(Adopted at the Third Session of the Sixth National People's Congress on April 10, 1985 and promulgated by Order No.24 of the President of the People's Republic of China on April 10, 1985)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Statutory Succession

Chapter III Testamentary Succession and Legacy

Chapter IV Disposition of the Estate

Chapter V Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China with a view to protecting the right of citizens to inherit private property.

Article 2 Succession begins at the death of a citizen.

Article 3 Estate denotes the lawful property owned bya citizen personally at the time of his death, which consists of:

(1) his income;

(2) his houses, savings and articles of everyday use;

(3) his forest trees, livestock and poultry;

(4) his cultural objects, books and reference materials;

(5) means of production lawfully owned by him;

(6) his property rights pertaining to copyright and patent rights; and

(7) his other lawful property.

Article 4 Personal benefits accruing from a contract entered into by an individual are heritable in accordance with the provisions of this Law. Contracting by an individual, if permitted by law to be continued by the successor, shall be treated in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Article 5 Succession shall, after its opening, be handled in accordance with the provisions of statutory succession; where a will exists, it shall be handled in accordance with testamentary succession or as legacy; where there is an agreement for legacy in return for support, the former shall be handled in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Article 6 The right to inheritance or legacy of a competent person shall be exercised on his behalf by his statutory agent.

The right to inheritance or legacy of a person with limited capacity shall be exercised on his behalf by his statutory agent or by such person himself after obtaining the consent of his statutory agent.

Article 7 A successor shall be disinherited upon his commission of any one of the following acts:

(1) intentional killing of the decedent;

(2) killing any other successor in fighting over the estate;

(3) a serious act of abandoning or maltreating the decedent; or

(4) a serious act of forging, tampering with or destroying the will.

Article 8 The time limit for institution of legal proceedings pertaining to disputes over the right to inheritance is two years, counting from the day the successor became or shouldhave become aware of the violation of his right to inheritance. No legal proceedings, however, may be instituted after the expiration of a period of 20 years from the day succession began.