Basic facts of the case
Wang (male) and Wu (female) were originally husband and wife, and had two sons and two daughters. In 1961, the parties divorced through court mediation. After the divorce, Wang returned to Wuxi from Anhui to work and live, and his four children never visited or supported Wang. In 2003, under the witness of Wang's younger siblings, Wang signed a bequest and maintenance agreement with the neighborhood committee, stating that due to historical and other reasons, Wang had been single, although he had brothers and sisters, but due to busy work, long distance, and inconvenient care, the neighborhood committee was responsible for Wang's daily life and pension until the end of his life according to the treatment of "five guarantee households", and Wang's property was disposed of by the neighborhood committee after his death. After the agreement was signed, the neighborhood committee arranged for a special person to take care of Wang's daily life and medical escort until Wang died at the age of 94 and handled the funeral for him. After learning the news of Wang's death, Wang's four children rushed back from other places to ask for inheritance, which caused a dispute with the neighborhood committee. The neighborhood committee had no choice but to sue the court, requesting confirmation that the bequest and maintenance agreement was valid, and that the property in Wang's name belonged to the neighborhood committee.
Adjudication Results
The Liangxi District People's Court of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province held that the bequest and maintenance agreement signed by Wang and the neighborhood committee was an expression of the true intentions of both parties, did not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and was legal and valid. In the past 20 years, the neighborhood committee has taken care of Wang, who lives alone, properly arranged his residence and had a special person to take care of him, paid his medical expenses, paid for the nursing home and funeral expenses, and fulfilled his obligations as a bequest supporter, but Wang's four children have not fulfilled any maintenance obligations, and the four children's claim that the bequest and maintenance agreement violates the principle of fairness and has no factual or legal basis. Therefore, it was decided that Wang's property belonged to the neighborhood committee. Wang's four children appealed against the first-instance verdict. The Intermediate People's Court of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
Optimal viewpoint
When dealing with inheritance issues, many families face a variety of complex emotional and legal issues. Among them, the failure of children to fulfill their maintenance obligations and how to choose a bequest and dependents have become two core issues. The law clearly stipulates this, but in practice, we need to understand deeply and act prudently. Below, we will detail these two questions and give corresponding risk prevention suggestions.
OneDoes a child's failure to fulfill the maintenance obligation necessarily result in the loss of inheritance rights?
Adult children have an obligation to their parents to support, support and protect them. A child's obligation to support his or her parents is a statutory obligation and cannot be refused for any reason. However, in this case, Wang's four children never visited or supported Wang, and did not fulfill any obligation to support. If the child does not fulfill the maintenance obligation, if the circumstances are serious, it may constitute the crime of abandonment and need to bear the corresponding criminal responsibility. If the decedent does not exclude the heir through a will or other means, the decedent will still receive the inheritance according to the statutory inheritance, but the court may, according to the actual situation, appropriately divide the inheritance among the children who do not fulfill the maintenance obligation.
IIEffect of bequest and maintenance agreementsHow to determine?
Article 1158 of the Civil Code stipulates that: "A natural person may enter into a bequest and maintenance agreement with an organization or individual other than the heir. According to the agreement, the organization or individual undertakes the obligation of the natural person to support the dead and bury, and enjoys the right to receive a bequest. ”。A bequest maintenance agreement takes precedence over statutory and testamentary succession because the bequest dependents have fulfilled their obligations. In this case, the bequest and maintenance agreement signed between Wang and the neighborhood committee was an expression of the true intention of both parties, which did not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and was legal and valid. In order for a bequest and maintenance agreement to be valid, certain conditions must also be met:
1.The intention of the parties to the agreement is true:The bequest and maintenance agreement must be based on the true intentions of both parties, and there must be no fraud, coercion, misunderstanding, etc.
2.CooperationThe content of the proposal is legitimate:The content of the agreement must comply with the provisions of laws and regulations, do not violate public order and good customs, and do not harm the legitimate rights and interests of the state, the collective or a third party.
3.The form of the agreement is legal:The bequest and maintenance agreement shall be in writing and shall be signed or sealed by both parties. An oral agreement or an unsigned agreement has no legal effect.
4.The dependant has the ability to support:The dependant must have full capacity for civil conduct and have sufficient financial capacity and living capacity to fulfill the maintenance obligation.
Bequeathed property explicitly:The bequest and maintenance agreement must specify the type, quantity, quality, value and other information of the bequeathed property, so as to ensure that the dependant can obtain the corresponding property after fulfilling the maintenance obligation.
IIIAt the same time, there are certain requirements for the selection of bequest dependents, and not everyone can become a bequest dependent
Have full capacity for civil conduct:The bequest and dependents must be natural persons with full capacity for civil conduct and be able to bear civil liability independently.
Have the ability and willingness to support:The legatee must have sufficient financial capacity and living ability, be able to fulfill the obligation of support, and be willing to support the legatee.
Not a legal heir:The bequest and dependents cannot be the legal heirs of the legatee, otherwise the meaning of the bequest and maintenance will be lost.
To sum up, it is not simply a matter of entering into a contract to dispose of your estate through a bequest and maintenance agreement, and there are many factors that need to be considered to ensure that the distribution of the estate meets your reasonable expectations:
Choose your dependents carefully:When selecting a supporter, factors such as his or her economic capacity, ability to live, and moral character shall be taken into account to ensure that the supporter is able to earnestly fulfill his or her obligation to support. At the same time, attention should be paid to the physical condition and health status of the dependents to ensure that they are competent for the support work.
Clarify the content of the agreement:When signing an agreement, the rights and obligations of both parties, the method of support, the period of support, and the distribution of property shall be clarified, so as to avoid subsequent disputes. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the legality, authenticity, integrity and value assessment of the bequeathed property to ensure the legitimacy and validity of the content of the agreement.
Agree on liability for breach of contractThe agreement shall stipulate the liability for breach of contract and the method of compensation, so that measures can be taken to remedy and recover in a timely manner in the event of a breach.
Handle notarization procedures in a timely mannerWhen signing and performing a bequest and maintenance agreement, the provisions of laws and regulations shall be complied with to ensure the legality and validity of the agreement, and in order to ensure the performance of the agreement, it is recommended to go through the notarization formalities in a timely manner to ensure the credibility and legal effect of the agreement.
Editor|Yan Lishan.
Design|Jiang Jitao.
Audit|Tang Haifeng.
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