[Direct answer]It is necessary. Article 1136 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) clearly stipulates that 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; according to Article 1140, the inheritors, the donees and the people who have an interest in the will cannot act as witnesses. A printed will with missing witnesses, missing signatures on pages, or missing date indications is usually invalid due to non-compliance with legal formalities, and the estate shall be handled in accordance with statutory inheritance. When making or questioning the validity of a printed will, it is recommended to consult as soon as possible.Legal services for inheritance and family property divisionOrBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

After computers and printers became widely available, more and more elderly people choose to go to print shops to print wills and sign them. Some children also draft and print wills for their parents to sign. Compared with handwritten wills, printed wills do not require the testator to write them by hand, so the law has stricter requirements for their formal elements. Common disputes in practice include: the will only has one page, with only the testator signing on the last page; no witnesses were present from the beginning; the signature was signed but the date was omitted; the witnesses were children or neighbors with vested interests; after the elderly person's death, siblings have different opinions on the authenticity of the will. If any of the formal elements are missing, the will may be invalidated in its entirety, and the legal inheritance system will apply instead.

II. Key points of dispute

  • The completeness of the formal requirements: More than two witnesses must be present to witness the will, and the testator and witnesses must sign on each page and indicate the date. Missing pages, missing signatures, or missing dates are fatal flaws that are difficult to rectify afterwards.
  • Witness qualifications: Inheritors, legatees, and their interested parties are not allowed to serve as witnesses. A printed will "witnessed" by children is not in compliance with formal requirements.
  • Authenticity and manifestation of intention: Even if the form is complete, the other party may still raise defenses such as coercion or lack of civil capacity at the time of contracting. In this case, the video recording of the contracting process and the witness's testimony become crucial evidence.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Take an inheritance dispute handled by Henglue Law Firm as an example: The decedent, Wang Dashan, and his second wife, Liu Shufen, had two sons, Wang Zhihao and Wang Zhichuan. Wang Dashan also had a daughter, Wang Shuhui, from his first marriage. At the time of their remarriage, Wang Shuhui was only 6 years old and did not live with them. On August 8, 2008, Wang Dashan drafted a printed will stating that "all property shall be handled by Liu Shufen, and the children have no right to interfere." The will consisted of three pages, but the first two pages lacked the signatures of the testator, witnesses, or dates. Wang Dashan died on September 25, 2008. On December 8, 2019, Liu Shufen drafted a holographic will stipulating that the two properties and assets would be inherited by Wang Zhihao. On March 18, 2024, Liu Shufen passed away. Wang Zhihao claimed that he should inherit all the estate alone, while Wang Zhichuan entrusted attorney Li Yonghui from Beijing Henglue Law Firm to defend his case, arguing that the wills were invalid and should be divided according to statutory inheritance laws. The attorney focused on three key points: 1. According to Article 1136 of the Civil Code, the first two pages of Wang Dashan's printed will lacked the signatures of the testator and witnesses or dates, failing to meet the legal form requirements for printed wills. Moreover, the will only stated that "all property shall be handled by Liu Shufen" without explicitly naming the heirs, rendering it invalid. 2. Liu Shufen's holographic will, although authenticated by signature verification, was drafted when her legal capacity was questionable and she lacked authority to dispose of Wang Dashan's inheritance share, as she could only dispose of her own assets. 3. Wang Shuhui, as Wang Dashan's biological daughter, legally enjoys inheritance rights and should participate in the division. The court ruled that: - Wang Dashan died in 2008, when there were no legal provisions on printed wills. Applying the Civil Code through the temporal effectiveness connection rule, the will failed to meet formal requirements and lacked clear heirs, rendering it invalid. - Liu Shufen's holographic will reflected her true intent, but she could only dispose of her own assets. - Wang Zhihao would inherit three-quarters of each property, while Wang Zhichuan and Wang Shuhui would each receive one-eighth. Liu Shufen's bank deposits would go to Wang Zhihao, and the pension would be divided equally between Wang Zhihao and Wang Zhichuan.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 1136 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) stipulates the formal requirements for a printed will; Article 1135 stipulates that a written will shall be witnessed by two or more witnesses, written by one of them, and signed by the testator, the writer, and other witnesses, with the date and month noted; Article 1140 excludes witnesses who lack capacity for civil conduct, have limited capacity for civil conduct, or otherwise lack witnessing capacity, as well as inheritors, legatees, and those with an interest in the inheritors or legatees, from serving as witnesses to a will; Article 1123 clarifies that after the commencement of inheritance, the inheritance shall be handled in accordance with statutory inheritance, and where there is a will, the inheritance or bequest shall be handled in accordance with the will; Article 1124 stipulates that the legatee shall make an acceptance within 60 days after knowing the bequest, and failure to do so within the time limit shall be deemed as a waiver. 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" (effective January 1, 2021) provides a basis for the application of printed wills concluded before the implementation of the Civil Code. At the practical advice level: It is advisable to have at least two witnesses with no interest in the matter present when making a printed will, have them sign each page and note the date and month, and simultaneously record the entire process on video. For major property disposals such as real estate, it is recommended to handle a notarized will or a will witnessed by a lawyer. After inheriting a share of the house, if it involves transfer of ownership or sale, further information can be obtained.Legal services for real estate transactions and construction projects.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The dispute over the validity of printed wills mostly stems from formal requirements rather than the content itself. Here are three tips: First, every page must be signed and dated without omission. Signing only on the last page is the most common case of invalidity. Second, witnesses must have no interest in the inheritance. Children, spouses, legatees, and their close relatives cannot serve as witnesses. Third, leaving property to grandchildren is legally considered a bequest rather than testamentary inheritance. Grandchildren should express their intention to accept the bequest within 60 days after learning of it. The above-mentioned case of invalid printed wills was handled by Beijing Henglue Law Firm.Li YonghuiThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101199611955812, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts on behalf of the client to protect the client's share of the house in accordance with the statutory inheritance in the unfavorable situation of the two wills. If you need to make a will or have objections to the validity of the will, you can contact us through the following channels:Beijing Henglu Law FirmMake an appointment for a professional assessment.

Q1: If the will is only one page long, do I not need a witness to sign it?

It's still necessary. Article 1136 of the Civil Code does not relax the formal requirements for printed wills based on the number of pages: whether it's one page or multiple pages, there should be at least two witnesses present to witness it, and the testator and witnesses should sign on each page and indicate the year, month, and day. If there's only one page but no witnesses present and no witness signatures, it also fails to meet the legal formalities and carries a significant risk of being deemed invalid. In practice, there are cases where elderly people ask print shop employees to print the wills and then sign them themselves. However, the employees neither witnessed the entire process nor signed the wills, so they cannot play the role of witnesses. The validity of such wills is highly likely to lead to litigation.

Q2: Is it allowed to let children witness the signing process?

No. According to Article 1140 of the Civil Code, heirs, legatees, and individuals with a vested interest in the heirs or legatees cannot serve as witnesses to a will. Children are the first-order statutory heirs, and spouses, potential legatees, grandchildren, and their respective close relatives are all excluded. If they are present to "witness" or even sign on behalf of the testator, the form of the will will not comply with legal requirements. Appropriate witnesses should be individuals with no vested interest in the inheritance, such as colleagues, friends, community workers, lawyers, etc. The two witnesses must be present throughout the process, witness the testator signing the will with their own eyes, and sign and date each page of the will.

Q3: If I forgot to add the date when printing the will or only signed the last page, can I still rectify the situation?

There is room for improvement in some cases, but the risks are high. If the date is not noted or some pages lack signatures, the will is usually deemed invalid or flawed due to non-compliance with the statutory form requirements of Article 1136. Even if the parties provide additional video evidence and witnesses, it's difficult to rectify the formal requirements themselves. A more secure approach is to draft a compliant will anew: with two or more uninterested witnesses present, signing each page to indicate the date and having the entire process recorded on video, or directly obtaining a notarized will. For wills that have already caused disputes, it's important to promptly entrust a lawyer to organize a defense against formal requirements, legal capacity, and intentional expression, and to fix positions through handwriting identification, video evidence, and witness testimony.

Q4: How much does it cost to make a will and to litigate for inheritance, respectively?

The drafting stage: Notarized wills are subject to fees charged by notary offices, which are usually based on the value of the estate. Lawyers charge fees on a per-case or percentage-of-value basis for witnessing or assisting in the drafting process. The litigation stage: Succession dispute cases are subject to tiered filing fees based on the value of the disputed estate. For cases involving real estate, an appraisal must be requested and appraisal fees must be paid. Lawyer fees are determined on a per-case or percentage-of-value basis. Compared to the loss of shares in the estate due to the invalidation of a will and subsequent redistribution according to statutory inheritance rules, the cost of meeting formal requirements during the drafting stage is very low. It is recommended to allocate budgets in advance for the drafting stage rather than attempting to remedy the situation through litigation afterwards.

Q5: If you have objections to the printed will at home, what should you do?

The process can be divided into three steps. First, secure the evidence: obtain the original will and take photos or make copies of it, collect clues about the testator's capacity for action such as their medical records before death, and gather videos of the will-making process and witness information. Second, identify the key points of defense and attack: verify the formal requirements and witness qualifications against Articles 1136 and 1140, and assess whether to claim the will's invalidity or accept its validity. Third, take timely action: if the heirs cannot reach an agreement, promptly file a lawsuit for inheritance disputes with the court, requesting to confirm the will's invalidity and divide the estate according to statutory inheritance laws. For cases involving bequests, pay attention to the start date of the 60-day acceptance period. The longer the will dispute drags on, the greater the risk of evidence loss and changes in the share of inheritance.

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