The elderly couple's will left the property to their second son, but the eldest son was dissatisfied and took the case to court! The verdict was a reversal: the inheritance of the hundred acres of fertile land was invalid!

The elderly couple made a handwritten will before their death, agreeing that their jointly owned property and contracted farmland would be inherited by their second son. The elderly passed away one after the other, with the eldest son and second son appearing together in court. Is the handwritten will valid? Can land contract management rights be inherited as part of the estate?

01

Basic Facts

Zhang and Zhou made a handwritten will before their deaths, distributing their property, including their house and farmland, with the agreement that their second son, Zhang 2, would inherit everything.

Both Zhang and Zhou have since passed away.

Now, their eldest son, Zhang 1, claims that the signatures of Zhang and Zhou are forged, asserting that the signatures were made when the testators were mentally unclear, and that Zhang 2, who called the testators to sign, did not express their true intentions. He requests the court to declare the handwritten will invalid, leading to this dispute.

The court also found that Zhang 2’s household registration was moved to the county seat due to work reasons and that he is not a member of the involved collective economic organization.

02

Court Proceedings

The court held that the key issue in this case is the validity of the handwritten will and whether land contract management rights can be inherited.

The court found that the will was witnessed and drafted by two unrelated witnesses. Both Zhang and Zhou signed and sealed the will on two pages. The court determined that the will reflected the true intentions of Zhang and Zhou and met the legal requirements for a handwritten will, making it valid and lawful.

Regarding whether land contract management rights can be inherited: “Responsibility land” falls under rural land family contracting. The disposition of “responsibility land” in the will essentially treats the jointly owned property rights as personal inheritance, which violates the nature of land contract management rights as collective property rights belonging to the farming household. Since Zhang 2 is no longer a member of that household, the part of the will concerning the inheritance of “responsibility land” by Zhang and Zhou is invalid due to legal prohibitions.

Based on the case facts, the court legally confirmed that the inheritance of “responsibility land” in Zhang and Zhou’s will was invalid.

After the first-instance judgment, Zhang 1 appealed, and the second-instance court upheld the original decision.

03

Judicial Explanation

The land contract management rights in rural areas are essentially property rights obtained without compensation through a contract, based on the household’s status as a member of the collective economic organization. These rights are strictly personal and do not have inheritance rights.

When one or more members of the contracted household die, the land contract continues to be managed by the household as a unit, and the land remains contracted to other family members. The household as a unit for contracting purposes does not involve inheritance or division issues.

If all members of the contracted household die, the land contract terminates.

04

Legal References

“Contracted handwritten will” should be witnessed by at least two witnesses, with one person drafting it, and signatures from the testator, the drafter, and witnesses, with the date indicated. (Article 1135 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China)

According to the Rural Land Contract Law of China, the contracting party is a farmer within the collective economic organization. Family members within the household enjoy equal rights to the contracted land under the law.

Summary: Taoxian County People’s Court, Hunan High Court, Shandong High Court

Source: Shandong Provincial Political and Legal Committee