On July 20th, Hong Kong veteran artist Alan Tam (Fourth Brother) passed away at the age of 89. As people mourned his death, there has been significant interest in the distribution of his inheritance. It is reported that Alan Tam’s estate is valued at over 100 million Hong Kong dollars. According to local media reports, after suffering a stroke, Alan Tam made a will, allocating 90% of his total assets to a family trust for his grandson Lucas and Quintus, the sons of Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung, to be managed by Cecilia Cheung with several attached conditions.
The funds are strictly designated for education, healthcare, and daily living expenses. Should Cecilia Cheung remarry, she automatically loses her guardianship rights and is required to take the children to Alan Tam’s grave for worship every month. The remaining 10% will be split equally between Nicholas Tse and his sister Jennifer Tse, with rumors suggesting that Nicholas Tse will inherit the property in Repulse Bay, while Jennifer Tse will predominantly receive the jewelry collection.
Several mainland Chinese media outlets have also reported on the above news. On July 23rd, the topic labeled “Alan Tam’s will with multiple restrictive clauses” surged to the top of Weibo’s hot search trends.
Car blogger and well-known Weibo user, “Yao Boss Who Talks About Cars,” commented, “Alan Tam allocated over 90% of his estate of over a hundred million to a family trust for his two grandsons, to be managed by Cecilia Cheung but with no ownership rights. The funds are solely for the grandchildren’s education, healthcare, and daily expenses. The will includes multiple restrictions: losing guardianship rights upon remarriage, monthly visits to the grave with the children, leaving only 10% to the children.
“To be honest, this will may seem stringent and lacking in personal touch, but upon further reflection, it shows Alan Tam’s foresight and thoroughness. By completely separating ownership and management rights, the money is for the grandchildren and not for anyone else, preventing asset outflow and potential disputes in the future.
“The clause regarding remarriage is not about distrust in Cecilia Cheung, but rather using a system to lock in variables because people and relationships can change, but the rules of the trust won’t. Being a grandfather, paving the way so thoroughly for his grandchildren before passing away feels truly wise.”
Astrology and divination blogger “Yuan Yuan in Shanghai” believes that requiring Cecilia Cheung to visit the grave with her two sons every month is somewhat harsh. “Setting aside the fact that the two grandsons are studying abroad and it would be difficult for them to fly back every month during the stressful exam seasons. Additionally, graveyards carry heavy yin energy and are not positive places. It’s not beneficial for minors to frequently visit there, even if it’s to pay respects to their ancestors, as it may attract trouble in times of weakness.
“For an average family, once a year worshiping ancestors at the grave is sufficient to establish a strong foundation and ensure the well-being of future generations. For those more meticulous, at most, it would be during Qingming Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, and Winter Solstice, three times a year for worship is ample. Could it be that Alan Tam, during the writing of his will, had a particular longing for his grandsons to visit him, and not receiving it caused him to have attachments and an intense desire.”
Born in 1936 under the name Xie Jiayu, Alan Tam was nicknamed “Fourth Brother” due to being the fourth child in the family. He gained fame for his role as Law Sei-hoi in the TVB classic series “The Shell Game” and has been known as “Fourth Brother” for many years. With a career in the entertainment industry spanning over 70 years, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2019 and won the Best Actor Award at the 40th Golden Horse Awards in 2022 for the film “Twilight’s Man,” becoming the oldest actor to receive the accolade in the history of the Golden Horse Awards. This marked his final public appearance.