Your current location >> Press Release
Shanghai Changning Court released white paper on trial of cases involving testamentary succession (2017-2020)
[2021-10-09]

 

 

 

 

    In order to advance the development of a modern socialist country in an all-round way, promote the core socialist values, and help improve the relationship between family members, the Shanghai Changning District People¡¯s Court (Shanghai Changning Court) held a press conference on October 9, 2021 to release a white paper on its handling of cases involving testamentary succession between 2017 and 2020 and model cases of that type.

According to the press conference, the white paper aims to convey three messages: one, the law protects natural persons¡¯ right of inheritance, ensures the safe succession of family wealth, and stimulates the people¡¯s enthusiasm for pursuing wealth, so that common prosperity can be achieved in high-quality development; two, the law encourages families to take the responsibility of caring for the young and old to balance the interests of individuals, families and the public; three, the law advocates a sound and rational view of wills in society and promotes the establishment of legal and effective wills, in order to maintain an equal, harmonious, and civilized relationship between family members. Shanghai Changning Court hopes that relevant departments and all sectors of society will work together to enhance the people¡¯s awareness of the rule of law, strengthen legal protection in industry sectors, and eliminate conflicts, promote harmony, and lead a good fashion at the origin.

The white paper shows that between 2017 and 2020, Shanghai Changning Court accepted 548 cases involving testamentary succession and 608 wills, accounting for 60.25% of the total inheritance-related cases accepted in the same period. The handling of cases involving testamentary succession is tricky in the four aspects: one, it is difficult to determine the scope of the heir; two, it is difficult to determine the testamentary capacity of the deceased; three, the flaws in form lead to doubts about the validity of the will; and four, the flaws in content lead to disputes over the validity of the will. To make handling of such cases more effective, the white paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions from these aspects: promoting the traditional Chinese virtues on families; renewing the judicial concept of testamentary succession; adopting flexible ways of litigation; clarifying the rules of proof; regulating witness procedures; and grasping the difficulties in trial. By doing so, Shanghai Changning Court could confront the new issues of judicial practice after the implementation of the Civil Code of the People¡¯s Republic of China (the ¡°Civil Code¡±), and lead, through its handling of cases, the public to integrate the core socialist values into the development of families.

The six model cases released at the press conference cover common issues such as the determination of the capacity of the testator for civil conduct, the determination of the validity of a printed will, the determination of the share of inheritance kept for people with no ability to work and no source of income, and the determination of the validity of a joint will. Rules have been clarified based on the effective judgments and Shanghai Changning Court offers six points as guidance for making a standard and effective will according to law: 1. The form of a will should be in accordance with the law. The Civil Code stipulates seven forms of wills, namely: wills written by oneself, wills written by others, printed wills, audio-recorded wills, video-recorded wills, oral wills, and notarized wills. 2. Ambiguity in writing should be avoided. In the case of property disposal, words such as ¡°succession¡± should be used to clarify the ownership of the inheritance. The word ¡°executor¡± should appear if there is a designated executor of the will. Vague expressions such as ¡°disposal with full authority¡± and ¡°entrusted disposal¡± should be avoided. 3. The testator¡¯s capacity for conduct should be identified. The testator must be a person with full capacity for civil conduct when making a will. That can be proved through a video or a witness etc. 4. One should choose the right witnesses. People with no capacity for civil conduct or limited capacity for civil conduct or no capacity for witnessing, heirs, legatees, and people who have an interest in the heirs and legatees cannot serve as witnesses. It is recommended to choose lawyers and workers at primary-level organizations etc. as witnesses. 5. When making a will, it is necessary to keep a share of inheritance for heirs and fetuses who lack the ability to work and have no source of income. 6. Married couples should better not make a joint will. Disputes and contradictions are easily caused due to a lack of statutory provision on it. If a married couple decides to make a joint will, it is necessary to make a clear agreement on the authority of the party who outlives the other to modify and revoke the will and the scope in which he or she may do so.

 

 

 

>> Chinese Version
The English version of this article, which is translated from the Chinese version by CTPC, is for reference only and shall be subject to the corresponding contents on the Chinese webpage.
Copyright @2014 Shanghai High People's Court, All Rights Reserved.