Not pedantic! "A father's debt, the son repays" really exists!

Compiled from: Tencent News
 
An old saying goes, "A father's debt is paid by his son, as surely as the sun rises." Many people believe that children are also obligated to repay debts incurred by their parents' generation.
Does this notion have legal basis in modern society? If parents pass away before settling their debts, can creditors demand repayment from their children?

 
 

The author will explore this issue based on the upcoming Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.
 

 
 

1. Generally, there is no "father's debt repaid by the son."
First, a creditor's right is a relative right, meaning it only takes effect between the creditor and the debtor. In principle, the creditor-debtor relationship cannot be enforced against a third party.
 
Secondly, parents and adult children are independent civil subjects, each enjoying different rights and bearing different obligations. Therefore, in principle, even children who are debtors have nothing to do with their parents' debts.
 
In summary, there is no mandatory provision of “father’s debt, son’s repayment” in China’s current laws.
 
 
II. Under special circumstances, there exists “the son repaying the father’s debt ”
The special circumstance here refers to when a debtor passes away before repaying their debts. If the children inherit the debtor's estate, they must also assume responsibility for repaying the debts. This is what is meant by “the father's debt is repaid by the son.”
 
Article 1161 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China  An heir shall pay off the taxes and debts that the decedent is required to pay in accordance with the law to the extent of the actual value of the estate inherited. Any amount in excess of the actual value of the estate that the heir voluntarily pays off shall not be subject to this limitation.
 
Therefore, although debts cannot be inherited, if the child chooses to inherit the estate, the heir must use the inherited estate to settle the debts. Additionally, if the child voluntarily repays the parents' debts beyond the estate's value, the law does not interfere.
 
 
3. If the debtor maliciously transfers property, the creditor may apply for revocation.
If parents incur a large amount of debt but simultaneously transfer their property to their children, the creditor may demand the revocation of the property transfer to recover the debt.
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China Article 538: Where a debtor disposes of property rights and interests without consideration by waiving its claims, waiving security for claims, or transferring property without consideration, or maliciously extends the performance period of its due claims, thereby affecting the realization of the creditor's claim, the creditor may request the people's court to revoke the debtor's act.
 
It is worth noting that if the malicious transfer of property occurs during the enforcement stage after a court judgment, the debtor may even be subject to criminal liability.
 
Article 313 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China: Crime of Refusing to Execute Judgments or Rulings
Whoever has the ability to execute a judgment or ruling of a people's court but refuses to do so, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or a fine; if the circumstances are especially serious, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and a fine. If a unit commits the crime in the preceding paragraph, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
 
Thus, the law not only grants creditors full rights from a civil perspective, but also deters malicious debtors from a criminal perspective, all aimed at ensuring creditors can legally and effectively recover their assets.