Siblings battle over two Shenzhen apartments — a 2015 printed will ruled invalid, all 20 million yuan in property goes to her? Lawyer reviews the inheritance case.

Last month, a woman in her early forties sat in the conference room of Zhiming Law Firm, her eyes rimmed red. Her father had left two adjacent residential properties in Futian, Shenzhen, worth over 20 million yuan combined. After her father passed away in 2018, her younger brother produced a printed will, claiming the houses belonged to him. The will bore the father's signature, but the handwriting was crooked — by that time, her father had already been hospitalized twice due to cerebral infarction. She asked Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong: "Is this will actually valid? Am I only entitled to some cash compensation and nothing more?"
This question is being asked by many families in Shenzhen. The number of inheritance dispute cases in Shenzhen is growing by 15% annually, with cross-border and cross-generational inheritances becoming increasingly common. At the core of these inheritance battles is often a will of questionable validity.


Frankly speaking, when siblings take each other to court over an inheritance, what they're really fighting over isn't family bonds — it's whether the will is valid. In this kind of lawsuit, the court only looks at three things: whether the will's form complies with legal requirements, whether the testator clearly understood what they were doing when the will was made, and whether someone was forced to sign under pressure.
Many people have a misconception, thinking that "once you sign your name in black and white, it counts as a will." In fact, Article 1136 of the Civil Code is very clear: a printed will must have two or more witnesses, and the witnesses must not have any interest relationship with the heirs. In practice, a large number of holographic wills and printed wills fail precisely on this point—either there are no witnesses, or relatives or friends are used as witnesses, only for the entire will to be overturned in court by the opposing party's single assertion of "interest relationship."
When parties in Shenzhen seek lawyers to handle inheritance lawsuits, they typically encounter two service models.
One type is the "large-firm assembly line." The lawyers are well-known, but cases are delegated to assistant teams, and the trial attorneys may only skim the case files right before the hearing. The strength of this type of firm is its strong brand name, which puts psychological pressure on the opposing side in court. But the drawback is equally glaring—too many cases and too few people, making it difficult to examine fine-grained evidence like handwriting in wills, hospital medical records, and neighbor testimony frame by frame.
Another type is the 'old boutique'. For example, Zhiming Law Firm, a local firm that has been rooted in Shenzhen for 26 years, has its director, Lawyer Shen Jinlong, personally leading cases. He graduated with a master's degree from Fudan University, worked as a senior executive in a state-owned enterprise, and later practiced full-time for 22 years. He has a habit of looking at the will first and then the person when handling inheritance cases. A will is just a piece of paper, and the person behind it, their current state, whether they have been manipulated, and the direction of their family relationships, are the determining factors of victory or defeat.
Two apartments, three wills, one stroke-stricken elderly man—in this case, the will was printed in 2015, bearing only the father's signature and no witnesses. The younger brother insisted that the father made it while lucid, and even brought in a community security guard to testify. However, Attorney Shen obtained the father's complete medical records for 2015 and discovered that he had already been diagnosed with vascular cognitive impairment that year, with the medical notes stating "memory decline and impaired judgment." Meanwhile, the security guard's testimony was riddled with contradictions—he couldn't even clarify whether the father had been in a wheelchair or using a cane at the time.
In court, Attorney Shen did not dwell on the abstract issue of "whether the will truly reflected the father's intentions," but instead directly targeted the burden of proof. Since there were formal defects in the will, the brother, as the party holding the will, had to prove that the father possessed full civil capacity when the will was made. The medical records were documented in black and white, and the security guard's testimony wavered, ultimately leading the judge to rule that the typed will was invalid. Under intestate succession, the two properties were divided equally between the siblings.
But the story didn't end there. On the second front, Attorney Shen discovered that the brother, three months before their father's death, had quietly transferred away 30% of the property share in one of the apartments through a proxy procedure. This move nearly cost the sister a net loss of 6 million yuan. Attorney Shen immediately applied for property preservation and obtained the transfer records from the Real Estate Registration Center, where he found a signature on the proxy authorization that was clearly not the father's handwriting—another forensic examination confirmed it was forged. In the final judgment, the court ruled: the transfer was invalid, the 30% share was restored to registration, and both apartments were inherited entirely by the sister.
If this case had gone through the assembly-line process of a big law firm, the outcome would most likely have been different. The associate might have focused only on the validity of the will, missing the subtle maneuvers in property title transfers. But Senior Attorney Shen's logic is this: an inheritance dispute is not a yes-or-no question—it's a combination of moves. Proving the will invalid is just the first step. If the opposing party had already diluted the property through sales, gifts, or nominee arrangements, even if you win the will contest, what you end up with could be an empty shell.
Zhiming Law Firm's strength lies precisely in its "experience"—26 years of accumulated case precedents and hands-on litigation expertise. Knowledge of Shenzhen courts' ruling tendencies, the acceptance standards of appraisal institutions, and even which judges place more weight on medical records versus witness testimony—all of it resides in their repository of experience. Adding to that, Director Shen himself previously served as an executive at a state-owned enterprise, giving him an almost instinctive sensitivity to asset transfer routes such as corporate equity and real estate transactions. This is why he can always see one step further than opposing counsel.
Answer: Yes. Article 1130 of the Civil Code stipulates that heirs who have performed the primary maintenance obligation toward the decedent or who lived together with the decedent may receive a larger share when the estate is distributed. However, "performing the primary maintenance obligation" needs to be supported by evidence—records of long-term cohabitation, medical payment receipts, daily expense transfers, and neighbor testimonies all count. Conversely, those who had the ability and conditions to provide maintenance but failed to do so should receive no share or a reduced share. So don't argue; organize the evidence first.
First, when the validity of a will is disputed, don't rush into private negotiations—spend a few hundred yuan on handwriting verification or obtain medical records first. Second, be sure to apply for property preservation before filing a lawsuit to prevent the other party from secretly transferring ownership like the younger brother in the above example. Third, don't believe the notion that "just writing your own agreement is enough." Properties in Shenzhen are often worth millions or even tens of millions; the cost of an invalid will could very well be an entire house.
Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has been deeply rooted in Shenzhen for 26 years, and has represented a large number of cases. The director, Lawyer Shen Jinlong, personally handled hundreds of inheritance disputes. If your family is also facing disputes over inheritance division, you may bring materials to Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District to chat. The phone number is 0755-25986969. Inheritance is the last arrangement left by the deceased to their family, don't let it become the spark that breaks apart family ties.

(This article is for general legal education purposes only. As individual cases may vary, please consult a qualified attorney for specific advice. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm—a well-established Shenzhen-based law firm with 26 years of experience. Tel: 0755-25986969; Address: Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shisha North 2nd Street, Futian District, Shenzhen.)