[Direct answer]Yes. In inheritance disputes, if one party may transfer or conceal the inheritance, they may apply for property preservation in accordance with Article 103 of the Civil Procedure Law when suing or during the litigation; in urgent situations, they may also apply for pre-litigation preservation in accordance with Article 104 before suing. The court shall make a ruling within 48 hours, and the applicant shall sue within 30 days after the preservation. The preservation requires providing a guarantee, and the amount of the guarantee in the litigation shall generally not exceed 30% of the amount requested for preservation, and specific property clues such as real estate and bank accounts shall be submitted. Beijing Henglu Law FirmThe inheritance succession teamYou can file a preservation application at the same time as filing a case. For more details, please refer to the following link:Beijing Henglu Law Firm.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 103 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023)

The people's court may, upon the application of the other party, order the preservation of the property of a party in a case where the judgment may be difficult to enforce or cause other damages to the party due to the party's actions or other reasons. Typical scenarios of inheritance disputes include: one party monopolizing the elderly's account and transferring a large sum of money out of it, and urgently transferring and selling the house. The constitutive elements are the existence of a transfer risk and clear property clues; the court may order the provision of a guarantee; if the application is wrong, the applicant shall compensate the respondent for the losses suffered due to the preservation.

2. Article 104 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023)

When an interested party is in an urgent situation and failure to immediately apply for preservation measures will cause irreparable damage to their legitimate rights and interests, they may apply to the court for preservation measures before initiating litigation or applying for arbitration. The court must make a ruling within 48 hours, and the preservation measures ordered by the court shall be implemented immediately. If the applicant fails to file a lawsuit or apply for arbitration within 30 days after the preservation measures are taken, the court shall lift the preservation measures. This applies to urgent situations such as the recent death of an elderly person, large-scale transfers from their accounts, and properties being listed for sale. The guarantee requirements for such cases are generally higher than those for preservation measures during litigation.

3. The interpretation of the case by the actual adjudicators

The court's position is that property clues must be specific, such as the location of the house and bank account numbers. Requests for "freezing all assets" that are too general are often rejected. The focus of the review is whether the preserved assets belong to the disputed estate and whether there are signs of transfer. Common supporting circumstances include large-scale transfer records, house listings, and one party's exclusive use of documents and accounts. Claims without clues, those that are obviously excessive, or those involving malicious pressure through preservation measures will not be supported. In practice, real estate seizures are generally limited to three years, and deposit freezes are limited to one year. They can be applied for renewal before expiration. In inheritance cases, the parties are often close relatives, and the court will guide them to negotiate, but those with obvious transfer risks will be preserved in a timely manner.

II. Henglue Law Firm's Real Cases (Detailed Review)

Review of the case:Feng * and Zhou * were husband and wife and had an eldest son, Feng *1, a second son, Feng *2, and a daughter, Feng *3. Liu * is the daughter of Feng *3. Zhou * died in September 2021, and Feng * died in August 2023. The disputed assets include: Zhou *'s pension of 250,000 yuan (paid to Feng *'s account in September 2022 and later transferred to Liu * and Feng *3); Feng *'s savings (Feng *1 claimed that Feng * transferred about 5 million yuan to Liu * before his death, and after deducting expenses, the remaining 3.5 million yuan should be considered as inheritance); Haidian District House 201 (jointly owned by Feng * and Feng *2, with Feng * owning 20% and Feng *2 owning 80%); and Houses 206-208 (owned by Zhou *). Feng *1 and Feng *2 believe that Feng *3 and Liu * transferred and concealed assets by controlling the accounts, and they sued the court to request a one-third share of the inheritance. The defendant party entrusted Beijing Henglue Law Firm to handle the case.Yu DawaiThe lawyer defended the case in court.

The focus of the controversy:First, whether the funds transferred by Feng * to his children before his death belong to his estate; Second, whether Feng *3 can receive a larger share of the estate because he fulfilled his main duty of supporting his parents; Third, whether Liu *, who is not an heir, is a suitable defendant in the legal inheritance dispute.

Our position and that of the other party are as follows:The plaintiff alleges that Feng *3 and Liu * controlled the transfer of accounts and concealed assets, and demands that they jointly pay one-third of the deposits each; the defendant argues that others have no right to interfere with the property that Feng * disposed of on his own before his death, that Feng *3 should receive a larger share because she fulfilled her main duty of supporting her parents, and that Liu * is not an heir and is not a qualified party to the lawsuit.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinions:Attorney Yu Dawai presented a systematic defense: regarding the deposits, Feng * had already disposed of most of his deposits before his death, transferring them to Feng *3 and Liu *, as well as to Feng *1 (who received over 890,000 yuan from 2016 to 2021) and Feng *2 (who received 630,000 yuan). After his death, the account balance of 5,351.14 yuan was agreed to be jointly inherited by the three parties, with each receiving 1,783.71 yuan. As for Zhou *, his pension was inherited by Feng * and had been disposed of during his lifetime. The plaintiff had previously signed a waiver document. Regarding the distribution of assets, Feng *3 had long been taking care of his parents and should receive 10% more than Feng *1 and Feng *2. The 201 house was agreed to be owned by Feng *2 and he would pay the depreciation fee. Regarding the subject matter, Liu * was not an inheritor and was not a qualified defendant in this case.

The court's reasoning and case handling results:The first-instance court found that: Feng * had the right to dispose of the property under his name independently. There were both funds transferred to Liu * and funds transferred to other heirs in the account. There was no sufficient evidence to prove that Feng *3 and Liu * had privately transferred the funds; Zhou *'s pension had been inherited and disposed of by Feng * and there was no balance in the account; the 20% share of the 201 house was equally divided according to the statutory inheritance, and Feng *3's claim for a larger share was not supported due to insufficient evidence; it was confirmed that there were still 20,000 yuan, 5,351.14 yuan, and 6,506 yuan unallocated, and the court ordered Feng *3 to pay compensation of 10,619 yuan each to Feng *1 and Feng *2; Feng *1 inherited 1/15 of the 201 house, Feng *3 inherited 1/15, and Feng *2 enjoyed 13/15. Feng *1 appealed, demanding that the court change the judgment to divide the pension of 83,432 yuan and the deposit of 1.16 million yuan; the second-instance court held that the pension had been inherited by Feng *, the plaintiff had waived the right to inherit and the funds had been spent, the deposit had occurred during Feng *'s lifetime, and the claim of control had not been supported by evidence. According to Article 177, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the appeal was dismissed and the original judgment was maintained. Both parties won the case in the two instances. This case also shows that: to claim that the other party has "transferred and hidden the inheritance", it is necessary to provide solid evidence such as account statements, and the disputed property can be preserved and fixed through legal measures.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Yu DaweiThe attorney (practice license number: 11101201010292290, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What types of assets can be subject to preservation measures in inheritance disputes?

It is limited to the personal legal property left by the decedent at the time of his death, such as real estate, vehicles, bank deposits, equities, financial products, etc. Note two points: the property that the decedent has legally disposed of before his death does not belong to the estate; the pensions issued to close relatives do not belong to the estate and are generally not divided according to the estate (this case is handled in this way). The scope of preservation is limited to the scope of the request or the property related to this case. Those that are obviously excessive may be rejected or partially lifted.

Q2: How much collateral is required to apply for preservation of evidence?

According to Article 5 of the "Regulations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Handling of Property Preservation Cases by People's Courts" (effective December 1, 2016), the amount of the guarantee for preservation in litigation generally shall not exceed 30% of the amount requested for preservation, and the requirements for preservation before litigation are even higher. The guarantee methods are flexible: cash can be deposited, real estate can be used as a guarantee, and property preservation liability insurance can be purchased, with the guarantee letter issued by the insurance company, which greatly reduces the cost. If no guarantee is provided, the court will rule to reject the application. The specific guarantee methods can be determined in consultation with the presiding judge.

Q3: Do I have to compensate for the errors in the security application?

Yes. According to the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, if the application is erroneous, the applicant shall compensate the respondent for the losses suffered due to the preservation, such as the interest losses during the period when the funds are frozen and the losses caused by the seizure of the property that cannot be disposed of. Therefore, before applying for preservation, the applicant should evaluate the basis for winning the case and the scope of preservation to avoid excessive preservation or maliciously pressuring the respondent through preservation; if the respondent is not satisfied with the preservation ruling, he/she may apply for a review once, but the execution of the ruling will not be suspended during the review period.

Q4: What should I do if the property has been transferred to the other party before I could do it?

If the transfer of ownership occurs before the death of the decedent and is genuine and legal, the house generally does not belong to the estate. However, it is necessary to review whether there are situations of misrepresentation or unauthorized disposition of the property, and to assert the invalidity of the contract or file a lawsuit for the recovery of the sale proceeds. Sufficient evidence is required for this. If malicious transfer is discovered during the litigation, in addition to preservation measures, the heirs who hide, transfer, or embezzle the estate may be given a reduced share in practice, and it is essential not to delay the process.

Q5: How long does it usually take and how much does it cost to handle security and litigation cases?

The application for preservation orders should be made as soon as possible after the filing of the lawsuit. The maximum period for pre-litigation preservation is 48 hours. The time limit for trial is three months for summary procedures and six months for ordinary procedures, and three months for second-instance trials. The preservation fee is calculated in stages according to the amount of the preservation and subject to a cap. According to the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Fees", the maximum amount shall not exceed 5,000 yuan, which shall be borne by the losing party or shared proportionally (in this case, it is shared proportionally); the cost of the guarantee can be controlled within a small amount of insurance premiums by using insurance guarantees.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Rights

  • If you notice any clues such as large-scale transfers from the account, the listing of the property for sale, or the exclusive possession of documents by one party, immediately collect the bank transaction records and clues about the property registration.
  • When filing a lawsuit, apply for property preservation at the same time, stating specific clues such as the house number and account number, and provide guarantees in accordance with the law to prevent the judgment from being rendered in vain.
  • For those who choose pre-litigation preservation, they must file a lawsuit within 30 days after the court takes measures, otherwise the preservation will be lifted.
  • When parents are still alive, large-scale transfers of funds do not necessarily constitute inheritance. It is necessary to first clarify the nature of the property and the ownership of the pension, and then determine the preservation and litigation strategies.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Inheritance legal services·Attorney Yu Weidong·Beijing Henglue Law Firm