The Impact of the Civil Code on Family Wealth Management and Inheritance: A Lecture Begins

After the promulgation of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the team, under the guidance of Lawyer Tang Yunhong, conducted in-depth study of the new regulations and focused on the impact of the Civil Code on family wealth management and inheritance. Lawyer Tang Yunhong also conducted special legal education lectures for clients on related systems, covering the following content:

One, the estate administrator system

The executor of an estate is the person responsible for the settlement, preservation, management, and distribution of the deceased's property, and for preventing any acts of infringement such as transfer, concealment, seizure, and sale during the management process. The appointment of an executor should first respect the deceased's wishes; in the absence of an executor, the heirs should promptly elect one; if no one is elected, the heirs should jointly assume the role (equivalent to having no executor); if there are no heirs or all heirs renounce inheritance, the government or grassroots autonomous organizations shall assume the bottom-line responsibility as the executor of the estate, and the parties may appoint a lawyer as the executor in the will.

As society continues to develop, family wealth also accumulates increasingly. As the saying goes, "it's hard to create wealth," but in fact, "preserving wealth" and "transmitting wealth" are even harder. How to promote family harmony and the distribution and management of inheritance becomes particularly important, and the provisions of this system are of great significance to the family heritage.

Second, designated guardianship

Article 33 of the Civil Code stipulates: "A fully capable adult may, through prior consultation with their close relatives, individuals or organizations willing to act as guardians, determine their own guardians in writing. The guardians determined through consultation shall fulfill their guardianship duties when the adult loses or partially loses civil capacity."

The designated guardianship is superior to the legal guardianship, and the designated guardianship can be notarized. It is understood that some notary offices have carried out notarization of designated guardianship, with strict procedures. For designated guardians who are not close relatives, they are even required to prepare guardianship reports and submit them to the notary office for safekeeping. When the ward loses civil legal capacity and other legal guardians raise objections, the guardianship report is used to prove the fulfillment of guardianship duties.

Article 3: Guardianship designated in the will

The law stipulates: Article 29 of the Civil Code: If the parents of the ward act as guardians, they may appoint guardians through a will.

How is this clause applied? Tang Yunhong, lawyer, explains through a case: For example, when the couple decides to divorce and agree that the wife will take care of the child, the husband is worried that if he cannot be cured, there will be no one to supervise the wife's custody of the child, and he also hopes to have someone to visit the child regularly in his place. Therefore, the husband entrusts a lawyer and hopes to find a solution to his concerns. Under the lawyer's guidance, the husband makes a will, specifying that after his death, a friend will act as the guardian and visit the child regularly to supervise the wife's custody.

Article 4: Regarding the right of residence

The law stipulates: Article 366 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China states that the right to residence shall have the right, in accordance with the agreement of the contract, to enjoy the usufructuary right of possession and use of the other person's residence to meet the needs of living and residence.

Article 368: The establishment of the right of residence is free of charge, except where the parties have agreed otherwise. Where the right of residence is established, an application for the registration of the right of residence shall be submitted to the registration authority. The right of residence is established upon registration. (Real Estate Registration Center)

Article 371: Where residential rights are established by will, the relevant provisions of this chapter shall be applied by reference.

Lawyer Tang Yunhong shared the practical application: establishing a right of residence in a will to balance the contradictions between living and inheritance, for example, if the spouse is not the owner of the property, and the owner of the property wants to leave the house to their son but also wants the spouse to have a place to live in their old age, they can establish a right of residence in the will. The Real Estate Registration Center can register the property regardless of whether there is a mortgage, as long as the owner agrees.

After the lecture, the customers expressed that they had gained a lot and also had many questions. During the Q&A session, Lawyer Tang Yunhong patiently answered all the questions, and the lecture ended smoothly.