China Lawyer Network
The Supreme People's Court releases typical cases of inheritance disputes (second batch)
Source: Supreme People's Court
Chinese path to modernization focuses on people's livelihood. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee pointed out that ensuring and improving people's livelihood in development is a major task of Chinese path to modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has issued important instructions on civil affairs work, emphasizing the need to "focus on promoting the implementation of the national strategy to actively respond to population aging, improve the level of social assistance, social welfare, social affairs, and social governance work, and actively do good deeds, carry out practical tasks, and solve difficulties for the people". The people's courts actively implement the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee and the 15th National Civil Affairs Conference, focus on responding to new situations and problems in the field of inheritance, properly resolve disputes, and solve the most concerned, direct, and practical interests of the people, continuously meeting their aspirations for a better life.
The second batch of four cases released this time mainly involve systems such as inheritance support agreements, mandatory shares, and loss of inheritance rights. The aim is to promote the value concept of friendly mutual assistance through judicial judgments, and to promote the traditional Chinese virtues of respecting and loving the elderly. This batch of cases has the following characteristics:
Firstly, respect the autonomy of the deceased's will. The principle of freedom of will is the concretization of the principle of autonomy of will in the field of inheritance, and is an important principle of inheritance legislation. Wills and testamentary support agreements are the disposal of one's own property by the deceased, while testamentary support agreements are arrangements made by the parties for one's own life, upbringing, death, and burial. If they are true, legal, and effective, they should be respected. In case one, after Dai signed a legacy support agreement with her ex husband Cai, Cai fulfilled the obligations stipulated in the agreement. Therefore, the people's court recognized the authenticity and validity of the legacy support agreement and supported Cai's lawsuit for obtaining a house.
Secondly, it reflects a sense of support for the weak. While respecting the autonomy of the parties involved, the inheritance system also plays a role in supporting the weak and caring for the elderly and young. In case two, the parties did not reserve necessary shares for the legal heirs who lacked labor ability and no source of livelihood in their will. The people's court made corresponding arrangements in accordance with the relevant provisions of the required share system, achieving an effective balance between protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups and respecting the freedom of will.
Thirdly, promote friendly and mutual assistance. Harmony, friendliness, and mutual assistance are inherent requirements of the socialist core values. If a person who does not have a legal obligation to support the deceased provides more support, according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, they may distribute appropriate inheritance. In Case Three, the party involved, Mr. Xu, is a disabled person and has no heirs such as parents, spouse, or children. Yan, who took care of Xu's life before his death and took care of his affairs after his death, was legally recognized by the people's court as having the right to claim the insurance benefits left by Xu after his death, which is conducive to the vigorous promotion of socialist core values.
Fourth, promote the virtue of respecting the elderly. The inheritance system embodies the unity of rights and obligations. Having an endless obligation to support the deceased is an important criterion for determining the amount of inheritance distribution. In Case Four, Gao Xiaomou ignored his parents and completely failed to fulfill his obligation to support them. The people's court has lawfully determined that his behavior constitutes abandonment and ruled that he loses his inheritance rights, demonstrating the positive guidance of the law on social values, which is conducive to promoting the traditional virtues of filial piety and respect for the elderly of the Chinese nation, and improving the mechanism for playing the role of family education and family ethics construction in grassroots governance.
Case 1
The caregiver fulfills the obligation of life support, death support, and burial, and has the right to obtain inheritance based on the inheritance support agreement
——Cai v. Pang Xiaomou and others regarding a dispute over a testamentary support agreement
Basic case
Dai gave birth to Pang Xiaomou with her first husband, who passed away in 1992. I divorced my second husband Cai in 2017. Since 2019, Dai has been suffering from various illnesses and has been bedridden for a long time, requiring someone to accompany and take care of him. He sought help from Pang Xiaomou, who ignored him and expressed unwillingness to bear the cost of his mother's future treatment. Dai and Cai signed an agreement, which stipulated that Cai would be responsible for taking care of Dai's daily life, paying medical expenses, and handling funeral matters. After Dai's death, Cai would donate the house under his name to Cai.
After signing the agreement, Cai fulfilled his obligations as agreed until Dai passed away. When Cai finished handling Dai's funeral affairs and claimed rights based on the "Agreement", Pang Xiaomou refused to assist Cai in handling the registration of the house change. Cai then sued Pang Xiaomou to the court, requesting to obtain the house under Dai's name in accordance with the law.
Judgment situation
The trial court believes that the "Agreement" signed by Dai and Cai is essentially a legacy support agreement, which was signed under the witness of witnesses and represents the true intentions of both parties, and is legal and valid. Cai fulfilled his obligation to support Dai before his death and also handled funeral and other matters for Dai after his death. He has the right to obtain a house under Dai's name according to the agreement. Pang Xiaomou, as the son of Dai, failed to fulfill his obligation to support Dai when he was ill, and after Dai's death, he claimed that the house involved should be distributed according to legal inheritance. His claim cannot be established. Therefore, it was ruled that Cai was bequeathed a house under the name of Dai.
Typical significance
Article 1158 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "a natural person may sign a testamentary support agreement with an organization or individual other than the heir. According to the agreement, the organization or individual shall assume the obligation of the natural person's life support, death and burial, and enjoy the right to be bequeathed. The legacy support agreement system provides a code of conduct and value guidance for the people, which is conducive to ensuring that the elderly have a sense of security and support in their old age. If the caregiver fulfills the obligations of birth, upbringing, death, and burial as agreed in the agreement, the people's court shall respect the autonomy of the parties and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the caregiver.
Case 2
Wills should reserve necessary inheritance shares for heirs who lack labor ability and no source of livelihood
——Liu and Fan Xiaomou's testamentary inheritance dispute case
Basic case
Fan and Ji were originally husband and wife. They had Fan Xiao in 1989, but they divorced. Fan remarried Liu in 2011. Fan Xiaomou has been suffering from kidney disease since 2006 and began dialysis treatment in 2016. He experienced cerebral hemorrhage in 2020. In June 2021, Fan made a self written will stating: "All of my properties and all of my family's assets will be inherited by my wife Liu in a hundred years, and the property rights will belong solely to Liu
In November 2021, Fan passed away. Liu filed a lawsuit to the court, requesting to inherit the property involved in the case according to the contents of the will. In the lawsuit, Fan Xiaomou argued that he was seriously ill, had lost the ability to work, and had no source of livelihood. Although Fan had left a will, it did not provide him with the necessary share according to the law. Therefore, part of the will is invalid, and he has the right to inherit the portion of the house involved in the case.
Judgment situation
The trial court held that although Fan's designation of Liu as the sole heir in his self written will was a true expression of his intention, Fan Xiaomou, as Fan's legal heir, had suffered from kidney disease for many years, lacked labor ability, and had no source of livelihood, so necessary shares should be reserved for him. Based on the value of the property involved in the case and the actual living conditions of both parties, it is decided that Liu will pay Fan Xiaomou the discounted price for the property. Therefore, the judgment was made: the house involved in the case was inherited by Liu, and Liu paid Fan Xiaomou the corresponding discounted price for the house.
Typical significance
Article 1141 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "a will shall reserve necessary shares of the estate for heirs who lack the ability to work and have no source of livelihood." The mandatory share system stipulated in this article is a restriction on the freedom of will and aims to balance the interests of testamentary freedom and statutory heirs, in order to maximize the protection of the survival rights of heirs who lack the ability to work and have no source of livelihood. If the testator does not reserve a share of the estate for an heir who lacks labor ability and has no source of livelihood, the necessary inheritance should be left for the heir when handling the estate, and the remaining portion can be handled according to the distribution principles determined in the will. The judgment in this case, through the compensation of discounted housing, not only protected the rights and interests of Fan Xiaomou, who lacked labor ability and had no source of livelihood, but also respected Fan Xiaomou's will that Liu inherited the property, achieving an effective balance between protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups and respecting testamentary freedom.
Case Three
The claimant of the estate has the right to claim the benefits of the deceased's life insurance contract
——Yan sued a certain insurance company for a personal insurance contract dispute case
Basic case
Xu is a member of a collective economic organization in a certain village and is a disabled person. In March 2020, the Disabled Persons' Federation in his district purchased group personal accident insurance for him, with Xu as the insured and a limit of 50000 yuan. During the insurance period, Xu died by drowning.
Xu was mainly taken care of by Yan before his death; After death, Yan will handle the aftermath. Xu has no first or second order heirs. The collective economic organization he belongs to has promised to waive the rights and interests under the insurance contract involved in the case to the court, and has jointly issued a written explanation with the local police station, acknowledging that Yan has provided significant support to Xu. Yan filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting the insurance company to pay insurance benefits.
Judgment situation
The trial court held that the insurance benefits under the insurance contract involved in the case were the inheritance of Mr. Xu. Xu, as a member of a village collective economic organization before his death, had no first or second order heirs. The village collective economic organization had promised in writing to waive the rights and interests under the insurance contract involved in the case. Yan, who had supported Xu a lot, had the right to claim insurance benefits under the insurance contract from a certain insurance company. Subsequently, it was ruled that a certain insurance company shall pay a sum of 50000 yuan in insurance benefits to Yan within ten days from the effective date of the judgment.
Typical significance
According to Article 42 of the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China, if there is no designated beneficiary after the death of the insured in personal insurance, the insurance benefits shall be treated as the insured's estate and the insurer shall fulfill the obligation to pay the insurance benefits in accordance with relevant inheritance regulations. In this case, Xu was the insured of personal insurance and did not designate a beneficiary. Therefore, after his death, the insurance benefits should be treated as his estate and paid to the heir by the insurance company. After investigation of the facts, it was found that Xu was a "five guarantee household" with no first or second order heirs. The collective economic organization he belonged to also promised to waive the insurance contract rights involved in the case. In this situation, the people's court, based on Article 1131 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that "for those who rely on the support of the deceased other than the inheritor, or for those who support the deceased more than the inheritor, appropriate inheritance can be distributed", identified Yan as a person who can receive appropriate inheritance and ruled that the insurance company should pay insurance benefits to him. This is an application of the system of discretionary inheritance. Different from the strong identity characteristics of the inheritance system, the inheritance system grants rights to voluntary supporters through legal provisions, advocating the values of friendliness and mutual assistance. The judgment in this case conforms to the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, which is conducive to reducing the concerns of caregivers and encouraging the formation of a good social atmosphere of caring for the elderly in the whole society.
Case Four
If the heir fails to fulfill their obligation to support and abandons the deceased, they shall lose their inheritance rights
——The legal inheritance dispute case between Gao Mouyi and Gao Xiaomou
Basic case
Gao Moujia and Gao Xiaomou have a father son relationship, with Gao Xiaomou being the only child. In 1992, Gao Xiaomou (then 20 years old) ran away from home after a dispute with his parents and has been indifferent to them ever since. When the mother fell ill, she was not taken care of and did not attend the funeral when she passed away. During the period when Gao was seriously ill, he underwent a major surgery and required transportation, care, and attention, but Gao Xiaomou did not appear. Gao XX A has four brothers and sisters, namely Gao XX B, Gao XX C, Gao XX D and Gao XX E. Gao Mouyi takes more care of Gao Moujia and his wife.
After the death of Gao Moujia, Gao Mouyi contacted Gao Xiaomou to handle the burial of Gao Moujia's ashes, but Gao Xiaomou ignored him. However, as the sole legal heir, he received some bank deposit certificates under Gao Moujia's name.
Gao Yi filed a lawsuit to the court, stating that Gao Xiao abandoned Gao Jia and should lose his inheritance rights. Gao Jia's estate should be inherited by the second order inheritor. Gao Bing, Gao Ding, and Gao Wu all agree that Gao Xiao should lose his inheritance rights and have issued a statement renouncing the inheritance of Gao Jia's estate.
Judgment situation
The trial court believes that children should fulfill their obligation to support the elderly financially, take care of them in daily life, and provide spiritual comfort. If the heir abandons the deceased, they shall lose their inheritance rights in accordance with the law. Since leaving home in 1992, Gao Xiaomou has been ignoring and ignoring the deceased for over thirty years. Not only did they not provide any financial assistance to their parents, nor did they contact them by phone, nor did they provide any financial or spiritual support. After their parents passed away, they also neglected to see them off, which constitutes abandonment of Gao Moujia. Therefore, it is ruled that the estate of Gao Moujia shall be inherited by Gao Mouyi; After the death of Gao Moujia, the funds withdrawn from Gao Moujia's account shall be inherited by Gao Mouyi, and Gao Xiaomou shall return them within ten days from the effective date of the judgment.
Typical significance
Article 1125 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "if an heir commits any of the following acts, he/she shall lose the right to inherit: (3) Abandoning the deceased or seriously abusing the deceased. Respecting parents is an important component of traditional virtues in China. Parents give their children life and care, and it is necessary for children to support them when they are old and weak. The obligation to support parents is not exempted due to their income or good physical condition. In this case, Gao Xiaomou did not provide any support to his parents for more than 30 years. The court determined that his behavior constituted abandonment and ruled that he lost his inheritance rights. A negative evaluation was made of his behavior, demonstrating the positive guidance of the law on social values and promoting the traditional virtues of filial piety and respect for the elderly in the Chinese nation.
[Editor in charge: Song Anyong]
