Law experts say that the assets of late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu are expected to be split between her husband DJ Koo and her two children.
The 48-year-old Meteor Garden star passed away in Japan on February 2 after contracting influenza-related pneumonia during a family trip.
She is survived by her two children — daughter Wang Hsi-yueh, 10, and son Wang Hsi-lin, nine, who are both from her previous marriage with Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei.
Barbie was married to South Korean singer DJ Koo. The couple registered their marriage in South Korea on Feb. 8, 2022, and are believed to have registered it in Taiwan on March 28 of the same year.
Taiwanese law dictates that the custody of the two children will be automatically transferred to Xiaofei after Barbie’s death.
The two kids live in Taiwan while Xiaofei, who resides in China, visits them once every two weeks.
Xiaofei getting custody of the kids will apply regardless of any will Barbie may have left, as only a surviving parent can designate a guardian through a will.
This means despite Barbie’s marriage to DJ Koo, he did not legally adopt her children and Xiaofei still retains full legal rights over their upbringing.
The custody of the kids have since sparked concerns for potential disputes over Barbie’s wealth, which is estimated to be around TW$1bil (S$41mil). With Xiaofei now as the legal guardian of the kids, he has the right to manage their share of Barbie’s assets.
It was reported that the late actress secured numerous endorsement deals throughout her career and the amount is said to be around TW$156mil (S$6.4mil).
Barbie also invested in real estate and owns three luxury properties — two villas worth a combined TW$519mil (S$24mil) and a TW$394mil (S$16mil) 760sqm apartment in Taipei’s Xinyi District with her ex-husband.
After her divorce from Xiaofei in 2021, it was estimated that Barbie received TW$600mil (S$25mil) from their joint assets. Xiaofei also left their two children a 720sqm villa.
Lawyers have stated the legal heirs to Barbie’s assets as DJ Koo, and her two minor children.
According to an attorney specialising in estate management and trusts, the country’s laws stipulate that DJ Koo can claim half of their total marital assets tax-free if the couple registered their marriage in Taiwan.
The remaining half will then be equally divided between Barbie’s two children.
This suggests that Xiaofei could technically receive TW$500mil (S$21mil) of Barbie’s inheritance.