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| Category | SUCCESSION | Organ of Promulgation | The National People's Congress | Status of Effect | In Force |
| Date of Promulgation | 1985-04-10 | Effective Date | 1985-10-01 |
|
Law of Succession of the People's Republic of China |
|---|
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Statutory Succession
Chapter III Testamentary Succession and Legacy
Chapter IV Disposition of the Estate
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions Article 1 This Law is enacted pursuant to the provisions of the Article 2 Succession begins at the death of a citizen. Article 3 Estate denotes the lawful property owned by a citizen personally (1) his income; (2) his houses, savings and articles of everyday use; (3) his forest trees, livestock and poultry; (4) his cultural objects, books and reference materials; (5) means of production lawfully owned by him; (6) his property rights pertaining to copyright and patent rights; and (7) his other lawful property. Article 4 Personal benefits accruing from a contract entered into by an Article 5 Succession shall, after its opening, be handled in accordance Article 6 The right to inheritance or legacy of a person having no The right to inheritance or legacy of a person with limited capacity shall Article 7 A successor shall be disinherited upon his commission of any one (1) intentional killing of the decedent; (2) killing any other successor in fighting over the estate; (3) a serious act of abandoning or maltreating the decedent; or (4) a serious act of forging, tampering with or destroying the will. Article 8 The time limit for institution of legal proceedings pertaining Article 9 Males and females are equal in their right to inheritance. Article 10 The estate of the decedent shall be inherited in the following First in order: spouse, children, parents. Second in order: brothers and sisters, paternal grandparents, maternal When succession opens, the successor(s) first in order shall inherit to the The "children" referred to in this Law include legitimate children, The "parents" referred to in this Law include natural parents and adoptive The "brothers and sisters" referred to in this Law include blood brothers Article 11 Where a decedent survived his child, the direct lineal Article 12 Widowed daughters-in-law or sons-in-law who have made the Article 13 Successors same in order shall, in general, inherit in equal At the time of distributing the estate, due consideration shall be given to At the time of distributing the estate, successors who have made the At the time of distributing the estate, successors who had the ability and Successors may take unequal shares if an agreement to that effect is Article 14 An appropriate share of the estate may be given to a person, Article 15 Questions pertaining to suuccession should be dealt with Article 16 A citizen may, by means of a will made in accordance with the A citizen may, by making a will, designate one or more of the statutory A citizen may, by making a will, donate his personal property to the state Article 17 A notarial will is one made by a testator through a notary A testator-written will is one made in the testator's own handwriting and A will written on behalf of the testator shall be witnessed by two or more A will made in the form of a sound-recording shall be witnessed by two or A testator may, in an emergency situation, make a nuncupative will, which Article 18 None of the following persons shall act as a witness of a will: (1) persons with no capacity or with limited capacity; (2) successors and legatees; or (3) persons whose interests are related to those of the successors and Article 19 Reservation of a necessary portion of an estate shall be made Article 20 A testator may revoke or alter a will he previously made. Where several wills that have been made conflict with one another in A notarial will may not be revoked or altered by a testator-written will, a Article 21 Where there are obligations attached to testamentary succession Article 22 Wills made by persons with no capacity or with limited capacity Wills shall manifest the genuine intention of the testators; those made Forged wills shall be void. Where a will has been tampered with. the affected parts of it shall be void. Article 23 After the opening of succession, a successor who has knowledge Article 24 Anyone who has in his possession the property of the decedent Article 25 A successor who, afer the opening of succession, disclaims A legatee should, within two months from the time he learns of the legacy, Article 26 If a decedent's estate is partitioned, half of the joint If the decedent's estate is a component part of the common property of his Article 27 Under any of the following circumstances, the part of the (1) where inheritance is disclaimed by a testamentary successor or the (2) where a testamentary successor is disinherited; (3) where a testamentary successor or legatee predeceases the testator; (4) where an invalidated portion of the will involves part of the estate; (5) where no disposition is made under the will for part of the estate. Article 28 At the time of the partitioning of the estate, reservation Article 29 The partitioning of a decedent's estate shall be conducted in a If the estate is unsuitable for partitioning, it may be disposed of by such Article 30 A surviving spouse who re-marries is entitled to dispose of the Article 31 A citizen may enter into a legacy-support agreement with a A citizen may enter into a legacy-support agreement with an organization Article 32 An estate which is left with neither a successor nor a legatee Article 33 The successor to an estate shall pay all taxes and debts The successor who disclaims inheritance assumes no responsibility for the Article 34 The carring out of a legacy shall not affect the payment of Article 35 The people's congress of a national autonomous area may, in Article 36 For inheritance by a Chinese citizen of an estate outside the Where treaties or agreements exist between the People's Republic of China Article 37 This Law shall go into effect as of October 1. 1985.?
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Chapter I General Provisions
Constitution of the People's Republic of China with a view to protecting the
right of citizens to inherit private property.
at the time of his death, which consists of:
individual are heritable in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
Contracting by an individual, if permitted by law to be continued by the
successor, shall be treated in accordance with the terms of the contract.
with the provisions of statutory succession; where a will exists, it shall be
handled in accordance with testamentary succession or as legacy; where there is
an agreement for legacy in return for support, the former shall be handled in
accordance with the terms of the agreement.
capacity shall be exercised on his behalf by his statutory agent.
be exercised on his behalf by his statutory agent or by such person himself
after obtaining the consent of his statutory agent.
of the following acts:
to disputes over the right to inheritance is two years, counting from the day
the successor became or should have become aware of the violation of his right
to inheritance. No legal proceedings, however, may be instituted after the
expiration of a period of 20 years from the day succession began.
Chapter II Statutory Succession
order:
grandparents.
exclusion of the successor(s) second in order. The successor(s) second in
order shall inherit in default of any successor first in order.
illegitimate children and adopted children, as well as step-children who
supported or were supported by the decedent.
parents, as well as step-parents who supported or were supported by the
decedent.
and sisters, brothers and sisters of half blood, adopted brothers and sisters,
as well as step-brothers and step-sisters who supported or were supported by
the decedent.
descendants of the predeceased child inherit in subrogation. Descendants who
inherit in subrogation generally shall take only the share of the estate their
father or mother was entitled to.
predominant contributions in maintaining their parents-in-law shall, in
relationship to their parens-in-law, be regarded as successors first in order.
shares.
successors who are unable to work and have special financial difficulties.
predominant contributions in maintaining the decedent or have lived with the
decedent may be given a larger share.
were in a position to maintain the decedent but failed to fulfil their duties
shall be given no share or a smaller share of the estate.
reached among them.
other than a successor, who depended on the support of the decedent and who
neither can work nor has a source of income, or to a person, other than a
successor, who was largely responsible for supporting the decedent.
through consultation by and among the successors in the spirit of mutual
understanding and mutual accommodation, as well as of amity and unity. The time
and mode for partitioning the estate and the shares shall be decided by the
successors through consultation. If no agreement is reached through
consulation, they may apply to a People's Mediation Committee for mediation or
institute legal proceedings in a people's court.
Chapter III Testamentary Succession and Legacy
provisions of this Law, dispose of the property he owns and may appoint a
testamentary executor for the purpose.
successors to inherit his personal property.
or a collective, or bequeath it to persons other than the statutory successors.
agency.
signed by him, specifying the date of its making.
witnesses, of whom one writes the will, dates it and signs it along with the
other witness or witnesses and with the testator.
more retire witnesses.
shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses. When the emergency situation is
over and if the testator is able to make a will in writing or in the form of a
sound-recording, the nuncupative will he has made shall be invalidated.
legatees.
in a will for a successor who neither can work nor has a source of income.
content, the last one shall prevail.
will written on behalf of the testator, a will in the form of a
sound-recording or a nuncupative will.
or legacy, the successor or legatee shall perform them. Anyone who fails to
perform the obligations without proper reasons may, upon request by a relevant
organization or individual, entail nullification of his right to inheritance by
a people's court.
shall be void.
under duress or as a result of fraud shall be void.
Chapter IV Disposition of the Estate
of the death should promptly notify the other successors and the testamentary
executor. If none of the successors knows about the death or if there is no way
to make the notification, the organization to which the decedent belonged
before his death or th residents' committee or villagers' committee at his
place of residence shall make the notification.
shall take good care of such property and no one is allowed to misappropriate
it or contend for it.
inheritance should make known his decision before the disposition of the
estate. In the absence of such an indication, he is deemed to have accepted the
inheritance.
make known whether he accepts it or disclaims it. In the absence of such an
indication within the specified period, he is deemed to have disclaimed the
legacy.
property acquired by the spouses in the course of their matrimonial life shall,
unless otherwise agreed upon, be first allotted to the surviving spouse as his
or her own property; the remainder shall constitute the decedent's estate.
family, that portion of the property belonging to the other members of the
family shall first be separated at the time of the partitioning of the
decedent's estate.
estate affected shall be dealt with in accordance with statutory succession:
legacy is disclaimed by a legatee;
or
shall be made for the share of an unborn child. The share reserved shall, if
the baby is stillborn, be dealt with in accordance with statutory succession.
way beneficial to the requirements of production and livelihood; it shall not
diminish the usefulness of the estate.
means as price evaluation, appropriate compensation or co-ownership.
property he or she has inherited, subject to no interference by any other
person.
person who, in accordance with the agreement, assumes the duty to support the
former in his or her lifetime and attends to his or her interment after death,
in return for the right to legacy.
under collective ownership which, in accordance with the agreement, assumes the
duty to support the former in his or her lifetime and attends to his or her
interment after death, in return for the right to legacy.
shall belong to the state or, where the decedent was a member of an
organization under collective ownership before his or her death, to such an
organization.
payable by the decedent according to law, up to the actual value of such
estate, unless the successor pays voluntarily in excess of the limit.
payment of taxes and debts payable by the decedent according to law.
taxes and debts payable by the legator according to law.
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
accordance with the principles of this Law and the actual practices of the
local nationality or nationalities with regard to property inheritance, enact
adaptive or supplementary provisions. Provisions made by autonomous regions
shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
for the record. Provisions made by autonomous prefectures or autonomous
counties shall become effective after being reported to and approved by the
standing committee of the people's congress of the relevant province or
autonomous region and shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the
National People's Congress for the record.
People's Republic of China or of an estate of a foreigner within the People's
Republic of China, the law of the place of domicile of the decedent shall apply
in the case of movable property; in the case of immovable property, the law of the place where the property is located shall apply.
For inheritance by a
foreigner of an estate within the People's Republic of China or of an estate of a Chinese citizen outside the People's Republic
of China, the law of the place
of domicile of the decedent shall apply in the case of movable property; in
the case of immovable property, the law of the place where the property is
located shall apply.
and foreign countries, matters of inheritance shall be handled in accordance
with such treaties or agreements.
URL: http://www.asianlii.org/cn/legis/cen/laws/sl150