Four Siblings from Hong Kong Engage in Inheritance Battle in Court, Legitimacy of Mother's Will Becomes Focus
The river winds its way, separating Shenzhen from Hong Kong. The two cities, separated only by a narrow strip of water, have become even more interdependent since Hong Kong's return to China. As border crossings have been successively opened and the frontier closed areas gradually reduced, residents of the two places have traveled back and forth with increasing frequency, and some Hong Kong residents have even found themselves engaged in lawsuits in Shenzhen.
Hong Kong compatriot, the elderly Mrs. Wang, executed a will during her lifetime, dividing her mainland estate among her three sons and two daughters. After Mrs. Wang's death, the eldest son, Lei Wei, together with his brothers Lei Kang, Lei Qiong, and Lei Bo, applied to the court to confirm the validity of their mother's will, and received the court's support. The youngest daughter, Lei Ying, who received no share of the estate, was dissatisfied with the distribution and, refusing to accept the judgment of the court of first instance, filed an appeal with the intermediate court. Faced with Lei Ying's appeal, Lei Wei and his three siblings had no choice but to seek the assistance of Lawyer Jia Runlian from Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm.
After repeated discussions and research with the clients, the lawyer from Zhiming Law Firm finally found a breakthrough. In the second-instance court, they submitted supplementary代理意见 (agency opinions) against Lei Ying's claims, arguing that Mrs. Wang's will did not exceed the scope of property disposition and was legally valid. They emphasized Article 170, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China: if the facts determined in the original judgment or ruling are clear and the applicable law is correct, the appeal shall be dismissed by judgment or ruling. Ultimately, the court accepted the lawyer's opinion from Zhiming Law Firm, supported the claims of the appellees, the Lei Wei siblings, dismissed the appeal, and upheld the original judgment. The lawyers handling the case received the clients' gratitude!
