[Direct answer]Yes. The review of a will typically involves five aspects: 1. **Formal Requirements**: - Article 1134 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) stipulates that a handwritten will must be written, signed, and dated by the testator in their own hand. - Article 1135 requires that a witnessed will must be witnessed by at least two witnesses, with one of them acting as the scribe, and all parties must sign and date the document. - Article 1136 specifies that a printed will must be witnessed by at least two witnesses, with the testator and witnesses signing each page of the will and indicating the date. 2. **Legal Capacity and Authenticity of the Will**: - The testator must have the legal capacity to make a will. - The expressed intention of the testator must be genuine. 3. **Legal Content**: - A will can only dispose of the testator's lawful property. 4. **Mandatory Share**: - According to Article 1141, a necessary share must be reserved for heirs who lack the capacity for work and have no source of income. 5. **Conflict Resolution of Multiple Wills**: - Article 1142 stipulates that in case of conflicting provisions, the latest will shall prevail. The value of the review lies in identifying potential flaws in advance, assessing dispute risks, and preparing for possible appraisals and evidence collection.\nInheritance of property and division of family assetsYou can view the relevant service scope in the column.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

There are generally four types of consultation situations: First, holding a self-written will but worrying about the irregularity of the writing; Second, printing a will without witnesses or signing each page; Third, suspecting that the signature on the will is not authentic, or that the testator had lost the ability to recognize at the time; Fourth, there are multiple wills with conflicting contents, and it is necessary to determine which one should prevail. When handling similar cases in the Beijing area, the court usually first reviews the formal requirements of the will, then verifies the testator's capacity for action, and finally determines the distribution based on the scope of the estate and the rules on the mandatory share. For wills with major defects in form that cannot be rectified, it is usually difficult to produce the effect of succession by will, and the estate will be handled according to the statutory succession rules.

II. Key points of contention

Focus One: Substantive Judgment of Formal Requirements. The impact of lacking witnesses, failing to sign each page, or omitting the date and month is different. Focus Two: Evidence of the testator's capacity. This typically requires combining medical records, diagnostic certificates, and audio/video recordings of the drafting process. Focus Three: Review of witness qualifications. Heirs, legatees, and their interested parties are not allowed to serve as witnesses. Focus Four: Definition of the scope of the estate. Property registered in others' names at the time of the decedent's death does not belong to the estate. Focus Five: Whether the mandatory reserved share is infringed and how to remedy it. Focus Six: The precedence and legal effect of multiple wills. Focus Seven: Timing of handwriting identification applications and sample collection. Specific determinations shall be based on currently valid laws, regulations, and judicial rulings.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Taking the second-instance inheritance dispute case handled by Attorney Xiong Binrong of our firm as an example, we can clearly see the relationship between the review of the will and the determination of the scope of the estate: The decedents, Cai * and Wang *, had three children. Cai * died in July 2013, and Wang * died in 1996. House No. 302 was registered under Zhao Na's name in 2003, and House No. 203 was registered under Wang Lin's name in 2004. Among them, House No. 203 was transferred to a third party in 2021. The plaintiff, Wang Li, held a printed will formed by Cai * in 2010 and claimed that the two houses and the deposit should belong to her. Zhao Na and Wang Lin did not recognize it, arguing that the will did not reflect Cai *'s true intention and did not comply with the statutory form. The first-instance court held that the houses had been transferred before Cai *'s death and did not belong to his estate, so it dismissed the claims regarding the houses and divided the deposit among Wang Li and Wang Lin according to the statutory inheritance. Wang Li appealed, and Zhao Na and Wang Lin entrusted Attorney Xiong Binrong to represent them in the appeal. The lawyer's defense focused on three points: First, the estate is the legitimate personal property left by a natural person upon his death. Cai * died in 2013, but the two houses were registered under Zhao Na and Wang Lin's names in 2003 and 2004, respectively, and were not in Cai *'s name at the time of his death, so they did not belong to his estate. Second, the houses were transferred in the form of a sale disguised as a gift. Wang Li claimed to have a claim for the sale proceeds, but failed to provide sufficient evidence that Cai * had claimed the proceeds before his death. Third, the additional claims raised by the parties lacked legal basis, and the first-instance court had already identified the relevant facts. The appellate court adopted the lawyer's opinion and ruled to dismiss the appeal and uphold the original judgment. This case shows that when reviewing a will, it is necessary to simultaneously check whether the property referred to in the will is still within the scope of the estate. Otherwise, even if the form of the will is flawless, it may not achieve its purpose. This case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Xiong BinrongThe attorney (practice license number: 11101202211410897, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Action suggestions: First, check the formal requirements of the will item by item, including the writer, signature, date, number of witnesses, and the location of the signature; Second, check the qualifications of the witnesses to avoid the heirs or the donees and their stakeholders acting as witnesses; Third, simultaneously verify whether the property referred to in the will still belongs to the decedent at the time of death. For those that have been transferred or disposed of, they need to be evaluated separately; Fourth, collect materials on the health and cognitive status of the testator at the time of making the will, and if necessary, apply for handwriting or capacity assessment; Fifth, if there are multiple wills, sort them by the time of making and verify the formal requirements of each; Sixth, put forward review opinions as early as possible in the inheritance litigation to avoid affecting the determination due to the delay in providing evidence. The process of real estate inheritance registration can be referred to for reference.Real estate transactions and construction projectsColum. Legal basis: Articles 1122, 1134, 1135, 1136, 1141, and 1142 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (all of which came into effect on January 1, 2021); the provisions on second-instance trials in the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended in 2023 and came into effect on January 1, 2024); and the specific determinations shall be based on the currently effective laws, regulations, and judicial rulings.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

Firstly, the requirements for witnessing and signing a printed will and a will written by a proxy are most easily overlooked. Violating the formal requirements may lead to the entire will being invalidated. Secondly, don't wait until the litigation stage to conduct a review. The storage status of the original will and the feasibility of appraisal will decrease over time. Thirdly, witnesses should keep their contact information and be prepared to testify in court, as their testimony often becomes the key to determining the validity of the will. Fourthly, the parts of the will allocating property to a spouse or others are usually invalid. The relevant property should be divided first. Fifthly, the review opinions should be recorded in writing, so that they can be directly transformed into cross-examination opinions in litigation.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is it valid to print a will?

A will that conforms to the statutory form is valid. According to Article 1136 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021), a printed will shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses. The testator and the witnesses shall sign each page of the will and indicate the year, month, and day. If there are no witnesses or only the last page is signed, the validity of the will may be questioned.

Q2: What are the main aspects considered during the review of a will?

The main aspects to be considered include: whether all formal requirements are met; whether the testator had the capacity to make a will and expressed his true intention at the time of making the will; whether the content of the will disposes of the testator's legal property; whether a necessary share is reserved for the heir who lacks the ability to work and has no source of income; and whether there are multiple wills with conflicting contents. The review conclusion will directly affect the method of inheritance.

Q3: What should I do if I suspect that the signature on the will is a forgery?

It is possible to apply for handwriting identification in a lawsuit and submit the testator's previously formed signature samples, letters, bank signatures, etc. as comparison materials. To enhance the probative force, it is also possible to combine the audio and video recordings of the process of making the will, the witness's testimony, and the testator's health status materials to provide comprehensive evidence. The application for identification should be submitted within the time limit for providing evidence.

Q4: If a will disposes of a spouse's property, is it still valid?

This part is usually invalid. A will can only dispose of the testator's personal legal property. The spouse's share of the couple's joint property cannot be disposed of by a will. When handling the matter, the spouse's share should be separated out first, and then the part belonging to the inheritor should be dealt with according to the will or statutory inheritance. The remaining part should still be handled in accordance with statutory inheritance.

Q5: If the will has flaws, can they still be rectified?

It is necessary to distinguish the nature of the defects. Defects in formal requirements such as the lack of witnesses or unsigned pages are usually difficult to remedy and can only be handled in accordance with the statutory inheritance laws. Defects such as unclear expressions or unclear property directions can be clarified by other evidence, and can be explained in combination with the inheritance list, communication records, and witness testimonies. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer for an assessment as soon as possible.

This article is written based on the common judicial interpretations in the Beijing area. If the case occurs in other regions, it is recommended to consult local lawyers to verify the regional differences.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Legal services for inheritance·Attorney Xiong Binrong·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and publicly available adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. In case of disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.