Make a will, and remember that a later will replaces an earlier one; a notarized will no longer ranks ahead

The law recognizes 6 kinds of will, and each kind has steps that must be completed. The kind you write yourself must be written by the person from start to finish, signed, and dated with the year, month, and day. If several wills conflict, the last one controls. From 2021, a notarized will no longer automatically ranks ahead of the others.

Cost

Writing a will in your own hand costs nothing. Notarizing one at a notary office (公证处) costs a few hundred yuan to more than a thousand yuan. The hard part is bringing it up: you have to talk with the family about what happens after death.

Benefit

The Civil Code (民法典) recognizes 6 forms of will: written by the person, written by someone else at their request, printed, audio or video, oral, and notarized. Each has its own formal requirements (形式要件). For the kind written by the person, Article 1134 of the Civil Code requires that it be "written by the testator in their own hand, signed, and dated with the year, month, and day." If several wills are made and they conflict, the last one controls. From 2021, a notarized will no longer automatically ranks ahead.

Notes

A handwritten will must be written by the person from start to finish, signed, and dated with the year, month, and day. A printed will needs 2 or more witnesses. The testator and the witnesses must sign every page and write the year, month, and day. An heir, anyone the will gives property to, and anyone with an interest tied to those people cannot be a witness. The judicial interpretation names the interested persons it means: their creditors, their debtors, and people who are in business with them as partners. Whether a spouse, a child, or another close relative of those people counts, the statute and the interpretation do not say directly. The author suggests not asking them to witness, so the will is not fought over later. If the form is wrong, the whole will is void. That is the most common way these fail. After the person dies, whether a small deposit or a house must be notarized for inheritance is covered in section 25, item 12 (do not default to notarization when handling an inheritance).

Sources · 2

1. 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千一百三十四条至第一千一百四十二条）. spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
2. 最高人民法院 (2020). 关于适用《中华人民共和国民法典》继承编的解释（一）（法释〔2020〕23 号，第二十四条）. court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/282091.html