With regard to inheritance, you need to understand these new regulations of the Civil Code
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 8 - Question: inheritance, these new regulations of the Civil Code you need to know
Xinhua News Agency reporters Sun Shaolong, Bai Yang, Huang Anqi
Inheritance is related to the inheritance of property after the death of a natural person, and is related to thousands of households. After the civil code is officially implemented on January 1, 2021, the inheritance law that will be implemented from 1985 will be replaced. From proper management of estates to reduction of disputes over estates, the Civil Code has made a series of new regulations in the succession edition.
Approval of testament forms such as video recording and printing
[Case] Zhang’s parents had three children. His father died in 2013 without making a will. Before his mother died in 2015, under the witness of two friends, he made a will by video recording, indicating that Zhang had been dedicated during his illness Care, decided to leave a set of real estate to Zhang Mou, deposit 120,000 yuan to Zhang Mou's two sisters.
Zhang's two sisters believe that the will in the form of a video is not a valid will, and the inheritance of parents should be divided according to legal inheritance.
[Explanation] Article 1337 of the Civil Code stipulates that a will made in the form of audio and video recordings should be witnessed by more than two witnesses. The testator and witness shall record their names or portraits, as well as the year, month, and day in the audio and video recordings.
The current inheritance law does not specify the forms and requirements for making testaments such as video recording and printing. There are many disputes in practice. The Civil Code regulates the forms and requirements for making testaments such as video recording and printing, and clarifies its legal effect.
Meng Qiang, director of the Civil Code Research Center of the Beijing Institute of Technology, said that the current inheritance law was implemented early, and technical means such as video recording and printing were not popular at the time. The amendments and supplements made this time fully reflect the civil code’s response to the development of the times. .
The validity of the notarized will will no longer take precedence
[Case] Uncle Li has two sons and two daughters under his knees. The old couple have notarized a will and the property is divided equally among the four children. But the old couple lived in the youngest son's home for the last few years of their lives. The younger son took care of his parents and fulfilled his maintenance obligations. So the old couple made another self-will testament before the end of their life, and gave half of the property to the younger son. Is this testament valid?
[Explanation] In real life, a person often has multiple wills. Although the current inheritance law stipulates that the last one shall prevail, if there is a notarized will, the notarized will shall prevail. The Civil Code revises this and deletes the priority of notarized will.
Article 1142 of the Civil Code stipulates that a testator can withdraw or change his own will. After the testament is made, if the testator commits a civil legal act contrary to the content of the testament, it shall be deemed as the withdrawal of the content related to the testament. There are several wills. If the content is inconsistent, the last will will prevail.
"Removing the priority of notarized will will reflect the respect of the testator's true will." Huang Qi, an associate professor at the School of Law of Shanghai International Studies University, said that in real life there are many cases where the testator needs to change the content of the notarized will, but the objective conditions may make The testator cannot go to the notary office to make a new notarized will, resulting in the inability to change the will according to his wishes.
Introduce the estate manager system
[Case] Mr. Wang, who runs a seafood business, was killed in a car accident. His heritage includes tons of high-end seafood stored in warehouses. During the handling of Mr. Wang’s incidents, his parents and his wife disagreed on the division of inheritance. The seafood in the warehouse was left unattended, and most of the decay caused heavy losses.
[Explanation] The Civil Code introduces the system of estate managers, which clearly stipulates the selection of estate managers in various situations, and at the same time clarifies the duties and responsibilities of estate managers. The coordination of estate managers can effectively reduce disputes between various parties, meet the needs of diversified estate distribution, and benefit social stability.
"As the people get richer, the types and number of inheritances left after their deaths have increased significantly." Wang Yi, Dean of the School of Law of Renmin University of China, said that professional institutions and professionals can be introduced through the estate manager system In order to make inheritance more smoothly, at the same time effectively resolve some of the contradictions and disputes in the past in the inheritance process.
Increase inheritance "forgiveness system"
[Case] Xiao Zhang is not filial to his parents and has not fulfilled his obligation to support his parents. Therefore, his parents did not list Xiao Zhang as the heir when he made the will. But as time passed, Xiao Zhang realized his mistakes, repented and took care of his parents. The parents decided to forgive Xiao Zhang, so can Xiao Zhang be re-listed as heir?
[Explanation] A prominent feature of this succession of the Civil Code is the establishment of a "forgiveness system" for heirs. While listing the five acts of the heir who has lost the right of inheritance, the Civil Code stipulates: "The heir has the third to fifth acts of the preceding paragraph and does show repentance. The heir expresses forgiveness or lists it as heir in the will afterwards. Yes, the heir does not lose the right to inherit."
"The purpose of the'forgiveness system' is to maintain a harmonious family relationship." Wang Yi believes that the "forgiveness system" has been recognized in previous judicial interpretations and has also worked well in judicial practice. This system is actually given The heirs have the opportunity to reinvent themselves, and it also reflects the rule design that respects the wishes of the heirs.
Provide more choices for the "old and dependent"
[Case] Lao Zhang is an elderly man who is widowed, has no children and no children under his knees, and has no relatives or friends who can trust him in his later years. In this case, Lao Zhang decided to sign an agreement with a nursing home, and the nursing home is responsible for taking care of his later life, and all his property is left to the nursing home after his death. Is this practice feasible?
[Statement] The Civil Code expands the scope of supporters on the basis of the current inheritance law, making it clear that a natural person can sign a bequest support agreement with an organization or individual other than the heir. The organization or individual assumes the natural life’s obligation to support death and burial and enjoys the bequest s right.
Wang Yi introduced that the legacy support agreement system is a legal system recognized by the current inheritance law. The expansion of the scope of support of the Civil Code on the one hand reflects the great progress made in the construction of social organizations in my country, on the other hand it also reflects respect for the wishes of the elderly and the positive assistance of the law in achieving the goal of "supporting the elderly".