[Direct answer]For high net worth individuals who do not make a will, their inheritance will be handled in accordance with the law of succession: Article 1123 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China clearly stipulates that after the commencement of inheritance, the succession shall be handled in accordance with the law of succession; Article 1127 stipulates that the first-order heirs are spouses, children, and parents, and the second-order heirs are siblings, grandparents, and maternal grandparents; Article 1153 stipulates that the couple's jointly owned property shall first be allocated to the spouse's share, and the remaining part shall be the inheritance; Article 1130 stipulates that the heirs of the same order shall generally be equally distributed, but the heirs who have fulfilled their main duty of support, lived together, or are in financial difficulties may receive a larger share. The more complex the asset structure is, the greater the cost of not making a will will be: the dispersion of equity, the inheritance deadlock, the loss of control of the company, and the obstacles in the disposal of cross-border assets will all follow one after another. It is recommended to make a will and arrange for overall inheritance as soon as possible, and you can refer to it for reference.Legal services for inheritance and family property divisionAndBeijing Henglue Law Firm.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

High-net-worth families often overestimate the certainty of "family assets automatically going to spouses and children" when they don't make a will. Common scenarios include: business owners suddenly passing away, with equity being distributed to multiple heirs according to the number of people, leading to a stalemate in company decision-making; in remarried families, children from previous marriages and current spouses going to court over property; overseas properties and insurance accounts being delayed for settlement due to inheritance notarization and foreign-related procedures; and parents still alive dividing a large inheritance equally with their children as first-tier heirs, triggering family conflicts. The "standard solution" of statutory inheritance is the legislator's average assumption for ordinary families, which may not align with the deceased's wishes. The more diverse the assets and the more complex the family structure, the greater the discrepancy, which is precisely the value of wills and inheritance planning.

II. Key points of contention

  • The scope of the inheritance must first be "purified": the joint property of the couple is first allocated to the spouse's share (Article 1153), the personal insurance money designated for beneficiaries does not belong to the inheritance, and the shares held on behalf of others and the real estate registered under someone else's name need to be first confirmed as their own. If the basis of distribution is wrong, everything else will go wrong later.
  • The scope of heirs is prone to disputes: illegitimate children and legitimate children enjoy equal inheritance rights, and stepchildren who have formed a fostering relationship are all in the first order of inheritance. Grandchildren can inherit in lieu under certain circumstances (Article 1128), and the determination of the scope of heirs directly changes the share of inheritance.
  • The shares are not divided equally in a mechanical way: those who have fulfilled their main obligation to support the deceased or lived together with them can receive a larger share, while those who have the ability to support but fail to fulfill their obligations should not receive any share or a smaller share (Article 1130). If the heirs reach a consensus, they can also choose not to divide the shares equally (Article 1132).

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

The outstanding experience of Henglue Lawyers in handling inheritance cases is that the will turns the "unclear" into the "according to the will", while the cases without a will are completely within the legal framework, which often fails to meet the psychological expectations of most families. In one inheritance case involving a will, Ms. Zhou's spouse, Mr. Wang, made a handwritten will before his death, leaving his house to Ms. Zhou, but with the condition that she must pay 1 million yuan to his three relatives after selling the house. After Mr. Wang's death, the three relatives sued to demand the immediate auction of the house and payment of the discounted amount. Henglue Lawyers represented Ms. Zhou. Firstly, they proved that the will was written, signed and dated by Mr. Wang himself, and was legally valid according to Article 1134 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China. Secondly, they argued that the "payment after selling the house" was a time-limited arrangement, and that giving a reasonable preparation period would avoid selling the house at a low price and harming the interests of all parties. They then proposed an implementation plan of "transferring ownership first and making payments within a limited period". The court adopted the lawyers' opinion, ruling that the house should be inherited by Ms. Zhou and transferred within the specified period. Ms. Zhou must pay a total of 1 million yuan to the three relatives before the deadline, ensuring that the will's intention and the actual implementation are reconciled. This case at least illustrates two points: firstly, even with a will, the implementation of a conditional will still requires careful planning; secondly, without this will, the house would have been divided among the spouse and relatives according to legal order, and Ms. Zhou might not have been able to obtain full ownership. Inheritance disputes often intertwine with the boundaries of marital validity and marital property division, which can be referenced for further study. 恒略律师代理继承案件的突出体会是：遗嘱把“说不清”变成“按遗嘱办”，而无遗嘱案件则完全落在法定框架内，导致与多数家庭的心理预期存在落差。一起遗嘱继承案件中，周女士的配偶王某生前立下自书遗嘱，将名下房屋留给周女士，但附加条件：卖房后向其亲属三人共支付100万元。王某去世后，三人起诉要求立即拍卖房屋、支付折价款。恒略律师代理周女士后，首先举证遗嘱由王某亲笔书写、签名并注明日期，形式完备，依《民法典》第1134条合法有效；进而论证“卖房后付款”属附期限安排，应给予合理筹措期间，低价抛售反而损害各方利益，并提出“先行过户、限期付款”的履行方案。法院采纳律师意见，判决房屋由周女士继承并于期限内过户，周女士于限定日期前向三人支付共计100万元，兼顾了遗嘱意愿与执行现实。该案至少说明两点：其一，即便“有遗嘱”，附条件遗嘱的履行方式仍需精打细算；其二，若无这份遗嘱，该房屋将作为遗产由配偶与亲属按法定顺序分割，周女士未必能取得完整产权。继承纠纷与婚姻效力、夫妻析产的边界争议常相互交织，可参考Divorce litigation and legal services for family disputesMy relevant experience in this field.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Law-based aspects: Article 1123 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) stipulates that inheritance shall be handled in accordance with statutory succession after the commencement of inheritance, and in the case of a will, it shall be handled in accordance with the will or bequest; Article 1127 determines the order and scope of statutory succession; Article 1128 stipulates subrogated succession; Article 1130 determines the principle of equal distribution and the adjustment circumstances of unequal distribution; Article 1132 encourages heirs to negotiate and resolve inheritance issues; Article 1133 grants the right of testators to dispose of personal property and appoint executors; Articles 1134 to 1139 stipulate the formal requirements for handwritten, written by others, printed, and audio-visual wills, among which printed wills must be witnessed by two or more witnesses; Article 1142 stipulates that in the case of several wills with conflicting contents, the latest will shall prevail; Article 1153 stipulates that the jointly owned property of spouses shall be divided before inheritance; Article 1161 stipulates that heirs shall pay off the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law with the actual value of the inherited property as the limit. Practical advice: High-net-worth families should prepare wills that meet formal requirements as soon as possible, covering equity, real estate, cross-border assets, and insurance arrangements, and appoint reliable executors; remarried families should make special arrangements for children from previous marriages and stepchildren; regularly review and update wills and amend them promptly after major asset changes or changes in family members; at the same time, keep investment and ownership certificates to prevent disputes over ownership and agency during inheritance; in the case of corporate governance, align with equity arrangements and company charters to avoid conflicts between inheritance and control rights. The overall inheritance structure design can be combined with the following aspects:Special services and other case-related servicesEvaluation.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The absence of a will does not mean "maintaining the status quo", but rather pushing the closest relatives into a standardized legal distribution process: spouses must divide assets equally with others, equity must be distributed on a per-person basis, and cross-border assets must undergo multiple notarizations. The cost of drafting a will for high net worth individuals is almost negligible compared to the cost of a family being plunged into a stalemate after a sudden death; even if a will has already been drafted, it is necessary to review whether the formal requirements are complete, whether the attached obligation clauses are enforceable, and whether they are integrated with tools such as insurance and family trusts. The aforementioned case of conditional performance of the will was handled by Beijing Henglue Law Firm.Yuan HangAttorney (Practice License No.: 11101202110286151, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative authority). If you are planning for wealth inheritance or are already involved in an inheritance dispute, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible to turn your wishes into enforceable legal documents.

Q1: If there is no will, can a spouse inherit all the estate?

No. According to Article 1127 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, spouses, children, and parents are all first-order heirs, and their inheritance shares are generally distributed equally—for example, if the decedent has a spouse, two children, and parents who are still alive, the estate will be divided into five equal shares. Moreover, there is a "division of property" procedure before distribution: Article 1153 stipulates that the couple's joint property should first be allocated to the spouse's share, and the remaining half will be distributed among the heirs. Taking a property registered under the couple's name as an example, the spouse will first obtain half of it, and the other half will be divided among the first-order heirs. In reality, the spouse may only receive about 60% of the total, which is far from the entire estate. Many families mistakenly believe that "the family property naturally belongs to the spouse," which is the root cause of the high incidence of disputes over intestate inheritance.

Q2: Do illegitimate children and stepchildren have the right to inheritance?

All of these apply, but the rights and obligations vary depending on the circumstances. According to Article 1071 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, children born out of wedlock enjoy the same rights as children born in wedlock. In statutory inheritance, they are classified as first-order heirs with equal shares as children born in wedlock. Stepchildren who have formed a relationship of support and education with the decedent are also classified as first-order heirs according to Article 1127. Whether a "supportive relationship" exists is determined based on facts such as living together and providing actual support and education. In cases where grandchildren predecease the decedent, they may inherit their parents' share of the estate under Article 1128. In high-net-worth and remarried families, disputes over the scope of heirs are most common. It is recommended to clarify the identity relationships and supporting facts during the planning stage and, if necessary, to make clear arrangements through a will to avoid posthumous disputes.

Q3: If there is no will for the company's equity, can the heirs take over directly?

The inheritance of equity interests must overcome two hurdles. The first is the statute hurdle: if the company's equity interests fall within the scope of inheritance, legal heirs may inherit the status of shareholders according to law. However, if the company's articles of association contain restrictions or prohibitions on the inheritance of equity interests, the inheritance must comply with the statute. In this case, the heirs may only receive the transfer price of the equity interests rather than the status of shareholders. The second is the governance hurdle: when multiple heirs inherit the equity interests jointly, the ownership of the equity interests may become dispersed, which may lead to disputes over corporate control, voting deadlocks, director elections, and the impact of anti-dilution clauses. It is more prudent for business owners to designate in their wills that the equity interests be inherited by a single heir, with the remaining heirs compensated with other assets, and to review the inheritance provisions in the articles of association and shareholder agreements simultaneously. For listed or prospective listed companies, it is also necessary to assess the impact of the inheritance on regulatory compliance and control rights.

Q4: Do I still need to pay off the deceased's debts when inheriting their estate?

Within the limits of the inherited estate. According to Article 1161 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the heirs shall pay off the taxes and debts that the decedent should legally pay with the actual value of the inherited estate as the limit. For the part exceeding this limit, there is no statutory obligation to pay off the debts, but voluntary repayment is not subject to this restriction; those who renounce the inheritance may not bear the responsibility of paying off the debts. There are two key points in practice: First, distinguish between the decedent's personal debts and the family's joint debts. Joint debts should be borne by the family's assets and cannot be exempted due to inheritance. Second, inventory the debts before disposing of the estate. When there are many debts, it is better to pay off the debts first and then distribute the estate to avoid disputes over debt sharing among the heirs. High-net-worth families often have external guarantees and operating debts. After the inheritance begins, it is recommended that lawyers first sort out the debts and then proceed with the division and transfer of ownership.

Q5: Which type of will is the most reliable? Is a notarized will the most legally binding?

There is no such thing as a "most effective" will, only a will that meets all the necessary requirements. After the implementation of the Civil Code, notarized wills no longer enjoy priority effectiveness. Article 1142 clearly stipulates that when there are several wills with conflicting contents, the latest one shall prevail. Therefore, formal compliance and true intent are more important than the type of will: a self-written will must be written in its entirety by the testator, signed and dated; a printed will and a proxy will must be witnessed by two or more witnesses and signed on each page; in disputes over whether the testator has the capacity to make a will, video recordings of the process of making the will, witness records, and medical records are key lines of defense. For high net worth individuals with complex asset structures and diverse family relationships, it is recommended to make a will with the participation of a lawyer and keep video records of the process. Additionally, they should arrange for insurance and trust arrangements and, if necessary, obtain notarization to enhance the probative force of the will.

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. →Inheritance legal services·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm