For a house left by parents in Shenzhen, three siblings fought over it for two years without any result. The lawyer said the key to an inheritance dispute is just one word.

Last week, a client from Futian, Shenzhen, came to me and her first words were: "Lawyer Shen, my dad passed away three years ago, and the three of us—my sister, my brother, and I—still haven't figured out how to divide that house. Even the agents say it can't be sold." As she said this, her eyes were red.
This is not an isolated case. The number of inheritance dispute cases in Shenzhen has been growing at a rate of 15% per year in recent years, with cross-border and cross-generational inheritance becoming increasingly common. To put it plainly, in the past, a family only had one property, and siblings could simply yield to one another. But now, properties in Shenzhen can easily be worth tens of millions, and a single house might represent everything an ordinary person has saved in a lifetime—who would be willing to give that up?

In inheritance disputes in Shenzhen, nine times out of ten, they revolve around real estate. Our team conducted a statistic showing that in the inheritance cases we've handled over the past three years, over 80% involved property, with claim amounts ranging from several million to over a hundred million yuan.
One case stands out in my memory. Mr. Zhou from Longhua, whose father passed away leaving behind a self-built house in the urban village and a commercial residential property, with a combined market value of 20 million yuan. He has two older sisters, one in Hong Kong and the other in Australia. The father left no will, so under statutory inheritance, the three of them would split it equally. But Mr. Zhou felt it was unfair—because during his father's later years, he was the one handling everything: the illness, hospital stays, and hiring caregivers, while his two sisters barely came back twice a year and didn't even make many phone calls.
He asked me, "Lawyer, I contributed the most, why should I split it equally with them?"
Many people in Shenzhen want to ask this question.
Article 1133 of the Civil Code stipulates that a natural person may make a will to dispose of their personal property. However, a will is not valid simply because it has been written. In recent years, there have been particularly many cases involving disputes over the validity of wills in Shenzhen. Our law firm alone has encountered several different situations.
Someone came with a handwritten "will" that had only a few lines, no date, and no fingerprint. Another person brought a printed will, but the witness was his own friend. Someone else presented a video will, but the footage showed only the elderly person talking to himself alone.
When a court determines the validity of a will, it focuses on three key points: first, whether the testator was of sound mind at the time; second, whether the will reflects the testator's true intentions; and third, whether the form complies with legal requirements.
Take printed wills as an example: Article 1136 of the Civil Code explicitly requires that a printed will must be witnessed by two or more witnesses in person, and both the testator and the witnesses must sign and date each page of the will. Missing a single signature or a single date could render the will invalid.
I often tell my clients that when inheritance disputes go to the end, what's really being fought over isn't family bonds—it's evidence. The key comes down to one word: proof.
Many people assume that when their parents pass away, the house naturally belongs to the children. This way of thinking is very risky in Shenzhen.
According to Article 1127 of the Civil Code, the first-order heirs are the spouse, children, and parents. That is to say, if the father passes away while the mother is still alive, the mother first takes half of the marital joint property, and the remaining half constitutes the father's estate, which is then divided equally among the mother and all children.
For example: a property in Nanshan worth 12 million yuan, the father has just passed away, the mother is still alive, and there are three children. First, 6 million yuan goes to the mother, and the remaining 6 million yuan is the father's estate, which is divided equally among the mother and the three children, each receiving 1.5 million yuan. In the end, the mother holds 75%, and each of the three children holds 12.5%.
Many people only realize at this point: "So I only have one-eighth?"
What makes it even more complicated is that if the children have already acquired foreign nationality or have been long-term residents overseas, cross-border inheritance comes into play, and the application of foreign-related laws must also be considered. Cases like this are becoming increasingly common in Shenzhen, and handling them is far more complex than ordinary inheritance matters.
Once an inheritance dispute ends up in court, the family bond is essentially severed. In the cases we handle, fewer than half actually proceed to a hearing; most are resolved during the pre-litigation mediation stage.
But the premise of mediation is that you first need to figure out exactly how much you're entitled to. Some people go by gut feeling and think they "should get more," while others get intimidated by their siblings and back down—both mindsets are likely to put you at a disadvantage.
Our approach is to first help the client clarify three things: first, what exactly constitutes the scope of the estate—note that not all property registered under the parents' names is part of the estate, as we need to consider whether there are issues of jointly owned marital property; second, whether there is a will and how valid it is; third, whether there are any statutory circumstances that would allow for a larger or smaller share of the inheritance.
Article 1130 of the Civil Code stipulates that heirs who have primarily fulfilled the obligation to support the deceased or who lived with the deceased may receive a larger share when the estate is distributed. As mentioned earlier in the case of Mr. Zhou, who cared for his father for many years, this serves as an important basis for him to claim a larger portion of the inheritance.
In a case we closed last year, the client was a woman named Ms. Chen from Bao'an, Shenzhen. Her father owned a luxury property worth 20 million yuan under his name, but in his later years, he remarried. Her stepmother held a will stating that the house belonged to her. When Ms. Chen came to us, her stepmother was already preparing to transfer the property title.
After taking over the case, we did three things first: first, we investigated the process of how the will was created and found that it was signed while our father was hospitalized, at a time when he was in a state of confused consciousness; second, we obtained testimony from the nurse on duty and fellow patients in the same ward, confirming that our father had no idea what he was signing at the time; third, we applied for a handwriting analysis of the will.
In the end, the court ruled that the will was invalid and handled the case according to statutory inheritance. Since Ms. Chen was her father's only child, and her stepmother had been married to her father for only two years, pre-marital property did not qualify as joint marital property. As a result, the 20 million yuan property was inherited entirely by Ms. Chen.
This case was won not by luck, but by paying meticulous attention to every detail.
Inheritance disputes in Shenzhen have never been as simple as just dividing money and property. Behind them lie decades of family grudges, and the unspoken sacrifices and grievances among siblings.
If you're facing a similar issue, whether it's figuring out how to divide a house left by your parents or disputing the validity of a will, it's advisable to first consult with a professional lawyer. Thinking things through in advance is always better than being caught off guard when the time comes.
Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has been handling marriage and family cases in Shenzhen for 26 years, with a cumulative caseload of over 10,000 cases. The firm's director, Attorney Shen Jinlong, has practiced law for 26 years, holds a master's degree from Fudan University, is a senior economist, and previously served as a senior executive at a state-owned enterprise, having handled numerous complex inheritance disputes.
Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, North 2nd Street, Shixia, Futian District, Shenzhen. Tel: 0755-25986969.