[2] Compiled from: People's Court Daily
 
Case review
[2] The decedent Han Mou was the father of Han Zi and Han Nü (deceased), with Han Sun being the son of Han Zi and Li Mou being the son of Han Nü. On November 29, 2016, Han Mou executed a registered will at the neutral third-party institution, the China Will Repository, designating the property under his name to be inherited by Han Sun, and entrusted the will to the China Will Repository for safekeeping. Han Mou passed away in June 2018. On January 29, 2019, Han Sun applied to the China Will Repository to inquire about the will in question, and on March 8 of the same year, when retrieving the original will, signed the receipt notice indicating acceptance of the legacy. Subsequently, Li Mou filed a lawsuit over the inheritance dispute of Han Mou's estate, seeking to inherit the property under Han Mou's name according to law.

 

 
Relevant Laws
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
[3] Article 1124: After the commencement of inheritance, if an heir renounces the inheritance, they shall make a written statement of renunciation before the estate is disposed of; if no statement is made, it is deemed acceptance of the inheritance.
[4] A legatee shall, within sixty days after learning of the legacy, make a statement of acceptance or renunciation; if no statement is made within the time limit, it is deemed renunciation of the legacy.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
[5] The People's Court, after trial, held that the will made by Han Mou was genuine, legal, and valid. In this case, Han Mou died in June 2018, Han Sun inquired about the will in question on January 29, 2019, retrieved the original will on March 8 of the same year, and expressed acceptance of the legacy at the time of retrieval. Li Mou argued that Han Zi had known the contents of the will before Han Mou's death, thus inferring that Han Sun had known the contents early on, and claimed that Han Sun had not expressed acceptance within two months of learning of the legacy, thereby losing inheritance rights; however, there was insufficient evidence to prove that Han Sun knew of the legacy or the will's contents before consulting the will on January 29, 2019. Han Sun's expression of acceptance to the relatively neutral third party preserving the will did not violate legal provisions. Accordingly, the court found that Han Sun had expressed acceptance of the legacy within two months of learning of it, and ultimately ruled that Han Sun inherit the property in question according to the will's contents.
 
[6] Li Mou, dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment, appealed. The Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court, after trial, rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
A bequest is a unilateral legal act, established solely by the testator's expression of intent, and takes legal effect upon the testator's death. The legatee acquires the right to the bequest based on the testator's valid will. Generally, a bequest benefits the legatee, but even if beneficial, it cannot be forced upon the legatee against their will; the legatee has the right to choose to accept or renounce the bequest. This right of disposition is subject to a time limit due to its involvement in determining the rights and obligations between the legatee, heirs, or other interested parties. In real life, the testator often fails to keep the will confidential or entrusts it to the legatee for safekeeping, allowing the legatee to learn the will's contents in advance. Thus, in practice, the time limit generally starts from the beginning of inheritance, i.e., the testator's death. Given the reality of the testator's death and the family's preoccupation with funeral arrangements, it is easy to inadvertently exceed the deadline for expressing intent.
 
This case differs from ordinary situations. The testator, Han Mou, made a will at the China Will Repository, a neutral third-party institution, and entrusted the will to that institution for safekeeping. The legatee, Han Sun, was not present when the will was made and was unaware of its contents. Li Mou inferred that Han Sun, who has a blood relationship and aligned interests with Han Zi (Han Sun's father, who accompanied Han Mou to the China Will Repository to make the will and knew its contents), had already known the will's contents before inquiring about it. This inference lacks a basis, so it cannot determine the specific time when Han Sun learned of the will's contents, nor whether Han Sun's expression of intent to accept the bequest exceeded the statutory time limit. Therefore, in this case, it is appropriate to take January 29, 2019, when Han Sun inquired about the will at the China Will Repository, as the time when Han Sun "learned of the bequest."