Zhiheng News | From Inheritance to Execution: China-Australia Cross-border Legal Service Products, Accurately Solving People's Livelihoods
As China–Australia global exchanges become increasingly close, the growing frequency of personnel movements and asset allocations has led to an explosive surge in cross-border legal demands. According to official Australian data, in 2023, the number of people born in mainland China residing in Australia reached 655,000, an increase of over 51% compared to 2013. A KPMG report also indicates that Chinese enterprises invested more than US$113.4 billion in Australia between 2006 and 2023.
However, differences in legal systems, procedural barriers, and language hurdles have made cross-border inheritance and the enforcement of judgments between China and Australia a significant obstacle for countless families and businesses.
Shelly Sun, an Australian practicing lawyer and international notary public, was officially approved in July of this year to be registered as a Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong and has joined
(hereinafter referred to as “Zhiheng Hong Kong”).
As the first foreign-qualified registered lawyer at Zhiheng Hong Kong, Attorney Sun Di’s joining not only marks Zhiheng Hong Kong’s first-ever access to legal services under New South Wales law in Australia, but also substantially advances the synergy of the legal ecosystems between the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and Australia. The International Center of Guangdong
, in collaboration with Attorney Sun Di’s team, has jointly developed a dual-track legal service product for “China–Australia Cross-Border Inheritance + Enforcement.” Leveraging an innovative model of “coordinated application of two legal systems and end-to-end coverage,” this offering helps clients overcome complex cross-border legal challenges.
One
Cross-Border Challenges Between China and Australia: Inheritance and Enforcement Under Legal Differences
Strategic Advisor, International Center, Guangdong
Attorney Yang Chunxue pointed out that the differences between the legal systems and cultural customs of China and Australia directly contribute to the complexity of cross-border legal matters. Take inheritance as an example: Mainland China adopts the system of community property between spouses, while Australia employs a separate property regime; moreover, the recognition of the validity of wills and the statutory order of succession differ markedly. In the area of judgment enforcement, the two jurisdictions apply different standards for “finality of judgments” and “determination of jurisdiction,” resulting in many final judgments being rendered ineffective because they fail to meet the legal requirements of the enforcing jurisdiction.
Under the traditional service model, clients must engage separate lawyers in China and Australia, which not only results in high communication costs and significant coordination challenges but also risks overlooking critical procedural steps due to information asymmetry—this is precisely the core point of focus in our legal team’s product design.
Two
Innovation Breakthrough: The "Dual-Jurisdiction Coordination" Solution
Leveraging the resources of Zhiheng’s Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan offices, as well as its Australian partner network, the Zhiheng legal team has built a comprehensive end-to-end service system for cross-border inheritance and enforcement matters between China and Australia, centered on “one-stop service and customized strategies,” directly addressing four key pain points.
(I) China-Australia Cross-Border Inheritance: Enabling Seamless Inheritance of International Estates
1. Cross-jurisdictional team collaboration to eliminate legal barriers.
Joint Team Composition: Led by Attorney Yang Chunxue of Zhiheng International Center, the team is complemented by Sun Di, an attorney registered with the Australian Department of Home Affairs (PhD in Law from the University of New South Wales and NAATI-certified translator), as well as specialized mainland China attorneys, creating a collaborative model that combines “Chinese legal interpretation” with “Australian procedural implementation.” For example, when mainland residents handle the inheritance of Australian real estate, mainland lawyers prepare the necessary supporting documents, while Attorney Sun Di, acting as an international notary public, processes the authentication of the documents in Australia, eliminating the need for clients to travel across borders.
Cross-jurisdictional Coordination Mechanism: Appoint dedicated coordinators, develop standardized procedural manuals, and establish unified channels of communication with Chinese and Australian inheritance management authorities, notary offices, and tax agencies to eliminate communication gaps in traditional cooperation.
2. End-to-end refined services, covering all inheritance scenarios.
From “Initial Consultation” to “Ongoing Support,” the team has established a seven-step standardized process and has tailored solutions for two core types of needs:
Mainland residents inheriting Australian assets:We specialize in resolving key issues related to Australian estate administration, including property and stock valuations, bank account inquiries, tax filings (such as inheritance tax and capital gains tax), and applications for letters of administration.
Typical Case: Assisted Mr. Zhang of Shanghai in efficiently inheriting his father’s real estate and financial assets in Australia, completing the entire process from document preparation to property transfer within just two months.
Australian overseas Chinese inheriting property in mainland China: Focusing on inheritance notarization, tracing the property rights of historical properties, and ensuring compliance for the cross-border transfer of assets.
Typical Case: In the case involving Ms. Zhang, an Australian Chinese woman whose ancestral home in China had been unlawfully occupied, our team successfully helped her reclaim her inheritance by retrieving land records and filing a lawsuit to establish her property rights.
3. Dual integration of culture and language reduces communication costs.
Our team is proficient in Mandarin, English, and Cantonese, with a deep understanding of the cultural differences between China and Australia regarding inheritance. Whether it’s the “will trust” model familiar to overseas Chinese in Australia or the “equal distribution” preference often sought by families in mainland China, we can design tailored solutions to prevent disputes arising from cultural misunderstandings.
(II) China-Australia cross-border enforcement: enabling international judgments to "take effect"
1. Conduct a precise preliminary assessment to mitigate execution risks.
Zhiheng China-Australia Cross-Border Legal Team will first conduct a comprehensive assessment of the enforceability of the judgment, the debtor’s asset status, and the legal requirements of the place of enforcement. For example, it will determine whether a mainland judgment meets the “finality” requirement under Australia’s Foreign Judgments Act, or whether an Australian judgment satisfies the “principle of reciprocity” under China’s Civil Procedure Law, thereby identifying potential obstacles in advance.
2. Cross-jurisdictional asset investigation, breaking down information barriers
Leveraging Zhiheng’s global network and its local Australian legal resources, our team can precisely trace the debtor’s assets in both China and Australia, including bank accounts, real estate, equity interests, and more, thereby addressing the core challenge of “being unable to locate assets.”
3. Full-process agency services, ensuring efficient implementation.
From the notarization and legalization of documents to filing an application with the court in the place of enforcement, participating in court hearings to present defenses, and assisting the court in taking measures such as asset seizure and detention, our team provides full‑service representation throughout the entire process and keeps clients regularly updated on progress. Zhiheng Cross-Border China-Australia Legal TeamLeveraging extensive experience in cross-border litigation, we have repeatedly and successfully countered defenses such as “objections to jurisdiction” and claims of “unfair judgments,” thereby ensuring the smooth progress of enforcement proceedings.
Three
Benchmark Value: From Meeting Public Needs to Setting an Industry Standard
This China–Australia cross-border legal services product not only helps address pressing public concerns such as difficulties in inheritance and enforcement, but also offers a replicable and innovative pathway for the international legal services industry.
1.Breaking the Talent Bottleneck: By adopting a collaborative legal model involving Mainland China, Australia, and Hong Kong, we can address the issue of individual lawyers’ insufficient cross-jurisdictional expertise and cultivate interdisciplinary legal professionals with cross-border practice capabilities.
2.Standardized and replicable:A global service interface has been reserved, and in the future, drawing on the China–Australia experience, it can be extended to cross-border legal scenarios such as China–South Korea and China–U.S., thereby supporting the internationalization of Chinese law firms.
3.Empowering the Greater Bay Area and the World: will provide more convenient legal support to Chinese and Australian businesses and families, thereby strengthening the rule-of-law safeguards for China–Australia economic and trade relations and people-to-people exchanges.
Through continuous efforts and innovation, the International Center of Guangdong
will contribute further to fostering synergy within the legal ecosystem of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and Australia. It will continually refine and upgrade its “China–Australia Cross-Border Inheritance + Enforcement” dual-track legal service offering to meet clients’ increasingly diverse needs, providing more professional, efficient, and attentive cross-border legal services to the people of both China and Australia.
Team Attorney · Profile
Attorney Luo Baiyun
Partner at Zhiheng Hong Kong
Hong Kong-registered foreign lawyer (RFL)
Attorney Luo Baiyun has nearly twenty years of experience in cross-border legal practice, specializing in the internationalization of Chinese lawyers, cross-border dispute resolution, and the intersection of family law and criminal law. Previously a registered foreign lawyer in Hong Kong and partner at a law firm, he spearheaded the strategic planning and operational implementation for Chinese law firms expanding overseas to establish international branches, and played a pivotal role in building cross-border law firm compliance management systems.
Drawing on a background in banking and capital markets—specifically seven years of experience in underwriting debt financing instruments—and a legal professional foundation, he excels at integrating commercial thinking into legal services. His cross-border practice spans areas such as estate planning and inheritance, family law, defense in economic crime cases, and international arbitration. The firm spearheaded the drafting of the “China Lawyers Going Global White Paper” and the “Code of Conduct for Chinese Lawyers Practicing Abroad,” systematically outlining a roadmap for the industry’s internationalization, and has pioneered methodological innovations in cross-border inheritance planning and the establishment of compliance frameworks for law firms.
Major:
Cross-Border Dispute Resolution (Litigation/Arbitration) | Cross-Border Family and Inheritance Matters | Cross-Border Compliance
Attorney Sun Di
Hong Kong Registered Foreign Lawyer (RFL)
Practicing lawyer in the jurisdiction of New South Wales (Australia)
International Notary Public
Sunsolis, Chief Legal Counsel, registered legal practitioner with the Ministry of the Interior. Holds a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Laws in Social Justice, and a Bachelor of Laws from Sun Yat-sen University in China. Also a NAATI‑certified bilingual translator for Chinese–English translations and an international notary public.
Since entering the profession, I have practiced across multiple areas of law at a leading firm in central Sydney, providing legal advice to clients in family law, commercial law, and corporate law. I am adept at communicating with clients of Chinese background and am committed to developing comprehensive strategies for my clients, helping them achieve balanced outcomes while avoiding excessive legal costs.
Major:
Real Estate | Australian Immigration Law | Criminal Law | Family Law | Business and Corporate Law
Attorney Yang Chunxue
Strategic Advisor at the International Center of Guangdong
(in the fields of cross-border inheritance and cross-border tax matters)
Senior Equity Partner at Zhiheng Zhongshan
Member of the Board of Directors, Zhongshan Lawyers Association
Attorney Yang Chunxue currently serves as a director of the Tenth Zhongshan Municipal Lawyers Association and as the Director of its Tax Law Professional Committee. With 25 years of experience practicing law in mainland China, I specialize in Chinese corporate law and have extensive hands-on expertise across the entire spectrum of corporate matters, including early-stage equity structuring, procurement and sales, internal governance, external rights protection, shareholder deadlock resolution, and debt restructuring.
Over the past decade, we have integrated tax compliance with corporate governance and major transactions, providing comprehensive legal, tax, and financial services. Additionally, serving as a strategic advisor in the cross-border inheritance and cross-border tax & finance practice areas at Zhiheng International Center, I provide services in cross-border inheritance, cross-border estate administration, and cross-border tax compliance. I also conduct in-depth research on legal and tax compliance for Chinese enterprises’ outbound investments, as well as on personal income tax compliance for high-net-worth individuals with cross-border income.
Provides customized training courses and legal services to various enterprises.
Major:
Guidance on Overseas Investments by Chinese Enterprises and Cross-Border Tax and Financial Compliance | Cross-Border Inheritance and Cross-Border Enforcement | International Arbitration and Foreign-Related Litigation | Corporate Legal Affairs in China | Specialized Legal and Tax Services
Attorney Liu Mihua
Senior Partner at Zhiheng Longgang
Hong Kong Registered Foreign Lawyer (RFL)
Bachelor of Laws, registered solicitor with the Law Society of Hong Kong. Currently a senior partner at Zhiheng (Longgang) Law Firm, Director of the Rights Protection Center of the Longgang District Lawyers’ Working Committee, and Deputy Director of the Family and Wealth Succession Department within the Marriage and Family Practice Center. For many years, he has focused on areas such as family law and private wealth management, having served numerous cross-border families.
Major:
Marriage and Family Matters | Civil and commercial contract disputes
Attorney Wu Wenjie
Zhicheng Zhongshan Lawyer
Attorney Wu Wenjie specializes in civil and commercial dispute resolution and corporate legal risk management, with particular expertise in areas such as private lending, contract disputes, the delineation of shareholder rights and responsibilities, and the establishment of homeowners’ committees. Drawing on six years of experience in government legal affairs at the Urban Construction Bureau of Tanzhou Town, Zhongshan City, I have developed a deep understanding of grassroots governance and integrate administrative compliance principles into corporate legal services.
In cases involving agency for private lending and enforcement objections, the “piercing the corporate veil” doctrine was successfully applied to hold shareholders jointly and severally liable, thereby effectively safeguarding the rights and interests of creditors. Currently provides ongoing legal advisory services to numerous domestic enterprises, helping them mitigate business risks.
Major:
Civil and Commercial Litigation | Corporate Legal Affairs | Establishment of Owners’ Committees | StrongEnforcement Case