Cross-border property disputes on the rise

Hu Min
China Will Registration Center sets up overseas group to tackle inheritance problems increasing year on year, with connections to institutions in 146 countries and regions.
Hu Min
Cross-border property disputes on the rise
Ti Gong

A staff member describes the will registration procedure.

Cross-border property inheritance disputes are increasing year on year with the acceleration of economic globalization and international population migration, the China Will Registration Center revealed on Thursday.

The rise is triggered by factors such as foreign heirs, cross-border bequests, and overseas wills, it noted.

Among cases handled by the center, over 90 percent of overseas heirs faced difficulties in rights confirmation, management and realization, and transfer, said Liu Peng, head of the inheritance department of the center.

In some cases, although the property left by parents has been successfully transferred to the names of their children, the houses are difficult to manage due to long-term overseas living experience, leading to situations such as property disrepair and waste, which result in a decrease in value, Liu added.

To tackle cross-border property inheritance disputes, the center said on Thursday that it had set up an overseas group who have achieved interconnectivity with professional inheritance institutions in 146 countries and regions, breaking down barriers to international inheritance and achieving a comprehensive upgrade of inheritance services.

Cross-border property disputes on the rise
Ti Gong

Two elderly citizens consult will registration affairs.

The center launched a property administrator public welfare service mechanism in October last year, and 23,135 wills registered and preserved at the center have designated an estate administrator, it said.

The core of the service lies in simplifying inheritance procedures after the decedent's death through a series of advanced measures, including designating estate administrators in advance, storing key materials needed for future inheritance in advance, document verification, pre-authorization, and declarations.

Among these wills, the proportion of designating others or institutions as property administrators has reached 15.62 percent, while the proportion of designating friends and family as estate administrators is 84.38 percent. In addition, among those choosing estate administrator service, 56 percent decide to sell, cash out, or transfer the inherited real estate, according to the center.

"Current statistics shows that the wills of the testators for property administration are showing a trend of complexity and diversification. When citizens register wills and designate estate administrators, they are shifting from a preference for interpersonal trust to considering the selection of professionals," Liu noted.

Cross-border property disputes on the rise
Ti Gong

A staff member follows the procedure of will registration.

In one case, a woman surnamed Wang owns several self-built houses in a village in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, which are facing demolition. Both her sons are working abroad, and Wang has lived abroad with them for a long time. Considering her advanced age and poor health, she is worried that after her death, her children will not be able to return to the country in time to handle property affairs.

Wang registered a will and designated a professional as the estate administrator in the will, responsible for handling all matters related to the inheritance of the resettlement housing.

With the intensification of China's aging trend and the rapid growth of personal wealth, inheritance issues have become a concerning social issue. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the total number of inheritance notarization cases and inheritance dispute cases nationwide reaches as high as 1.8 million cases each year.

To this end, China's Civil Code has officially established the property administrator system, effectively protecting the rights and interests of all parties in the process of bequests handling.


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