Professional Wills Limited
Professional Wills Ltd (PWL) is the leading provider of multi-jurisdictional Wills and Estate Planning in Hong Kong and the region since 2006. Our Wills and Estate Planning service is comprehensive, leveraging over 25 years combined experience, helping over 2,500 clients.
Our 4 in-house Will Writers are qualified to ensure that we hold ourselves to the highest worldwide professional standards for those advising families across generations. Between them, they are:
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qualified lawyers, solicitors (non-practicing)
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members of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
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TEP-qualified (Trust and Estate Practitioner)
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members of the SWW (Society of Will Writers), and/or
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members of IPW (Institute of Professional Will Writers)
PWL also has Professional Indemnity Insurance which covers the firm for writing Wills for global jurisdictions.
We look forward to welcoming you to our offices.
About Us
More About Professional Wills and the Team
Our Team
Matthew Lloyd, TEP
Owner & Managing Director
Nivedita Shankar
Will Writer
Originally from England, Matthew completed his business degree in the UK and went to work in the finance and estate-planning industry. Matthew moved to Hong Kong in 2001 and joined Professional Wills in 2008. He has been advising clients on their Wills and estate planning throughout Asia since then. Matthew is a follower of Stoke City, is a keen snooker player and cricketer, and enjoys any challenge by anyone to a game of pool.
Matthew advises on a broad range of cases and has assisted clients on a number of issues connected to their Will writing. These include multi-jurisdictional considerations, inheritance/estate tax planning, and business succession. Matthew also specializes in complications surrounding UK domicile - which is relevant for many clients in the region - and also in planning for repatriation.
Member:
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IPW (Institute of Professional Will Writers)
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STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
Qualifications/Certifications:
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Advanced Certificate in Will Preparation (STEP)
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Advanced Certificate in Cross-Border Estates (STEP)
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SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) Type 1, 4 & 9
Matthew has given seminars to Chambers of Commerce and to similar organizations in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand emphasising the importance of Will writing and estate planning and the various complications arising in different jurisdictions.
Nivedita is from Sydney, Australia and has completed her LLB (Hons)/ Bachelor of Finance at the Australian National University in Canberra. She also completed an exchange semester in both the London School of Economics (LSE) and University College Dublin where she developed an interest in working internationally and decided to focus her career within the Asia Pacific region.
After graduating, she worked within the Advisory arm of a large professional services company in Sydney where she rediscovered her interest in the law and moved into an in-house legal role. She has experience working within a large retail bank in Australia. Within this role, she was also able to complete her Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, allowing her to be admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW.
Apart from work, Nivedita has several interests including singing, running and exploring the nature and food culture of Hong Kong.
Melissa Leung, CPA
Finance Manager
Melissa brings more than 20 years experience of diverse accounting, financial, and business experience to her role at Professional Wills Limited.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance as well as completing her CPA in the US. Melissa has extensive accounting experience through accountant and senior management roles for a variety of medium to multinational companies located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hong Kong.
Her expertise includes providing comprehensive accounting services, including, audits, taxes, and payroll reports. Additionally, Melissa has expertise in supporting computerized accounting systems.
She is a native Cantonese speaker, fluent in English and Putonghua, with a basic knowledge of Japanese.
Rachel Bourke
Marketing
Born and raised in Hong Kong, educated in the US at Tufts University, Rachel has a wide array of skills and experience, beginning her career in Silicon Valley, and returning to Hong Kong 15 years ago to work in events and marketing.
She has had worked on large-scale events like Hong Kong's premier music festival, Clockenflap, to fundraising events for Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation. She has been an active member in the not-for-profit community for over 10 years, and has served and been an active advisor for the board of the American Women's Association of Hong Kong.
When not working, she spends her time volunteering and mentoring teams from City University's English Program on social media, event management, and communications.
Kiara Anne Valencia
Assistant Will Writer
Gabriella Ma
Secretary
Kiara works to ensure our office runs smoothly. Through her training and experience in hotel management, she has been able to adapt her skills through her excellent communication with our clients and team.
Hong Kong has become her adopted home and she enjoys cooking, spending time with her family and exploring the local culture.
Kiara holds a BSc Hotel and Restaurant Management, Tarlac State University, Philippines.
Gabrielle has 13 years of experience as a transcriptionist and executive assistant. She has spent most of her career in Brisbane, Australia, recently arriving back to her hometown of Hong Kong in 2021.
Her cheerful communication style and detail-oriented skills are a perfect fit with the PWL team, as well as her multilingual abilities in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, as she is responsible for meeting with and preparing documents for our diverse clientele.
Emily Lloyd
Business Development
Emily has been in Hong Kong for 15 years and assists the team with marketing and business development. She is active through the international school network educating parents about the value of having correct planning in place for guardianship of young children.