Last Wednesday afternoon, I was organizing annual review opinions for a Shenzhen company's legal counsel in my office when Xiao Zhou from the front desk knocked on the door and said, "Attorney Shen, there's a lady here without an appointment who insists on seeing you. Her eyes are swollen." Just as I stood up, a woman around forty years old was already standing at the doorway, clutching a kraft paper bag. Her lips trembled twice, and her first words were: "Attorney Shen, my dad has passed away, and my mom is trying to kick me out of the house." — This is a case we came across recently.

1. At first, I thought it was a simple inheritance dispute, but upon investigation, I found that it was "three wills fighting against each other."

This woman's surname is Lin, a native of Shenzhen. Her father, Old Lin, passed away at the end of 2025, leaving two properties in Futian and a 45% stake in a small company.

1. When the client came to us, the situation was a complete mess.

Ms. Lin said her mother holds a "printed will," claiming that the late Mr. Lin left all the real estate and equity to her. However, Ms. Lin also has a handwritten will by Mr. Lin, which clearly states that "the two properties are inherited by the daughter, and the company equity is inherited by the wife." Most crucially, before his death, Mr. Lin also had a lawyer witness a "notarized will," which states that "Futian Property A goes to the daughter, Futian Property B goes to the wife, and the equity is held on behalf of the daughter."

Three wills, three distribution plans. Ms. Lin said that her mother has already announced she will take the matter to court.

2. Where's the difficulty?

The first difficulty is determining the validity of the will. There are many such issues in our Shenzhen inheritance dispute consultations—since the Civil Code took effect, the validity requirements for printed wills are very strict: there must be two disinterested witnesses present throughout, with signatures and dates on every page. In the case of the printed will held by Mother Lin, the witness was a close friend of Old Lin during his lifetime, but that friend was also involved in a debt with Old Lin, which creates a conflict of interest.

The second difficulty is the issue of entrusted shareholding. In the notarized will, Old Lin mentioned that "the shares are held by his daughter on behalf of someone," but did not specify for whom. This involves the scope of corporate governance and company law, not simply a family matter.

The third difficulty—time. Old Lin's company is in the middle of merger negotiations with another party. If the equity ownership isn't resolved, the merger will fall through, and the company's valuation is shrinking day by day.

2. Strategy Analysis: Don't rush to court — first make the "evidence chain" solid.

Our established approach to handling complex cases: first break it down, then set the strategy. On the surface, this case is an inheritance dispute, but in essence it's a three-in-one combination of "will validity challenge + equity rights confirmation + property division."

1. First step: Apply for pre-litigation property preservation.

Our first suggestion to Ms. Lin was to apply to the court for the seizure of those two properties and the freezing of any equity changes. This step is crucial to prevent her mother from transferring the properties or assigning the equity to a third party during the litigation.

2. Step 2: Verify the authenticity and legality of the will

We carefully compared the three wills and found that the "printed will" had the most problems. Apart from doubts about the witnesses' identities, the spacing between the printed text and the date signature was clearly inconsistent. We applied for a forensic document examination—the conclusion was that "the last page of the printed will differs in color from the other pages, and the date signature was added at a later time." This basically undermined the foundation of that will.

At the same time, we obtained Old Lin's physical examination records and medical history from before his death, proving that he was of sound mind when he made the notarized will. In addition, the archived video from the notary office and the signature handwriting on the application form are all in order.

3. Step 3: Handle company equity issues through "diversion"

The company merger side can't wait any longer, so we communicated with the presiding judge and applied to have the equity confirmation part mediated first. The opposing counsel originally wanted to stall, but we produced a key piece of evidence — a WeChat record old Lin had sent to the company's finance staff before his death, in which he clearly wrote, "My daughter holds my equity on my behalf, to be used for a family trust in the future." The timeline fell exactly three days after the notarized will.

Under our representation, the court ultimately ruled in this case:"Printed will" is invalid; notarized will is valid.Ms. Lin inherits Property A in Futian plus 45% of the company's equity, while Ms. Lin's mother inherits Property B, but must pay Ms. Lin a compensatory sum — because the down payment for Property B was paid by Mr. Lin before marriage, part of which belongs to the joint marital property of Ms. Lin's mother, while another part belongs to Mr. Lin's estate, and that portion must be divided according to the statutory proportions.

III. Results and Implications: No One Wins in Inheritance Disputes, but Someone Loses Less

After the case was decided, Ms. Lin kept assets worth nearly ten million and control of her company. But to be honest, she got the money back, yet lost her family. She later told us that her mother tore up the judgment and said she was cutting ties with her.

As a lawyer at **Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm** who handles real estate, inheritance, and divorce disputes year-round, we've seen too many cases like this. Old Lin's "three wills" approach seems like an attempt to balance everyone's interests, but in reality, it's planting landmines for his descendants. In Shenzhen, where property values are high and equity structures are complex, once an inheritance dispute gets tangled up in corporate governance, many family relationships fall apart overnight.

Our **Lawyer Shen Jinlong** (Phone: 0755-25986969) often says:“When clients come to us for inheritance lawsuits, often what they're really fighting over isn't houses or money—it's that pent-up frustration in their hearts.”But in our line of work, we can't just go along with whatever the client wants. We need to control legal risks, build a solid evidence chain, and present a systematic solution. Attorney Shen has 22 years of practicing experience and 31 years of economist qualifications. He specializes in complex and difficult cases, having handled over 10,000 cases in total. When leading inheritance disputes involving a mix of company equity and real estate, he can coordinate both the family law and company law dimensions.

Another case is also very interesting. It happened in March this year, when the owner of a chain of three restaurants in Shenzhen came to the firm. He wanted to leave a resettlement housing unit from an old-area renovation project to his current wife and two daughters. But the son from his ex-wife in his hometown suddenly surfaced, demanding a redivision of the inheritance—the client was still alive, and the son had already filed a lawsuit. The firm had **Lawyer Li Yuming** handle this case. Lawyer Li is a senior lawyer at the firm specializing in construction engineering, real estate sales and leasing, and corporate debt and credit. He has particular experience in handling cross-regional inheritance cases involving the confirmation of property rights over multiple properties. He managed, through extensive visits to original property owners and retrieval of the original archives of the demolition compensation agreements from back then, to fully clarify the source of rights to the resettlement housing and the chain of quota transfers. In the end, the

Cases like this occur in our firm every few months, one could say. We have been practicing in Futian District, Shenzhen for 26 years. Since its establishment in 2000, Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has handled over ten thousand cases.Real estate, inheritance, divorce, equity, intellectual property, criminal defenseIt covers all aspects. If you or a friend are facing similar issues, first stay calm—don't rush to burn bridges. Find a professional lawyer to review the will, equity structure, and property certificates, and at the very least, clarify three questions:1. Will the evidence you have be recognized by the law? 2. Are there any fatal flaws in the will or agreement held by the other party? 3. Are there complex factors involved, such as company equity, trusts, or nominee shareholding arrangements?Master these three things and you're halfway to winning.

IV. These Things You Might Ask About Inheritance Disputes

Question: Lawyer Shen, we're in Shenzhen. Our parents had a house, but they passed away without leaving a will. How should the three siblings divide it?

Without a will, it's statutory inheritance, and the first-order heirs (spouse, parents, children) share equally. However, Shenzhen involves a historical issue with "housing reform units" and "affordable housing." Some of these houses were welfare-allocated in the past, and the property rights share is not entirely personal, so property division must be done first. I suggest you bring your property certificate and come to the office to talk. Phone: 0755-25986969. Address: Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District. Let's review the materials in person.

Q: My father's will was not notarized, is it valid?

Valid. The Civil Code stipulates that holographic wills, attested wills, and printed wills are all legal, just with different formal requirements. However, in practice, un-notarized wills are particularly susceptible to challenge, most commonly on three grounds: "whether the testator was of sound mind at the time of making the will," "whether there was duress or coercion," and "whether the signature is genuinely the testator's own." Therefore, our law firm generally recommends notarizing wills whenever possible; if notarization is not feasible, at the very least, record the entire process on video and have two disinterested parties serve as witnesses.

Question: If the other party is fully at fault but does not pay compensation, is it related to inheritance disputes?

This is a separate case — traffic accident tort. But in reality, we've encountered this: when one spouse dies in a car accident, and the at-fault party bears full liability but has no ability to compensate, the family's "death compensation" and "inheritance" are two separate sums of money. Death compensation does not belong to the inheritance and cannot be used to repay the deceased's debts incurred during their lifetime. This distinction is crucial. You mentioned "the other party has full liability but doesn't pay" — in that case, you need to file a lawsuit quickly and preserve the other party

问：打继承官司一般要多久？

Three months for summary procedure, six months for ordinary procedure, but if it involves will authentication, equity valuation, or company audits, taking over a year is also normal. In our case, it took 11 months from filing to judgment, and the document examination alone had a queue of over three months. So, if you want it fast, try to go through mediation; if you want to win, you have to be willing to

Q: Director Shen, after going through a lawsuit, is there really no family affection left at all?

To be honest, by the time a case reaches the trial stage, family ties are basically just a matter of saving face. What we can do is fight for your maximum interests within the legal framework while keeping the intensity of the conflict under control. In some cases, we advise clients to propose a "conditional settlement" during litigation—for example, if the other party withdraws the lawsuit, we pay an extra 100,000 as resettlement compensation; if the other party proactively divides the property, we give up part of the execution interest. In many cases, this strategy works far better than a rigid judgment.

Fifth, finally, a few honest words.

In a city like Shenzhen, where making money is the name of the game, divorce, inheritance, and real estate are the three things most likely to expose the cold, callous side of human nature. Our **Zhiming Law Firm** has been at this for 26 years, and to be completely honest with you:Doing will planning, family trusts, and equity structuring in advance is the greatest responsibility to your family.Don't be like Old Lin, who went and left three wills at once, giving us room to maneuver and leaving his family a real mess

If you're troubled by something like this, don't panic. Bring your materials and come have a chat with us in Futian. Over tea, lay out the whole story, and we'll help you figure out whether to fight it, negotiate, or wait. After all, leave professional matters to the professionals. You just need to think clearly: what you want to protect, and what you're willing to give up. The rest, we'll take step by step.

(The cases cited in this article are all real cases represented by Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm. The parties' information has been desensitized, and specific case details have been adjusted. Please do not attempt to match them to any particular individual. Legal policies such as statutes of limitations and rules of evidence may be updated with practice. If you need consultation, please contact the law firm directly.)