One, Case Review

In the summer of 2022, a 22-year-old woman named Zhou, with a worried expression, walked into the Dao Hua Law Firm on Guangdong Road, seeking a face-to-face consultation with the head lawyer of the Dao Hua Marriage and Family Law Team, Tang Yunhong, for professional legal assistance.

After Tang Yunhong, the lawyer, received Zhou, she learned that Zhou had just married but was worried about potential complications in childbirth, so she wanted to leave her property, including her small property house, shares and dividends in a certain stock company in Longgang, Shenzhen, bank deposits, gold bars, stocks, and mutual funds, to her mother in case of any unforeseen events. However, due to the historical特殊性 of the small property houses in Shenzhen, they could not be transferred, and she was worried that her mother would not be able to actually enjoy the house. She was also concerned about the difficulty in preserving gold bars and the potential for disputes in the future.

Zhou's request: In case of any unforeseen events, she wants to leave all her property to her mother as a gratitude for her mother's upbringing.

Two, Controversial Issues

After Tang Yunhong accepted Zhou's委托, she immediately led her team to start working on the case, but there were several focal points in this case:

1. Selection of Will Form. According to the provisions of China's Civil Code, there are only 6 legally recognized forms of wills: handwritten will, written by another person's will, printed will, audio-visual will, oral will, and notarized will. Any will not in one of these 6 forms is invalid. In this case, which form of will should be chosen?

2. Clarifying the Scope of Personal Property. According to the provisions of China's Civil Code, the default system of夫妻 property is the joint property system, meaning that property acquired after marriage is deemed to be jointly owned by the couple. Zhou, who is already married, has cash deposits and gold jewelry from before marriage that may have been commingled with post-marriage property, and it is necessary to clarify her personal property; otherwise, disposing of joint property could render part of the will invalid.

3. How to Handle Inheritance and Transfer of Shenzhen Small Property Houses. Shenzhen small property houses come in various situations, including green books, brown books, village committee constructed buildings, fund-raised houses, or even illegal buildings with only historical legacy declarations or no materials at all. Due to historical reasons, these houses are prohibited from trading on the market and cannot be registered and transferred at the real estate registration center, thus making inheritance impossible there as well. However, in reality, the house in Longgang, Shenzhen, has significant value for use. How should inheritance and transfer be handled?

4. How to Handle Inheritance of Gold Jewelry. According to the provisions of the Property Law in China's Civil Code, gold jewelry is considered movable property, where possession equals ownership. How should inheritance be handled?

三、Investigation Process

In response to the above focal issues, Lawyer Tang Yunhong quickly determined the solution based on Ms. Zhou's claims and implemented it.

1、Determine the execution of a notarized will. A notarized will is a will established through notarial procedures and is a form of will with strong evidence. When there are several wills with conflicting contents at the same time, the notarized will prevails. In view of the stronger effectiveness of the notarized will and the risk of invalidity of other forms of wills, Lawyer Tang Yunhong decided to adopt the form of a notarized will.

2、Draft the Marital Property Agreement to clarify individual property. Lawyer Tang Yunhong discussed with Ms. Zhou and her husband to clarify the part of Ms. Zhou's individual property, and both parties signed the Marital Property Agreement to ensure that Ms. Zhou is disposing of her individual property rather than the joint property of the couple.

3、Draft the Will. Based on Ms. Zhou's type of property, cash deposits, gold jewelry, village committee shares and dividends are explicitly bequeathed to her mother. The small property house is established with a bottom-line clause for other personal property under the name of the owner to explicitly bequeath to her mother, and her husband is required to sign to confirm. At the same time, it is clearly reminded to Ms. Zhou that once a will is established, the pre-marital cash deposits should be used in this account to avoid the risk of marital property confusion in the future. As for environmental jewelry, it is recommended to establish a separate bank safety deposit box for storage.

4、Notarize. The execution of a notarized will requires the testator to personally go to the notary office to orally or write the will, and the notary personnel shall carefully investigate the authenticity and legality of the will. After confirming its effectiveness, the notary shall issue a Notarized Will Certificate. The notarized will, signed by the notary and the testator and stamped with the seal of the notary office, is made in duplicate, one copy kept by the notary office and the other by the testator. The amendment and revocation of the notarized will also require notarial procedures. Ensuring the authenticity, legality, and effectiveness of the will.

Four、Case Outcome

Ms. Zhou successfully obtained the Notarized Will.

Five、Case Insights

“Hundred good deeds begin with filial piety,” when Tang Yunhong, the lawyer, heard Madam Zhou say, “If anything happens to me, the only thing I can't rest easy about is my mother. My mother has worked very hard to raise me and my brother. If I'm not around, I must leave all my property to my mother to support her in her old age, as a way to repay her for her nurturing and care”, Lawyer Tang was moved.

In handling this case, Lawyer Tang Yunhong pointed out:

1. A will is one of the tools for the inheritance of family wealth, as its convenience is widely used in society.

2. A will has limitations, as it only has 6 statutory forms. Any will made in any other form is invalid outside of these 6 forms. Therefore, a will drafted by a non-expert may be invalid due to the lack of legal professional knowledge.

In summary, for the above situation, it is recommended that everyone choose a notarized will and seek assistance from professional will and inheritance lawyers to ensure the smooth transmission of family wealth and avoid family disputes.

 （Tang Yunhong Lawyer）

Sixth, Team Introduction

The Dao Hua Marriage and Family Law Firm has been focused on ·marriage and family legal services for large-scale property for ten years, and is an expert in marriage inheritance and family disputes (mediation/trial). It is one of the influential brands in [Shenzhen local] marriage inheritance and wealth management legal services. The team has handled over 1000 cases of marriage inheritance, and has rich practical experience in mediation and litigation in large and difficult marriage and family disputes, inheritance disputes, will drafting, and family wealth distribution. The team is skilled in handling difficult divorce property division cases involving Shenzhen small property rights houses, village committee shares, will drafting and notarization, and inheritance disputes, winning unanimous praise from clients.

Adhering to the concept of “guaranteeing asset security, preventing legal risks, and empowering wealth growth,” the team gathers experts from the legal, banking, insurance, and tax industries, with a wealth of successful cases, providing a comprehensive one-stop solution for marriage, family, and wealth inheritance for high-net-worth individuals (including Hong Kong, Macau, and foreign nationals), to achieve the beautiful vision of risk prevention, debt isolation, and family wealth inheritance. Asset types include: real estate (residential houses, small property rights houses, land use rights, etc.), various property rights (equities, debts, relocation compensation, copyrights, invention patents, etc.). The team has completed the compilation of Dao Hua Marriage and Inheritance Successful Case Compilation and Legal Practice of Family Wealth Inheritance, and has made outstanding achievements in both legal practice and theoretical research.