The People's Republic of China Inheritance Law

(No. 24)
The the People's Republic of China Succession Law, which was adopted at the Third Session of the Sixth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 10, 1985, is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of October 1, 1985.

the People's Republic of China Chairman Li Xiannian
April 10, 1985

the People's Republic of China Inheritance Law
(Adopted at the Third Session of the Sixth National People's Congress on April 10, 1985
promulgated by the Presidential Order No. 24 of the People's Republic of China on April 10, 1985
Effective from October 1, 1985)

Directory
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Statutory Succession
Chapter III Testamentary Succession and Legacy
Chapter IV Treatment of Heritage
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 [Purpose of Legislation] According to 《the People's Republic of China ConstitutionThis law is enacted to protect citizens' right to inherit private property.
Article 2 [Beginning of Inheritance] Inheritance begins at the death of the decedent.
Article 3 [Scope of Inheritance] Inheritance is the lawful personal property left behind by a citizen at the time of his death, including:
(I) the income of citizens;
(II) citizens' houses, savings and household goods;
Forest trees, livestock and poultry of (III) citizens;
Cultural relics, books and materials of (IV) citizens;
(V) laws allow citizens to own the means of production;
(VI) citizens' property rights in copyright and patent rights;
(VII) other lawful property of citizens.
Article 4 [Contract Relationship and Inheritance] The personal income due to individual contracts shall be inherited in accordance with the provisions of this Law. If an individual contract is allowed by law to be continued by the heir, it shall be handled in accordance with the contract.
Article 5 [Mode of Inheritance] After the commencement of succession, it shall be handled in accordance with legal succession; if there is a will, it shall be handled in accordance with testamentary succession or legacy; if there is a legacy support agreement, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement.
Article 6 [Exercise of the right of inheritance and bequest of an incapacitated person or a person with restricted capacity] The right of inheritance and bequest of an incapacitated person shall be exercised on his behalf by his legal representative.
The right of inheritance and bequest of a person with limited capacity shall be exercised by his legal representative on his behalf, or with the consent of the legal representative.
Article 7 [Loss of Inheritance Rights] If a successor commits any of the following acts, he shall lose his inheritance rights:
(I) intentionally killing the decedent;
(II) killing other heirs for the sake of their inheritance;
(III) abandons the decedent, or maltreats the decedent in serious circumstances;
(IV) forges, falsifies or destroys a will, if the circumstances are serious.
Article 8 [Limitation of Actions] The time limit for bringing a lawsuit in a dispute over inheritance rights shall be two years, counting from the date when the heir knew or should have known that his rights had been violated. However, if more than twenty years have elapsed since the date of commencement of the succession, no further proceedings may be instituted.

Chapter II Statutory Succession
Article 9 [Equality between men and women] The right of inheritance is equal between men and women.
Article 10 [Scope of Successors and Order of Inheritance] Inheritance shall be inherited in the following order:
First order: spouse, children, parents.
Second order: siblings, grandparents, grandparents.
After the inheritance begins, it is inherited by the first order heirs, and the second order heirs do not inherit. If there is no first-order heir, it is inherited by the second-order heir.
For the purposes of this Law, children include children born in wedlock, children born out of wedlock, adopted children and step-children who are dependent.
Parents referred to in this Law include biological parents, adoptive parents and step-parents who are dependent.
Brothers and sisters referred to in this Law include brothers and sisters of the same parents, half-brothers and sisters of the same father and half-brothers and sisters, adopted brothers and sisters, and step-brothers and sisters who have a dependency relationship.
Article 11 [Subrogation] If the decedent's children die before the decedent, the decedent's children shall be inherited by subrogation by the lineal blood of the decedent's children. A subrogation heir generally can only inherit the share of the estate that his father or mother is entitled to inherit.
Article 12 [Inheritance of widowed daughter-in-law and son-in-law] A widowed daughter-in-law who has fulfilled the primary duty of supporting her father-in-law or her son-in-law shall be the first order heir.
Article 13 [Distribution of Estates] The shares of inheritance of heirs in the same order shall generally be equal.
The heirs who have special difficulties in life and lack the ability to work shall be taken care of when distributing the inheritance.
The heirs who have performed the main maintenance obligations to the decedent or who live with the decedent may be divided more when distributing the estate.
If the heirs who have the ability to maintain and the conditions for maintenance do not fulfill the obligation of maintenance, the distribution of the estate shall be divided separately or less.
If the heirs agree through consultation, it may also be unequal.
Article 14 [Right to Discretionary Distribution of Inheritance] A person other than the heir who is dependent on the decedent and lacks the ability to work and has no source of livelihood, or a person other than the heir who has more support for the decedent, may be allocated an appropriate inheritance to them.
Article 15 [Methods of Settlement of Succession] Successors shall deal with the issue of succession through consultation in the spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation, harmony and unity. The time, method and share of the division of the estate shall be determined by the heirs through consultation. If negotiation fails, the people's mediation committee may mediate or file a lawsuit in a people's court.

Chapter III Testamentary Succession and Legacy
Article 16 [General Provisions on Wills and Legacies] A citizen may, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, make a will to dispose of his personal property and may appoint an executor of the will.
A citizen may make a will to designate personal property to be inherited by one or more of the legal heirs.
A citizen may make a will to give his personal property to a person other than the state, a collective or a legal heir.
Article 17 [Form of Wills] A notarized will shall be handled by the testator through a notary public.
Self-written wills are written and signed by the testator, indicating the year, month and day.
A probate shall be witnessed in the presence of two or more witnesses, one of whom shall write on behalf of the probate, indicating the year, month and day, and shall be signed by the probate, other witnesses and the testator.
A will made in the form of a recording shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses.
The testator may make an oral will in a critical situation. An oral will shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses. If the testator is able to make a will in writing or in the form of a recording after the necessity is lifted, the oral will made shall be null and void.
Article 18 [Witness to a Will] The following persons shall not be a witness to a will:
(I) incapacitated persons and persons with limited capacity for conduct;
(II) heirs and legatees;
(III) a person who has an interest in the heir or bequestee.
Article 19 [Provisions on Special Retention] A will shall reserve the necessary share of the estate for heirs who lack the ability to work and have no source of income.
Article 20 [Revocation and Alteration of a Will] The testator may revoke or alter the will he has made.
If there are several wills, the contents of which conflict, the last will and testament shall prevail.
Self-written, written, recorded or oral wills may not be revoked or changed.
Article 21 [Wills with Obligations] Where an obligation is attached to a testamentary succession or bequest, the heir or legatee shall perform the obligation. If he fails to perform his obligations without justifiable reasons, the people's court may, at the request of the relevant unit or individual, cancel his right to accept the inheritance.
Article 22 [Invalidity of Wills] A will made by an incapacitated person or a person with limited capacity shall be invalid.
The will must express the true meaning of the testator, and the will made by coercion or deception is invalid.
A forged will is invalid.
If the will is tampered with, the tampered content is invalid.

Chapter IV Treatment of Heritage
Article 23 [Notification of the Beginning of Succession] After the commencement of succession, the heir who knows of the death of the decedent shall promptly notify the other heirs and the executor of the will. If no one among the heirs knows the death of the decedent or knows the death of the decedent and cannot notify him, the unit to which the decedent belongs or the residents committee or villagers committee of the place of domicile shall be responsible for notifying him.
Article 24 [Custody of the Heritage] The person who has the heritage shall properly keep the heritage, and no one may embezzle or compete for it.
Article 25 [Acceptance and Waiver of Inheritance and Legacy] After the commencement of inheritance, if the heir renounces the inheritance, he shall make an expression of renunciation before the estate is disposed. If there is no indication, the inheritance is deemed accepted.
The bequestee shall, within two months of knowing the bequest, make a representation of acceptance or abandonment of the bequest. If there is no indication at maturity, it shall be deemed to have given up the bequest.
Article 26 [Determination of Inheritance] If the jointly owned property acquired by the husband and wife during the existence of the marriage relationship is divided, unless there is an agreement, half of the jointly owned property shall first be divided into the spouse, and the rest shall be the estate of the decedent.
If the estate is in the common property of the family, the property of others shall be divided first when the estate is divided.
Article 27 [Scope of application of statutory succession] In any of the following circumstances, the relevant part of the estate shall be handled in accordance with statutory succession:
(I) the heir to the will waives the inheritance or the legatee waives the legacy;
(II) a testamentary successor loses the right of inheritance;
(III) the will's successor or legatee dies before the testator;
(IV) the estate covered by the invalid part of the will;
(V) undisposed estate of a will.
Article 28 When the inheritance is divided, the inheritance share of the fetus shall be retained. If the fetus is dead at birth, the reserved share shall be handled in accordance with the legal inheritance.
Article 29 [Rules and Methods for the Division of the Estate] The division of the estate shall be conducive to the needs of production and livelihood and shall not impair the utility of the estate.
Inheritances that are not suitable for division may be dealt with by means of discount, appropriate compensation or co-ownership.
Article 30 [Right to Disposition of Inherited Estate at the Time of Remarriage] If one spouse remarries after the death of the other spouse, he shall have the right to dispose of the inherited property, and no one may interfere.
Article 31 [Legacy Support Agreement] A citizen may conclude a legacy support agreement with his or her supporter. According to the agreement, the dependant assumes the obligation of the citizen to live and die, and enjoys the right to bequeath.
Citizens may enter into legacy support agreements with collective ownership organizations. According to the agreement, the collective ownership organization assumes the obligation of the citizen's life and death burial and enjoys the right to bequests.
Article 32 [Inheritance uninherited] Inheritance uninherited and unbequeathed shall belong to the State; if the deceased was a member of a collective ownership organization before his death, it shall belong to the collective ownership organization in which he belongs.
Article 33 [Inheritance and Settlement of Debts] Inheritance shall pay off the taxes and debts payable by the decedent in accordance with the law, and the payment of taxes and settlement of debts shall be limited to the actual value of his estate. Exceeding the actual value of the estate, the heirs voluntarily repay the amount, except for this limit.
If the heir waives the inheritance, he may not be liable for the taxes and debts that the heir should pay in accordance with the law.
Article 34 [Legacy and Settlement of Debts] The execution of a legacy shall not prevent the settlement of taxes and debts payable by the legatee in accordance with the law.

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Article 35 [Alternative or Supplementary Provisions in National Autonomous Areas] The people's congresses of national autonomous areas may, in accordance with the principles of this Law and in the light of the specific circumstances of the property inheritance of the local nationalities, formulate alternative or supplementary provisions. The regulations of the autonomous regions shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record. The provisions of an autonomous prefecture or autonomous county shall enter into force after approval by the standing committee of the people's congress of the province or autonomous region, and shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record.
Article 36 [Foreign-related Inheritance] When a Chinese citizen inherits an estate outside the People's Republic of China or inherits the estate of a foreigner in the People's Republic of China, the law of the place of domicile of the decedent shall apply to movable property, and the law of the place where the immovable property is located shall apply to immovable property.
When a foreigner inherits an estate within the territory of the People's Republic of China or inherits the estate of a Chinese citizen outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, the law of the place of domicile of the decedent shall apply to movable property and the law of the place where the immovable property is located shall apply to immovable property.
If a People's Republic of China has a treaty or agreement with a foreign state, it shall be handled in accordance with the treaty or agreement.
Article 37 [Effective Date] This Law shall enter into force on October 1, 1985.