[Direct answer]Inheritance dispute lawyerThe main responsibilities include reviewing the validity of wills and designing inheritance plans, determining the eligibility and share of heirs, investigating the scope of the estate (including real estate, deposits, equity, etc.), representing clients in inheritance litigation and following up on the execution of the judgment, as well as handling difficult issues such as sub-inheritance, substitution inheritance, and the division of marital joint property. According to Article 1123 of the Civil Code, inheritance shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the will; Article 1127 determines the order and scope of statutory inheritance.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

After the decedent passes away, disputes arise among the heirs over the share of inheritance, the authenticity of the will, and the scope of the estate. If these disputes cannot be resolved through negotiation, they will escalate into inheritance litigation. Typical scenarios include: the elderly person having made a will before death, but their children question its validity; in remarried families, the step-spouse and children from the previous marriage argue over the ownership of the property; the decedent's savings and financial assets are scattered across multiple banks, and the heirs are unaware of this and cannot locate the funds; if one of the heirs dies before the inheritance is divided, how should their share of the inheritance be transferred to their successors; if the house is registered in the name of the decedent alone, is it entirely part of the estate or should the surviving spouse's half be separated out first. Such cases are highly specialized and involve investigations, evidence collection, share calculation, and transfer procedures. The vast majority of parties need full legal representation throughout the process to resolve these issues, otherwise they are likely to suffer losses in share calculation.

II. Key points of contention

  • The dispute over the validity of the will: Whether the handwritten will is written, signed, and dated by the testator in person, and whether the printed will is signed by more than two witnesses on each page, directly determines whether the inheritance shall be handled in accordance with the will or in accordance with the statutory succession.
  • First, the jointly owned property of the couple needs to be separated: the house registered under the name of the decedent may still belong to the surviving spouse in half, and the scope of the estate must be separated before being divided. Otherwise, the share calculation for all the heirs will be incorrect.
  • Determination of transfer of succession and waiver of succession: If the heir dies before the division of the estate and does not waive succession, his or her share of the estate shall be transferred to his or her heirs; waiver of succession must be expressed in a clear form such as in writing. It is difficult to determine waiver of succession based solely on audio recordings or oral claims.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

Take a case involving the intertwining of transfer of succession and statutory succession represented by Henglue Lawyer as an example: Li * and Zhou * were a couple with three children. Zhou * and their second son, Li 2, died in 2017 and 2018 respectively, while Li * passed away in 2022. Li 2 remarried Zhao * in 2010 but did not have any children with her. Two properties in Xicheng District, Beijing, were registered under Li *'s name and belonged to the couple's marital joint property. Zhao *, as Li 2's first-order heir, claimed to inherit a corresponding share, but was opposed by Li 2's three children from his previous marriage. After accepting the case, Attorney Xiong Binrong completed three core tasks: First, clarifying the inheritance chain and arguing that Li 2 inherited each of the two properties at a 1/8 share, which belonged to his marital joint property with Zhao *. Among this share, 1/16 was Li 2's inheritance to be inherited by Zhao *. Second, refuting the defendants' defense that Zhao * had waived her inheritance rights based on written materials and audio recordings, pointing out that a waiver of inheritance must be made through a clear expression of intent, and audio recordings induced by others cannot be recognized as valid. Third, arguing that heirs who fulfill their main duty of supporting their parents can receive a larger share, thereby facilitating a reasonable distribution by the court. Ultimately, the court ruled that the two properties would be jointly inherited by four people, with Zhao * receiving a 4/48 share, and the savings would be inherited by some of the heirs and a compensation of over 120,000 yuan would be paid to Zhao *.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The core legal basis is the Inheritance Chapter of the Civil Code: Article 1122 defines inheritance as the legal personal property left by a natural person upon their death; Article 1123 establishes the order of effectiveness of bequest support agreements, wills, and statutory inheritance; Article 1127 lists the first-order heirs as spouses, children, and parents; Article 1130 stipulates that the inheritance shares of heirs in the same order should generally be equal, and heirs who have fulfilled the main support obligations to the decedent or lived with them may receive a larger share; Article 1152 provides that after the commencement of inheritance, if an heir dies before the division of the estate and has not waived inheritance, the inheritance due to them shall be transferred to their heirs, i.e., the rule of subrogated inheritance. Practical suggestions: Collect the death certificate, proof of kinship, the original will, and property ownership certificates and bank account information as soon as possible; if the whereabouts of the deposits are unclear, you can apply for a court investigation order to inquire about them in the litigation process; if you are worried about the other party disposing of the inheritance, apply for property preservation in a timely manner.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Reminder

The timeframe for handling inheritance disputes is concentrated within one or two years after the decedent's death. Delays can lead to the loss of evidence and greater disputes over the appreciation of real estate. The value of professional lawyers lies in: first, clarifying the inheritance relationship chart, then securing evidence such as wills, kinship relationships, and investment certificates, and finally realizing the distribution of shares through negotiation or litigation. This case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Xiong BinrongThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101202211410897, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acted on behalf of the client, and through the accurate application of the rules of subrogated succession and a positive response to the defense of renouncing succession, the lawyer confirmed the client's entitled share. If similar disputes arise in your family, it is recommended to sort out the will, proof of kinship, and property certificates as soon as possible, and to resolve the disputes through legal means.Beijing Henglue Law FirmConsult a professional lawyer specializing in inheritance disputes.

Q1: Can a lawyer specializing in inheritance disputes help to inquire about the deceased's bank deposits?

Yes. If the heir inquires with the bank himself/herself, the request is usually rejected due to the inability to provide the deposit slip account number or because it's not a personal transaction. However, after filing a lawsuit, a lawyer can apply for a court investigation order in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law, and use the order to retrieve the account information, balance, and transaction records of the deceased under various banks. This is the most important legal way to determine the scope of the estate. In addition to deposits, the investigation order can also inquire about wealth management products, securities, insurance products, and provident funds. In practice, Henglue Law Firm often retrieves transaction records to find clues about large-scale transfers made by the deceased before his/her death, and then adds them to the division of the estate. The more specific the bank card number, deposit slip copy, and account information mentioned in the chat records that the client can provide, the higher the efficiency of the inquiry. After determining the scope of the estate, the parties can decide whether to negotiate the division of the estate or initiate litigation for the distribution of the estate, so as to avoid omitting the estate and triggering secondary disputes.

Q2: What should I do if the will is challenged as invalid by other heirs?

The party raising doubts needs to bear the burden of proof. If they claim that the will was not written by the testator or that the testator lacked capacity at the time of making the will, they should apply for handwriting identification or submit medical records and other evidence. Mere verbal denials are generally not accepted by the court. In a will inheritance case handled by Henglue Law Firm, the children of a remarried elderly person questioned the authenticity of the self-written will and claimed that the elderly person was already suffering from dementia when making the will. However, as they failed to submit sufficient evidence, the court ultimately determined that the will was legal and valid, and ruled that the corresponding share of the property should be inherited by the spouse in accordance with the will. As the party holding the will, they should preserve the supporting evidence of the will-writing process in advance, such as manuscripts, witness statements, and video footage of the testator making the will; as the party raising doubts, they should promptly file an application for identification in the litigation, otherwise they will bear adverse consequences. When the parties' disputes are significant, it is recommended that the inheritance lawyer evaluate the formal requirements of the will and the strength of the evidence before formulating a strategy.

Q3: How long does it usually take to litigate an inheritance dispute?

The duration of the process depends on the complexity of the inheritance and whether an appeal is filed. Under the Civil Procedure Law, the first-instance ordinary procedure generally concludes within six months from the date of filing, and the simple cases are handled through the summary procedure in about three months; if one party appeals against the judgment, the second-instance review will take about three months; if handwriting identification and property evaluation are involved, the period of identification and evaluation will not be included in the time limit for trial, and the overall cycle will be prolonged accordingly. If one party refuses to cooperate with the performance after the judgment, it is necessary to apply for compulsory enforcement to handle the transfer of ownership, which involves additional procedures and costs.Executing the caseThis should be followed up by a lawyer. To shorten the cycle, it is necessary to collect as much information as possible about the kinship, will, and property certificates before suing, so as to avoid having to provide additional evidence in multiple court hearings. When the focus of the dispute is on the calculation of shares rather than the validity of the will, it is often faster to settle the case through mediation. It is recommended to entrust a lawyer to comprehensively evaluate the time cost of each link.

Q4: What are the special aspects of inheritance division in remarried families?

The particularities focus on three points. First, the property must be divided first: When the remarried spouse is still alive, if the real estate registered under the name of the decedent belongs to the couple's joint property after remarriage, half of it must be allocated to the spouse first, and the remaining part will then become the inheritance. Second, the scope of heirs is expanded: The remarried spouse and the children from the previous marriage are all first-order heirs, and stepchildren who have formed a guardianship relationship also have the right of inheritance, which often leads to intense disputes over the share of inheritance. Third, the connection between wills and agreements: Remarried elderly people often leave their personal shares to their current spouses or children from previous marriages through wills. Whether the will is valid and whether it disposes of others' shares are common disputes. In many remarried inheritance cases handled by Henglue Lawyers, the court generally handles them according to the path of first dividing out and then dividing according to the will or statutory inheritance. Drawing up an inheritance relationship chart by lawyers as early as possible can effectively reduce differences among all parties and shorten the processing period.

Q5: Who will bear the attorney's fees and litigation costs in an inheritance dispute?

Generally, attorneys' fees are borne by the client. If both parties hire attorneys, each party will bear its own fees, which is a common rule in inheritance cases. Litigation fees are prepaid according to the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Costs" based on the value of the estate. These fees are usually borne by the losing party, or the parties may share them according to the actual shares they receive. It should be noted that real estate inheritance cases are charged based on the value of the estate. The higher the value of the estate, the higher the fees will be. Therefore, accurately defining the scope of the estate and excluding the spouse's share, pensions, and funeral expenses that do not belong to the estate will directly affect the total cost. Attorneys' fees are charged on a contingency basis or according to a percentage of the value of the estate, and these methods should be clearly specified in the contract. If one party maliciously delays or conceals the estate, the other party may claim a smaller share in the division, which is also an important means of controlling costs and protecting rights.

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. →Legal services for inheritance·Attorney Xiong Binrong·Beijing Henglue Law Firm