HEIRS NOTWITHSTANDING CONTENTS OF WILL

According to:

Civil code 2015

I. WHAT DOES “WILL” MEANS?

Will means an expression of the wishes of a natural person, made in order to bequeath his or her property to others after his or her death.

1. The testator shall be:

1.1 An adult who was of sound mind when he or she made the will; and he or she was not deceived, threatened or coerced into making the will may make a will to dispose his/her property.

1.2 A person who is between fifteen and eighteen years of age may make a will with the consent of his or her parents or guardian.

2. A lawful will must satisfy the following requirements:

2.1 The testator was of sound mind when he or she made the will; and he or she was not deceived, threatened or coerced into making the will;

2.2 The contents of the will are not contrary to law or social morals and the will complies with legal formalities.

2.3 A will made by a person between fifteen and eighteen years of age must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian of such person.

2.4 A will made by a person who is incapacitated or illiterate must be made in writing by a witness and must be notarized or certified.

2.5 A written will which is not notarized or certified shall be deemed lawful only if it satisfies the requirements provided in Clause 1 of this Article.

2.6 An oral will shall be deemed lawful only if the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes before at least two witnesses who immediately thereafter recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document. Such will must be notarized or certified within five working days of the date on which the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes.

II. HEIRS NOTWITHSTANDING CONTENT OF WILL

Will is an expression of the testator, made in order to bequeath his or her property to others after his or her death. If the testator is eligible to make a will according to the above provisions, the testator can appoint an heir and assign his / her property without the consent of anyone. However, from a legal perspective, the testator must still have obligations to some specific subjects. Therefore, lawmakers have added a provision on heirs notwithstanding the content of will in Article 644 of Civil Code 2015:

Where a testator does not grant any of the following persons an inheritance, or grants any such person an inheritance which is less than two-thirds of the share that person would have received if the estate had been distributed according to law, such person shall be entitled to a share of the estate equivalent to two-thirds of the share that he or she would have received if the estate had been distributed in accordance with law:

• Children who are minors, father, mother, wife or husband of the testator;
• Children who are adults but who are incapable of working.

Conditions for inheritance of heirs notwithstanding content of will:

• If an heir is an individual, such person must be alive at the time of commencement of the inheritance or, if such person is born and alive after the commencement of inheritance, must have been conceived prior to the time when the deceased dies.
• Not apply to persons who have disclaimed their inheritance as prescribed in Article 620 of Civil code 2015
• Not apply to person who are not entitled to inherit as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 621 of Civil code 2015