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

Compiled from: Tencent News
 
An ancient saying goes, "A father's debts should be repaid by his son, as is only natural and right." Many believe that children are obligated to repay debts incurred by their parents.
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.
 

 
 

I. In general, there is no such thing as "a father's debts being repaid by his 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, China's current laws do not have a mandatory provision for "father's debts to be repaid by the son."
 
 
Second, under special circumstances, "father's debts to be repaid by the son" exists. ”
The special circumstances here refer to when the debtor dies before fully repaying the debt. If the child inherits the debtor's estate, the child must also bear the responsibility of clearing the debt, which is what is meant by "father's debts to be repaid by the son."
 
Article 1161 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: An heir shall pay the taxes and debts that the decedent should legally pay, limited to the actual value of the inherited estate. Any portion exceeding the actual value of the estate, if the heir voluntarily repays it, is not 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 without compensation by waiving claims, waiving security for claims, gratuitously transferring property, or maliciously extending the performance period of due claims, thereby affecting the realization of the creditor's claim, the creditor may request the people's court to revoke the debtor's actions.
 
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.