Prenuptial agreements are not specifically authorized by Hong Kong Law. However, Unlike China, Hong Kong’s legal system is based on theU.K.common law model. As the UK moves towards prenuptial agreements, it is possible that Hong Kong’s court may also be more amenable to prenuptial agreements.
Prenuptial agreements in Thailand are expressly authorized by Thai law. However, conflicts of law situations are quite common in Thailand, and Thai courts must often adjudicate foreign divorce matters from Hong Kong and the UK.
Here’s how one Hong Kong case played out: this week, Hong Kong courts ruled that property mogul Samanther Li Kin-Kan, worth an estimated HK$6 billion, pay his ex-wife Florence Tsang Chiu-Wu HK$1.2 billion, the largest award of funds even given in a Hong Kong open court.
Hong Kong opted in November 2010 to adopt the British system of “equal sharing” in divorce settlements, meaning that divorcing spouses are entitled to split assets, rather than the previous Hong Kong system where divorced wives were awarded funds considered sufficient to maintain their pre-divorce ways of life.
Courts ruled that Tsang’s awards included a Hong Kong property worth HK$250, a Londonproperty worth HK$30.53 million, as well as HK$7.5 million to buy two cars and a yacht, HK$2.5 million to join clubs in both Hong Kong and Europe, and compensation for court fees. Courts ordered that HK$202.8 million be paid to Tsang immediately, and that her ex-husband pay her HK 1.02 billion within 90 days.
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