The male party has a gambling habit, long-term extramarital affairs led to the wife's suicide, reverses the written renunciation of inheritance rights and disputes the heritage with the female

Case Summary

Su Mou, before his death, was a senior executive of a large enterprise with a substantial income. Later, Su Mou registered marriage with the defendant Chen Mou in Hong Kong. After marriage, Chen Mou's gambling addiction was fully exposed, and Su Mou repaid high-interest gambling debts for her multiple times based on their marital feelings. However, what was even more unbearable for Su Mou was that Chen Mou had been maintaining extramarital affairs for a long time, and had been discovered by Su Mou multiple times, yet showed no remorse. After encountering Chen Mou's extramarital affairs multiple times and seeing no sign of repentance from Chen Mou, Su Mou could no longer bear the emotional torment and committed suicide in his own fully paid-for residence in Hong Kong in the third year of their marriage.

Chen Mou confessed in pain in front of Su Mou's altar and promised in the presence of many relatives and friends to abandon all rights and that all properties and other assets belong to Su Mou. Su Mou's parents knew his character and therefore demanded that he write a document to prove it and requested the signatures of witnesses. However, after writing the promise, Chen Mou never cooperated in handling the property transfer registration procedures. Based on this, Chen Mou refused to communicate and cooperate with Su Mou's parents and sued to the court, requesting the court to order that the properties under Su Mou's name be owned by the plaintiff.

Trial process

Firstly, the court verified the identities of the parties involved. The plaintiff Su Moumou and Liang Mou are the father and mother of the deceased Su Mou, respectively, and the defendant Chen Mou is the husband of the deceased Su Mou.

Secondly, the court heard the marriage facts between Su Mou and Chen Mou, and recognized the inheritance qualifications of Su Mou's father and mother. The deceased Su Mou and the defendant Chen Mou were registered to marry in Hong Kong on XXth of X month, 20XX, and did not have children after marriage. The deceased Su Mou died by suicide in his residence in Hong Kong on XXth of XX month, 20XX. The plaintiff Su Moumou, Liang Mou, and the defendant Chen Mou are all legal heirs of Su Mou.

However, in view of the fact that the defendant Chen Mou has issued a letter of commitment to the two plaintiffs, stating: "I, Chen Mou, with ID number ××, agree to transfer the movable property, one vehicle left by my wife Su Mou, and immovable property (located in a certain property in Shenzhen) as well as all cash and deposits to the name of Su Mou's father, Su Moumou (ID number ××), and mother, Liang Mou (ID number ××), and to renounce all rights of pursuit. The letter of commitment is signed and confirmed by a witness, outside party Li Mou. Therefore, the court hereby determines that the defendant Chen Mou has voluntarily abandoned his inheritance rights.

In the end, the court ruled that the property rights of the real estate under Su Mou's name belong to Su Mou's parents, and the defendant should cooperate within the specified time to transfer the property.

Dào Huá law firm analysis

1. According to the provisions of the "Inheritance Law of the People's Republic of China": The inheritance of the estate shall be in the following order: the first in order is the spouse, children, and parents. After the inheritance begins, it shall be handled in accordance with the statutory inheritance; if there is a will, it shall be handled in accordance with the will inheritance or legacy; if there is a legacy and support agreement, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement.

2. According to the "Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the 'Inheritance Law of the People's Republic of China'": The heir shall express his or her renunciation of inheritance in writing to the other heirs.

In summary, the plaintiff Su Moumou, the plaintiff Liang Mou, and the defendant Chen Mou are all legal heirs of the deceased Su Guomin. However, after the inheritance commenced, the defendant Chen Mou wrote his renunciation of the inheritance rights to the other two heirs, and this renunciation is legally valid. Firstly, the renunciation occurred after the inheritance commenced but before the distribution of the inheritance. Secondly, it was explicitly stated in writing that he has renounced the inheritance of all the aforementioned property, with a third-party witness, making this renunciation genuine and effective. Therefore, Su Mou's property should be inherited by his parents, i.e., the two plaintiffs in this case.

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Dao Hua Marriage and Family Law Firm (Ed.)