How to file a dispute over the validity of a will? Key points of evidence in Shenzhen inheritance case

1、 Two friends seeking help

Last month, my friend Lao Zhang called and his voice was full of anxiety: "My grandfather left and left behind a house in Futian, Shenzhen. However, his brother said the will was fake, and now it's going to court. How to deal with the dispute over the validity of the will?" Two days later, another friend Xiao Liu also came to his door and said that his brother was criminally detained due to economic disputes. The family wanted to apply for bail pending trial, but didn't know what to prepare.

Two things may seem unrelated, but they are actually one problem: when encountering legal proceedings, first clarify what the court is looking at, and then decide what I am preparing. This article will clearly outline the practical points of these two lines.

2、 There are three matters to be reviewed by the court in the dispute over the validity of a will

1. Formal requirement: Does this will "look right" or not

The Civil Code has clear requirements for the form of a will: a self written will must be fully handwritten, signed, and indicate the year, month, and day; A will written on behalf of others must have two or more witnesses present, and one of them must act on behalf of the testator. The proxy, other witnesses, and the testator must all sign and indicate the year, month, and day; Printing a will requires the testator and witnesses to sign on each page and indicate the year, month, and day; Audio and video recordings of wills require the presence of two or more witnesses, recording the names or portraits of the testator and witnesses, as well as the year, month, and day; Notarized wills are handled by notary institutions.

The most prone to turnover in practice are printing wills and writing wills on behalf of others. It is difficult for the court to determine when someone claims rights with a printed will with only the last page signed. The witnesses are also friends or colleagues of the inheritor, who are interested parties, and their witness qualifications are directly denied.

2. Capacity to act when making a will

Whether the elderly are clear headed and have full capacity for civil conduct when making a will is another frequently debated issue. At this point, medical records, nursing records, medication records, and explanations from attending physicians are much more useful than verbal descriptions from relatives afterwards. If the elderly suffer from cognitive impairment for a long time, or have hospitalization records before and after making a will, this part of the material will become crucial.

3. True meaning: Has it been coerced or forged

Claiming that a will is fake usually revolves around handwriting, signature, and formation time. At this point, you can apply for handwriting identification, but the identification requires comparing samples. Where did the samples come from? Bank signed documents, medical records, company files, and past contracts can all be used as comparison materials for the same period. The richer the sample and the closer the time, the more convincing the identification conclusion.

3、 A case of self written will

We have worked on a case: a customer in Shenzhen wrote his own will before his father died, leaving a house to his eldest son, and the other brothers and sisters refused to recognize it, because the handwriting was incorrect and there was no notarization.

After accepting the case,Director Shen JinlongI didn't come up to find an appraisal agency, but instead did one thing first - collecting comparison samples. He retrieved the bank signature documents and medical record signature pages from several years before the old man's death, and also retrieved early work files from the old man's original unit, arranging the handwriting from different eras into a timeline. Subsequently, an application for handwriting identification was submitted, along with a witness statement and a live video recording from the day the will was made. The court ultimately determined that the will is valid.

The key to this case lies not in trial skills, but in the preparation stage: whether there are enough samples, unclear timeline, and whether there is any supporting evidence. In testamentary disputes, many parties focus on "reasoning", while the court looks at "whether it can be proven".

Several common points of concern for inheritance cases heard by Shenzhen courts in recent years can be noted: page by page signature of printed wills, whether witnesses have interests, whether the date of the will is complete, which will prevail when multiple wills coexist (based on the last valid will), and whether the scope of inheritance includes the part of the joint property of the couple that belongs to the spouse.

4. Calculate the scope of the inheritance first, and then discuss how much it will be divided

Many inheritance disputes ultimately revolve around the question of 'how many shares of this house can be divided'. If the property is jointly owned by the elderly and their spouse, half of the spouse must be separated first, and the remaining half is the inheritance; If it is a housing reform house, resettlement house, or small property rights house, the source of ownership is different, and the processing path is also different; If there is a mortgage, co owner, or household registration that has not been moved out on the house, the transfer process will still be stuck.

Another often overlooked point is the estate administrator. The longer the estate remains unmanaged after the death of an elderly person, the greater the risk of property being seized, transferred, or disposed of at a low price. Heirs can negotiate to determine the administrator, and if negotiation fails, they can apply to the court for appointment. The responsibilities of a manager include clearing the estate, creating a list, and handling the debts and claims of the deceased. If these tasks are done earlier, the subsequent division will be much smoother.

There is another practical issue worth considering in advance: inheritance cases are often entangled with debts, and if the accounts are unclear, there is a rush to divide them, which can easily lead to losses. If the deceased has loans, guarantees, or outstanding business debts before their death, creditors can claim repayment within the scope of the estate. So before filing a lawsuit, it is necessary to first understand the two accounts of "assets" and "liabilities", otherwise there may be a situation of "getting a house and carrying debts".

4、 What should family members of criminal cases first understand

Xiaoliu's younger brother is suspected of fraud and has been criminally detained, and the family's biggest concern is often whether he can come out first. The statutory conditions for release on bail pending trial are written in the Criminal Procedure Law, with the core being the determination of "social danger": those who may be sentenced to public surveillance, detention, or independent application of additional penalties; Those who may be sentenced to imprisonment or above, and whose release on bail pending trial would not pose a social danger; Women who suffer from serious illnesses, are unable to take care of themselves, or are pregnant or breastfeeding their own babies; The detention period has expired and the case has not been concluded yet.

The things that family members can do are very specific: prepare identification documents, detention notices, materials that can prove a fixed residence and work unit in the local area, and medical records; Understand the amount involved and the possibility of refund; Organize contracts, transfer records, and chat records related to the case. As for whether bail can be obtained, it is up to the investigating authorities to decide based on the case. What lawyers can do is to submit facts and evidence that are "not socially dangerous", rather than promising results.

our instituteLawyer Li WeiA case handled: The party involved was arrested on suspicion of fraud, and when the family found the detention center, they were most concerned about "how long it would take to get out". After the lawyer's meeting, it was learned that the party involved had no criminal record, had already refunded most of the money, and had a good attitude towards pleading guilty. Therefore, they submitted a legal opinion that did not pose a social risk, and communicated with the victim to obtain forgiveness. The case was changed to release on bail pending trial during the investigation stage. This result comes from facts and materials, not from any particular statement.

It should be noted that obtaining bail pending trial does not mean the end of the case. There are still stages of review, prosecution, and trial that need to be completed. The two most common mistakes that family members make at this stage are to inquire around and "find connections", and to contact witnesses on their own to "unify their statements" - the latter may pose new problems.

After being released on bail, there are several specific things to do: comply with the regulations during the period of release on bail pending trial, and not leave the city or county where you reside without approval; Report any changes to address, workplace, and contact information as soon as possible; Do not communicate with the individuals involved about the case anymore; Sort and archive the refund vouchers, letters of understanding, and receipts for paying the deposit, which will also be used during the review, prosecution, and trial stages. Many parties thought that 'once the person comes out, everything will be fine', but in the subsequent stage, they were re detained for violating regulations, and their previous efforts were in vain.

If the case involves business operations, another line needs to be dealt with simultaneously: the company's contract performance, employee salaries, and tax declarations cannot be suspended due to the involvement of the person in charge. If these civil issues are not handled properly, they will give rise to new disputes, which in turn will affect the handling environment of criminal cases.

5、 When looking for a lawyer, check these things

• Who is handling the case:Is the lawyer who signed the contract and the lawyer who appeared in court the same person? Are the cases taken on by the director and partners handled by themselves? This should be clearly stated in the commission contract.
• Do you have experience in similar casesHow many will validity disputes have been handled and how many handwriting appraisals have been conducted in inheritance cases; Criminal cases ask 'what charges have been dealt with and at what stage was the involvement made'.
• Is the plan specificReliable communication will tell you what to do first, what to do later, and which step may get stuck, rather than just talking about the outcome.
• Is the fee clearly statedWhether to charge according to stages or according to the proportion of the target, including which work, travel, appraisal, and notarization fees, who will bear them, all need to be included in the contract.
• Is the risk warning in placeHave you taken the initiative to say 'where could this case fail' instead of just talking about the favorable side.

6、 Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to litigate a will validity dispute in Shenzhen?

The first instance ordinary procedure usually takes six months, and the second instance takes three months. For handwriting identification, witness appearance, and auction evaluation, the time will be extended. To shorten the time, the preparation that can be made is to prepare the original will, contact information of witnesses, medical records of the elderly, and property ownership materials before filing a lawsuit, in order to reduce repeated corrections.

Q2: Does a will without notarization necessarily become invalid?

No. Notarization is not a necessary condition for a will to take effect, notarization of a will is just one form. Self written, ghostwritten, printed, and recorded wills, as long as they meet the legal formal requirements and can be proven to be the true expression of the testator's intention, may be recognized as valid. On the other hand, if a notarized will is subsequently replaced by a new valid will, the final one shall prevail.

Q3: Do we have to file a lawsuit first for property inheritance and transfer?

not always. If there is no dispute between heirs, they can go through the inheritance registration procedures of notarization or real estate registration agencies; Only those with disputes need to confirm their shares through litigation. A common situation in practice is that there is no dispute on the surface, but the transfer is stuck - for example, if an heir does not cooperate, the ownership of the property in the housing reform is unclear, or if it involves the joint property of husband and wife that needs to be settled first. It is best to clarify such issues before transferring ownership to avoid going back and forth.

Q4: When is it appropriate to hire a lawyer if a family member is criminally detained?

the sooner the better. The investigation stage is a critical period for fixing evidence, understanding the case, and determining whether coercive measures are appropriate. Lawyers can meet, understand the suspected charges and case situation, submit legal opinions, and apply for changes in compulsory measures on their behalf. Waiting until the stage of review, prosecution, or even court hearing before intervening, many procedural nodes have already passed.

Q5: What materials should the parties prepare themselves?

Inheritance cases: original will, death certificate of the deceased, proof of kinship, property ownership certificate, medical records of the elderly, and witness information. Criminal case: detention notice, identification documents, involved contracts and transfer records, materials that can prove normal behavior. The more complete the materials, the more accurate the lawyer's judgment, and the more specific the plan.

If you also encounter issues with inheritance, property, or criminal cases in Shenzhen, you can call0755-25986969Alternatively, you can have a face-to-face communication at Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Futian District. Bringing the materials first is much more useful than asking if it can be done first.