Date: October 14, 2025 (Tuesday)

Time: 1pm – 2pm

Venue: Academic Conference Room, 11/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong

Speaker: Francesco Schurr (Professor of Italian Private Law and Comparative Law, University of Innsbruck)

Recent cases in various jurisdictions, especially in Europe, the US and Asia, demonstrate the significant challenges associated with transferring digital assets to the next generation. This assertion is especially applicable in the context of cryptocurrency, intellectual property associated with online media, including websites, online publications, business accounts, and private social media accounts, as well as data stored in cloud computing. It is evident that these asset classes deviate considerably from conventional assets, such as real estate, bank deposits, yachts, art, and shares in a family business, which are generally capable of being transferred with relative ease from the deceased’s estate to their heirs or beneficiaries. Conversely, the anonymity of digital assets can complicate the process of tracking ownership. Moreover, the conceptualisation of crypto wallets as dynamic digital wills poses technical and legal challenges. In the majority of legal jurisdictions, the conventional legal characteristics of succession law appear to be inapposite to the issues associated with contemporary digital asset classes of a sophisticated nature. The challenges experienced by family members and executors in accessing digital assets following the demise of an individual can result in the irreversible loss of these assets. The most viable solution appears to be the segregation of assets during one’s lifetime by means of wealth planning vehicles such as trusts and private foundations. In the planning procedure, forced heirship rules must be taken into consideration. In the event of digital assets being transferred to a trustee or a private foundation, it is incumbent upon the trustees to possess both legal and technical capabilities to manage the assets in favour of family members or to realise the philanthropic visions of the settlor. This necessitates a distinct expertise that varies significantly from the professional competence of a trustee managing conventional (cash-based) assets. Consequently, the parameters for the behaviour of a prudent trustee, as well as the implications for potential liability, must be redefined in the context of the present digital age.

Professor Dr Francesco A. Schurr is a Professor of Law (Chair for Italian Private Law and Comparative Law) at the School of Law of the University of Innsbruck/Austria. Furthermore he is a Visiting Professor at the School of Law of the University of Padova/Italy as well as Visiting Professor and Co-Director of the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Company, Foundation and Trust Law at the School of Business Law at the University of Liechtenstein. Francesco’s main research interests are the Law of Trusts and Foundations, Corporate Law as well as Contracts and Consumer Protection. He is admitted to the bar in Italy and Germany. Francesco is also serving as Judge at The Court for Trusts and Fiduciary Relations of the Republic of San Marino.

Moderator: Rebecca Lee, Associate Professor, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law

To register, please go to https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_regform.aspx?guest=Y&UEID=102986.

For inquiries, please contact Ms. Grace Chan at  / 3917 4727.