A month after her husband died unexpectedly in a car accident
The wife gave birth to a baby boy
Children should have been raised together
of in-laws and daughters-in-law
However, it was due to nearly 1.9 million yuan in death compensation
Contradictions arose
Seeing that the family affection is about to be consumed by this dispute
The intervention of the Shanghai Putuo District United People's Mediation Committee
Use a reasonable division of the mediation plan
Three generations of affection were preserved
My son died unexpectedly in a car accident
The parents did not receive compensation
Wang xxx and Chen xx are husband and wife, and Chen xx and Li xx are chen xx's parents. In March 2021, when Mr. Chen rode an electric bicycle to a certain intersection in Putuo District, he was taken to the ground by a large truck turning right and crushed by his right rear wheel, and died after being rescued by a hospital in Shanghai.
Later, an insurance company insured by the driver and the vehicle unit and the vehicle signed a mediation agreement with Wang X, Chen X and Li X: a one-time compensation for various economic losses such as death compensation, funeral expenses, maintenance expenses, and mental loss expenses of Wang X's close relatives totaled more than 1.8952 million yuan. When Mr. Chen died, Mr. Wang was 9 months pregnant. In April, Wang Moumou's son Xiao Chen was born.
After the compensation money was transferred to Wang X's account, Chen X and Li X did not get their due share for a long time, so they repeatedly asked Wang X for unsuccessfully. On October 18, 2021, Chen and Li came to the Putuo District United People's Mediation Committee to apply for mediation.
The mediator warmly received and listened carefully to the specific demands of Chen and Li on the settlement of disputes. Chen X and Li X believe that the death compensation should belong to the inheritance of their son Chen X, who enjoys the legal right of inheritance according to law, and when Chen X died, the grandson was not born and should not participate in the division of death compensation.
After listening to the specific demands of Chen X and Li X, the mediator immediately called Wang X and organized the two parties to the dispute to conduct on-site mediation on the basis of obtaining his consent to mediation.
At the mediation site, Wang Moumou believed that the death compensation should belong to the joint property of the husband and wife, and when dividing, half of it should first belong to himself, and the other half should be divided by the rest of the people, and mentioned that his son could also share the compensation.
Whether the widow can share the inheritance
The mediator clarifies the focus of the dispute
After sorting out and analyzing the case, the mediator summarized the focus of the dispute between the two parties:
Whether the death benefit belongs to the inheritance or joint property of the husband and wife;
Wang's son, Xiao Chen, is a widow, and whether he has a share in Chen's death compensation.
In order to clarify the above two points of dispute, the mediator publicized the relevant laws and regulations to the parties.
Article 1122 of the Civil Code stipulates that "an inheritance is the lawful property of a person left behind at the time of the death of a natural person. That is to say, an inheritance is a lawful property belonging to a citizen that existed before the citizen's death, and the citizen can make a will to deal with it before his death; and the death compensation does not exist before the citizen's death, and the death compensation is not given to the deceased. Therefore, the death compensation is not the inheritance of the citizen, but a kind of property damage compensation for the overall expected loss of income of the deceased's family, and the right to compensate shall be the close relatives of the deceased, that is, "spouses, parents, children, etc. are close relatives" as stipulated in Article 1045 of the Civil Code.
At the same time, Article 1062 of the Civil Code stipulates that the joint property of husband and wife refers to the property jointly owned by husband and wife during the existence of the husband and wife relationship, including wages, bonuses, etc. The death compensation is not obtained during the joint life of the husband and wife, but the compensation generated after the death of the person, and is not the joint property of the husband and wife.
Article 16 of the Civil Code stipulates that where the protection of the interests of the fetus is involved in inheritance, acceptance of gifts, etc., the fetus is deemed to have the capacity for civil rights. Xiao Chen was a fetus at the time of Chen's death, but was born on a certain day in April 2021, and has the capacity for civil rights since his birth, and should retain his share when dividing the death compensation.
The mediator further explained that when dividing co-ownership, it is necessary to take into account the intimate degree of the parties and the deceased, living conditions and dependence. In this case, the wife of the deceased Chen XX, Wang XX, lost her husband at a young age, causing a mental blow and a decrease in family income, and the young son Xiao Chen needed Wang XX to raise him alone.
Child-centered
Determine the segmentation scheme
After listening to the mediator's interpretation, Wang said that after the death of her husband Chen, he would independently assume the child's maintenance obligation and wanted to use the compensation as maintenance. Chen X and Li X said that although they are nearly 70 years old, they have enough pension and medical insurance as a backing, and their later life is basically worry-free, competing for the compensation of their son Chen X, mainly worried that once the daughter-in-law Wang X remarries and has another child, the grandson's future life will not be guaranteed, and he wants to leave the compensation money to his grandson Xiao Chen for emergency needs.
In view of the fact that all parties are thinking about the future life of minors and jointly protecting the legitimate rights and interests of minors, the mediator suggested that Chen and Li appropriately reduce the share of compensation, so that the daughter-in-law can feel the warmth given by the elders in their most difficult times. At the same time, the mediator told Mr. Wang that according to Article 35 of the Civil Code, the guardian should perform the guardianship duties in accordance with the principle of the most favorable to the ward. Guardians must not dispose of the wards' property except to safeguard the wards' interests. After Chen and Li listened to the mediator's explanation, they suddenly felt that their hearts were much more relaxed.
During the mediation process, the mediator explained the law and analysis to the parties around the closeness of their life with the deceased Chen Moumou, the relationship of support and the source of livelihood, and finally the parties reached an agreement.
Case reviews
This is a dispute over the division of common property arising from death compensation. There is no clear standard definition in the current law for the division of death benefits. Death compensation is not an inheritance, nor does it belong to the joint property of the husband and wife, it is a kind of property damage to the expected loss of income of the deceased's family as a whole, and the right to compensate is the close relatives of the deceased.
The reason why this case has been successfully resolved is mainly because the mediator is good at grasping the focus of the dispute, interpreting the law and being reasonable. The parents and wives of the deceased each claimed the right to distribute compensation, and the mediator actively publicized the Civil Code, eliminating the legal misunderstandings of the parties and laying a legal foundation for the success of mediation. Since then, the mediator has responded to the psychological and economic harm caused by Chen Moumou's death to his parents and wife, eliminated the confrontation between them, and laid the emotional foundation for successful mediation. In the end, the mediator comprehensively considered the situation of all parties, and the division of the mediation plan conformed to the principle of public order and good customs in mainland society, achieved the harmonious unity of love and law, and preserved the family affection of three generations.
Trainee reporter | Chen Youmin
Source: Shanghai Rule of Law Daily