out to be a nightmare.

haha I know! But does changing last name make a difference to me inheriting in my grandpa’s Taiwan will?

Already ahead of you haha but don’t know any good prenup lawyers… and how to start ??

Hi me too!!! Same as above poster!
My grandpa put me in his will and I’m Us citizen & Taiwan citizen. He put my name on multiple properties in Taiwan. I’m planning on getting married to my bf and of course my grandpa is traditional so he does not know. The rest of my family knows. But just wondering if I change my last name getting married in US. Will it affect my inheritance from my grandpa in Taiwan? Help pls! If so we’ll postpone the official marriage

You need 2 good prenuptial lawyers, one in the US and one in Taiwan. Arguably the Taiwan lawyer is much more important, because that’s where the property is. If I were you I’d have a lawyer in each country to advise you.

U.S. legal concepts: Your inheritance from grandpa can likely be classified as non-marital property (you keep it all to yourself) HOWEVER you must learn how to avoid conmingling assets or giving your spouse legal right to those properties.

Don’t know if Taiwan law has the same concept applied in the same way, so get thee to a consult with a good Taiwan divorce attorney before you get married (even if it’s over zoom or phone call).

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find a prenuptial lawyer in Taiwan first, then the lawyer can tell certain thing on your name change.