Article 1061
Husbands and wives have the right to inherit from each other.
I. Purpose of this Article
This article is about the mutual right of inheritance between husband and wife.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
Paragraph 1 of article 24 of the former Marriage Law, as amended in 2001, stipulates that "husband and wife shall have the right to inherit from each other. "This article fully retains the content of paragraph 1 of article 24 of the original Marriage Law, as amended in 2001.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the original Marriage Law in 1950 took the abolition of the feudal marriage system in which men were superior to women, and clarified women's inheritance rights. Among them, Article 12 stipulates that husband and wife have the right to inherit from each other. The spirit of this provision was inherited in the original Marriage Law of 1980, and article 18, paragraph 1, of which stipulates that husband and wife have the right to inherit from each other. When the original Marriage Law was amended in 2001, the content of this paragraph was unchanged. The Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women further clarifies women's equal inheritance rights. Article 34 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women stipulates that: "The right of women to inherit property on an equal basis with men shall be protected by law. There shall be no discrimination against women among the legal heirs in the same order. Widows have the right to dispose of inherited property without any interference. ”
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This article deals with the mutual right of inheritance between spouses.
According to the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Code, "Inheritance", husband and wife are spouses of each other and enjoy the right of inheritance to each other. A spouse can use a will to distribute the estate to the other spouse for inheritance. In legal succession, the spouse is the first in line of legal heirs, and in the event of the death of the other spouse, he or she has the right to inherit his or her estate in the first line in accordance with the provisions of statutory succession.
4. Cases
Chen v. Yue, an inheritance dispute case
Facts: After Chen's mother, Chen Mouyun, and his father, Shi, divorced, Shi and Yue lived together, and the two parties did not receive a marriage certificate. During the period when Shi and Yue lived together, they built a building with others. After that, Shi and Shi's mother Song died one after another. Chen appealed to the court to inherit Shi's estate. Yue asserted that he and Shi were in a de facto marriage and should enjoy the right to inherit Shi's estate. The court held that Shi and Yue had not registered their marriage, but they met the conditions for the establishment of a de facto marriage, so they were husband and wife, and Yue had the right to inherit the estate of his spouse Shi.
5. Analysis
According to Article 24 of the Marriage Law, Yue has the right to inherit Shi's estate. The law confirms the inheritance rights of spouses on the basis of the legal existence of the marital relationship, that is, the actual existence of the status of husband and wife. In other words, the right to inheritance is enjoyed only after the marriage has been legally validly concluded and during the period of legal validity, when one spouse dies. The focus of this case is whether there is a legal marriage relationship between Shi and Yue, who is not registered, and whether Yue has the right to inherit Shi's estate. Although Shi and Yue have not registered their marriage, they meet the conditions for the establishment of a de facto marriage, so they are husband and wife. Shi died during the marriage between the parties, so Yue has the right to inherit the estate of his spouse Shi.