Daohua Successful Cases | At the Age of Thirty, Discovering a Secret Son, Daohua Lawyers Help the Legitimate Daughter Protect Ten Million RMB in Property

Case Summary

The Civil Code stipulates that illegitimate children can inherit the heritage of their father or mother. How can the legitimate children as the original spouse protect their own interests?

Previously, Mr. Mao sought help from the Daohua Family Law Firm. It turned out that several months ago, he discovered that his father, who is over 60 years old, has an illegitimate son who is nearly seven years old. Mr. Mao's father owns two small property houses in a street in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, which are jointly owned with his mother.

Mr. Mao, his mother, and his wife were worried that the relevant property might fall into the hands of the seven-year-old illegitimate child. After being refused by the Shenzhen Notary Office, they sought help from the Daohua lawyers.

Case Process

In the process of handling this委托, there were two issues.

Firstly, small property houses are a term commonly used in social practice, and they have not been registered with relevant documents nor paid land transfer fees. The sale of small property houses is not recognized or protected by law, and notaries will not notarize the disposition of small property houses.

Secondly, a will already established can be changed arbitrarily, as long as the person making the will, during their lifetime, makes a disposition of personal property within the scope allowed by law, the will can be revoked, modified, or a new will can be established based on the actual circumstances.

In this regard, after evaluation and analysis, the Daohua lawyers came up with a plan that is more suitable for Mr. Mao's family situation - to make a marital agreement for his parents and then make a handwritten will in the name of his mother.

Firstly, the Daohua lawyers drafted a marital agreement for Mr. Mao's parents, stipulating that the ownership of the two small property houses belongs to Mr. Mao's mother. This makes his father not the owner of the houses. Secondly, his mother made a will, stating that after her death, the houses would be inherited by Mr. Mao individually. This measure avoids the possibility that Mr. Mao's father might change the will at any time, and since his mother agreed that the houses would belong to Mr. Mao after her death, the establishment of a legally valid will also solves the dilemma of the inability to register the ownership of the small property houses with the notary office.

Case Outcome

Drafting and establishing the "Marital Agreement" and "Will" for Mr. Mao's family ensured the ownership of the two small property houses under his parents' names, avoided the situation where the illegitimate child would claim inheritance after Mr. Mao's father's death, and protected the interests of Mr. Mao and his mother as the original spouse and legitimate child.

Daohua Lawyers · Legal Commentary

According to the Civil Code and other relevant laws and regulations, the inheritance rights of illegitimate children are legally protected and they enjoy all the rights as legitimate children, and it is not allowed for any individual, organization, or legal person to harm or discriminate against them.

So, how should legitimate children and the original spouse protect their rights and interests at this point? And how can the effectiveness of this plan be ensured so that it will not be changed due to new "bedroom winds"?

Since the ownership of "small property houses" cannot be notarized, how can it be ensured that Mr. Mao will inherit the house entirely? The plan provided by the Daohua lawyers in this case not only protects the rights and interests of Mr. Mao's mother as the original spouse and Mr. Mao as the legitimate child, but also protects Mr. Mao's personal property rights. The will of Mr. Mao's mother states that the small property house is a heritage to be inherited by Mr. Mao individually, not as a marital property.

This case provides practical value and reference for issues such as determining the ownership of small property houses, protecting the rights and interests of legitimate children, and safeguarding personal interests in marital relationships.