Chinanews.com, Beijing, April 8th (Ma Shuaisha Zhang Su) "The post-90s will make a will to incorporate the afterlife into the life plan" "The will not only involves deposits, but also QQ, WeChat and other'virtual properties'"... Recently, these reports aroused discussion and social concern among netizens: Is it more and more common for young people to make wills?
Why did they start thinking about "heirs" at a young age?
Is this behavior an "individual show" or a rational response to reality?
To this end, reporters from Chinanews.com interviewed scholars, legal professionals and some "post-90s" to interpret the story behind the "Thirty Rise" wills.
What is the "Thirty Years" Will?
——To avoid missing property, taking care of parents, etc.
According to Lu Dewen, a researcher at Wuhan University's School of Sociology, a will has a very serious social function.
The purpose of making a will is to solve problems such as confusion in social relations and unclear division of property caused by accidents or various other reasons.
The "2020 China Will Bank White Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") released in March shows that as of the end of 2020, the number of "post-90s" will have increased from 55 in 2017 to 553.
Pang Huaxing, director of the Public Welfare Promotion Department of the China Will Bank, said that the "post-90s" have their own opinions, plans, ideas, and property.
When this group gradually enters the stage of marriage and childbirth, it will naturally think about property issues.
As he said, some analysts believe that the essence of a will is to make advance planning for personal property or other affairs in a manner prescribed by law.
At present, under the combined effect of multiple factors such as the family burden borne by the only child, the uncertainty of life exposed by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, more open concepts, and increasing awareness of independence and risk, some young people have joined the group that made wills Not surprising.
"Tangtang", a "post-90s" netizen from Shanghai, told reporters that if she became pregnant this year, she might make a will.
"Two consecutive friends around me were bleeding into the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) when they gave birth, so I was particularly afraid of having children," she said.
As the only child in the family, the property under the name "Tangtang" is given by the parents, but after entering the marriage, the spouse is the first heir. She hopes to guarantee the parents' pension rights through a will.
"Post-90s" boy Zhou Wenquan said that although he does not have many assets, he hopes to tell his parents what he has not expressed in this way and persuade them to live well.
The white paper shows that 71.54% of the "post-90s" wills involve real estate and 81.61% involve bank deposits. Among them, it is common for parents to buy a house in the name of their children.
Pang Huaxing said that the will has the function of setting out a list of assets. Those under the age of 30 prefer to inherit the assets by their parents. "Make a will to prevent parents and children from not knowing the details of the assets."
"New" of "Post-90s" Willing
——Digital technology affects the content of the will and the form of the will
"The will must be valid in strict accordance with the "Civil Code"." Chen Dandan, a partner of Jiangsu Sanfa Law Firm, told a reporter from Chinanews.com. According to the "Civil Code", the valid forms of a will include self-written wills and written wills. , Audio and video wills, oral wills, printed wills and notarized wills.
In addition, the laws stipulate their own requirements for entry into force.
"The validity of a will depends not only on whether the testator's intention is true, but also on the formal requirements stipulated by the law." She said.
According to the white paper, the inclusion and arrangement of virtual property such as Alipay, WeChat, QQ, and game accounts in the will of the "post-90s" has become one of its outstanding features.
Chen Dandan told reporters that Chinese law protects citizens’ virtual property, but there is no clear definition of virtual property. Judicial practice is based on the free trading and circulation of virtual property such as Alipay, WeChat, QQ, and game accounts. It has use value and exchange value. The basic attributes of traditional property are consistent and can become property in the legal sense.
She also reminded that the identification and division of the value of virtual property are also the most prone to disputes.
Digital technology not only affects the content of the will, but also the form of the will.
The "WeChat Wills" mini program launched in March last year has received nearly 70,000 messages by the end of 2020. Judging from the age of the commenters, this move is quite popular among young people.
Chen Dandan said in this analysis that people's lives are becoming increasingly "electronic" and "networked", and wills, as one of the important means for natural persons to dispose of personal property based on their true wishes, cannot avoid the "networking" trend.
However, "WeChat Wills" or other social software wills rely on software platforms and mobile phone ports. Existing technical means can hardly guarantee the authenticity of the will, that is, it is difficult to rule out the possibility of forgery.
In other words, "WeChat Will" is unlikely to be determined as a statutory form of will from the current point of view and in the short to medium term.
A will made through online media such as WeChat, even if it is expressed by the testator’s true intentions, but because it does not meet the formal requirements prescribed by the law, it should be invalid from a legal point of view.
How to treat the "rejuvenation" of making a will
——Reasonable treatment of life and death requires supporting links
Not all "post-90s" agree with the move to make a will immediately.
Chen Di, a "post-90s" girl, took an individual as an example. Since there is no other social relationship such as marriage at this stage, the law stipulates that the parents are the first heirs and there is no need to make a will.
Lu Dewen also believes that most of the "post-90s" have simple social relationships, have not yet achieved complete economic independence, have become the backbone of the family, and do not have the conditions for making a will.
In his opinion, it is "not representative" to restore these "post-90s" who made the will to the entire group.
In fact, the penetration rate of wills in China is still at a low level. The data given in the white paper is that "the proportion of wills made is less than 5%."
Interviewed scholars and legal professionals called for a "positive and positive" view of wills at the social level to break through the shackles of unnecessary traditional concepts and allow more people to use the law to protect their property.
From this perspective, more young people are willing to make a will, "plan" the future in advance, and think about their responsibilities to others, which is undoubtedly an improvement.
"The younger generation has less imagination of the future world after death, and more realistic considerations." Lu Dewen said.
There are also "post-90s" who have made a will in the Chinese Will Bank said that making a will is not the end, but a new starting point, and will live more seriously in the future.
Returning to the will itself, the corresponding public services, policies and regulations need to keep pace with the times.
Chen Dandan suggested that will writing should be included in government public services, such as combining the Chinese Will Bank, Notary Office, and judicial administrative departments to jointly build an information sharing platform and build a full coverage, full field, and full system inheritance service system on this basis.
She also suggested combining wills with insurance, family property trusts and other property inheritance systems.
"The will is not the only link. It should form an organic whole with other family property processing links to form a complete property protection system." She said.
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