[Direct answer]According to Article 1136 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021), when printing a will, there must be at least two witnesses present to witness it. The testator and the witnesses shall sign each page of the will and indicate the year, month, and day; and the witnesses shall not be the heirs, the donees, or persons with a vested interest in them (Article 1140). If there are no witnesses, if any page is not signed, or if the date is not fully indicated, the will may be deemed invalid, and the estate shall be handled in accordance with the statutory inheritance. If the testator is still alive, it is recommended to make a new will and videotape the entire process for evidence; if the validity of the will has already been disputed, it is necessary to sort out the original, the video, and the witnesses' clues as soon as possible, and evaluate the litigation plan. For more details, please refer to the following link:Legal services for inheritanceAndBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 113 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021)

Printing a will is a new form of will added by the Civil Code. The legislative purpose is that the printed version has nothing to do with the handwritten will, and it is easy to be tampered with and copied. Therefore, the law sets up a three-level form of guarantee: "more than two witnesses present to witness + the testator and witnesses sign each page + indicating the year, month and day". All three elements are indispensable: only one witness, only signing on the first page, or any page without indicating the complete date may be deemed invalid due to formal defects. The content of the will must also clearly refer to specific heirs. If it only writes general expressions such as "full authority to handle", the court may also determine that no heirs have been designated and handle it according to the statutory inheritance.

2. Article 114 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective on January 1, 2021)

The article sets out the qualification criteria for witnesses: individuals with no civil capacity or limited civil capacity, as well as others who lack the ability to act as witnesses; heirs and legatees; and individuals who have a vested interest in the heirs or legatees are all ineligible to serve as witnesses to wills. In practice, the most common mistake is to appoint children, grandchildren, or people with whom they have debt transactions as witnesses. Such witnessing is legally invalid, and the will is highly likely to be overturned. A safer approach is to select two or more unrelated neighbors, friends, or lawyers who are present throughout the entire process from the start of printing to the completion of signing.

3. Practical adjudication guidelines

The court strictly reviews the form of printed wills: witnesses must be able to fully explain the process of being present, and the absence of a signature on each page constitutes a major flaw. For printed wills drawn up before the implementation of the Civil Code, according to Article 15 of the "Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Time Effect of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" (implemented on January 1, 2021), Article 1136 of the Civil Code shall be applied to resolve disputes over the effectiveness of the will. If the witnesses do not appear in court to testify and there is no video evidence of the drafting process, the party claiming the validity of the will often finds it difficult to provide evidence, and the risk of the will being rejected significantly increases.

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

Review of the case:The decedent, Wang Dashan, and his second wife, Liu Shufen, had two sons, Wang Zhihao and Wang Zhichuan. Wang Dashan had a daughter, Wang Shuhui, from his first marriage. At the time of their remarriage, the daughter was only 6 years old and did not live with them. Wang Dashan died on September 25, 2008, and Liu Shufen died on March 18, 2024. Wang Zhihao holds Wang Dashan's printed will dated August 8, 2008 (stating that all property shall be handled by Liu Shufen and that the children have no right to interfere) and Liu Shufen's notarized will dated December 8, 2019, claiming that all the two sets of houses, savings, and pensions registered under Wang Dashan's name should be inherited by him. Wang Zhichuan entrusted Beijing Henglue Law Firm to handle the inheritance matters on his behalf.Li YonghuiThe lawyer represented the client and argued that the will was invalid, and that the inheritance should be divided according to the statutory succession rules.

The focus of the controversy:First, whether Wang Dashan's printed will meets the statutory formal requirements; second, the validity of Liu Shufen's written will and her right to dispose of the estate; third, the scope of heirs and the distribution methods of various types of inheritance.

Our position and the position of the other party are as follows:Wang Zhihai claimed that both wills were legal and valid, and all the estate should be inherited by him; Wang Zhichuan argued that the wills did not comply with the statutory form or were invalid in content, and Liu Shufen had no right to dispose of Wang Dashan's share, so the estate should be divided according to the statutory inheritance law.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinion:Attorney Li Yonghui pointed out that according to Article 1136 of the Civil Code, a printed will should be witnessed by at least two witnesses, and the testator and witnesses should sign each page and indicate the year, month, and day. The will consists of three pages, but the first two pages do not have the testator's signature or the witnesses' signatures and dates, and the content only states "Liu Shufen shall handle all matters", without explicitly designating an heir. Therefore, it should be considered invalid. Even if Liu Shufen's holographic will is valid, it can only dispose of her own share. Attorney Li also pointed out that the plaintiff omitted the heir Wang Shuhui, who, as the biological daughter of Wang Dashan, is legally entitled to inheritance and should participate in the division of the estate.

The court's reasoning and the outcome of the case:The court ruled that Wang Dashan's printed will did not meet the formal requirements for printed wills and did not specify the heirs, so it was invalid; Liu Shufen's written will could only dispose of her own share of the property; and Wang Shuhui had the right to inherit Wang Dashan's property by law. In the final judgment, Wang Zhihai was entitled to three-quarters of each of the two houses, while Wang Zhichuan and Wang Shuhui each received one-eighth of the shares, and the pension would be equally divided between Wang Zhihai and Wang Zhichuan. This case demonstrates that the formal requirement of signing each page of a printed will cannot be omitted, and the absence of witnesses will directly invalidate the will.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Li YonghuiThe attorney (practice license number: 11101199611955812, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Can witnesses ask their children or relatives to serve as witnesses?

No. Article 1140 of the Civil Code explicitly stipulates that heirs, legatees, and individuals with a vested interest in the estate may not serve as witnesses. Having children, who will eventually inherit the estate, serve as witnesses directly violates mandatory provisions, and the will may be invalidated in its entirety, thereby triggering disputes. Even if the relatives are not heirs, as long as they have a vested interest in the heirs, such as creditor-debtor relationships, they should not serve as witnesses. It is necessary to select two or more individuals without any vested interest who will be present throughout the entire process to witness the will and sign each page of the will, indicating the complete date.

Q2: Is it valid if the testator only signs on the first page of the will?

There are major flaws. In the case of a multi-page will, only the first page is signed, and the content of the subsequent pages lacks the signatures and dates of the testator and witnesses. It is impossible to confirm that the content of the subsequent pages reflects the testator's true intentions. The court often rules that the will is invalid as a whole because it fails to meet the requirements of Article 1136 of the Civil Code, which stipulates that "each page of the will must be signed and indicate the year, month, and date." The standard practice is to sign each page, indicate the complete date on each page, and simultaneously record the entire process of printing, reading, and signing on video, while preserving the original carrier.

Q3: What should I do if the will I've already written lacks witnesses?

There are two scenarios. If the testator is still alive, he/she can make a new will: print the will and have it signed by two or more qualified witnesses on each page, or change to a self-written will or a notarized will, which will be more legally binding. If the testator has passed away, the family should collect the video of the will-making process, witness statements, and notarization materials as soon as possible, and entrust a lawyer to evaluate the validity of the will. If necessary, they should initiate an inheritance lawsuit, and the court will determine the formal requirements and authenticity of the will. It is strictly prohibited to dispose of the estate according to the will without authorization.

Q4: How will the estate be divided after the will is deemed invalid?

The inheritance shall be handled in accordance with the statutory succession. The first order of succession includes the spouse, children, and parents (Article 1127 of the Civil Code). The biological children of a remarried family also have a share, and the stepchildren who have formed a support relationship also have the right of inheritance. The marital joint property shall first be allocated to the surviving spouse and then distributed. In this case, after the invalidation of the printed will, the court determined the share of the house for each child in accordance with the statutory succession, and the pension was distributed equally among some of the inheritors.

Q5: What is the difference between a printed will and a testamentary will?

A holographic will is written by one of the witnesses, with the year, month, and date specified, and signed by the writer, other witnesses, and the testator (Article 1135 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China); a printed will is not limited by who prints it, but requires the presence of two or more witnesses and the signature of the testator and witnesses on each page. The common point is that both must have two or more qualified witnesses and a complete date; the difference lies in the requirements for the writing subject and the number of signed pages. The requirements for signing each page are stricter for printed wills, and in practice, the proportion of wills being overturned due to missing signatures or dates is higher.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Rights and Interests

  • When making a will, arrange for more than two uninterested witnesses to be present throughout the process. The testator and the witnesses shall sign on each page and indicate the complete year, month, and day.
  • The synchronized video records the entire process of printing, reading, and signing, preserving the original carrier and preventing disputes over authenticity.
  • Do not let the heirs or relatives with vested interests act as witnesses, to avoid the entire will being invalidated.
  • The content of the will specifies the specific property and the specific heirs, so as to avoid disputes caused by vague expressions such as "full authority to handle".
  • If there is a dispute over the validity of the will after the death of a family member, it is advisable to entrust a lawyer as soon as possible to sort out the original documents, videos, and witness clues, and evaluate the litigation or defense strategies.

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 Li Yonghui·Beijing Henglue Law Firm