Article 1144
Where there are obligations attached to testamentary succession or bequest, the heirs or legatees shall perform the obligations. Where there is no legitimate reason for failure to perform obligations, the people's court may, at the request of the interested parties or relevant organizations, revoke their right to accept part of the inheritance with obligations.
1. The main purpose of this article
This article is about testamentary succession or bequest with obligations.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
This article is derived from Article 21 of the original Inheritance Law, which states that "if a testamentary inheritance or bequest is accompanied by obligations, the heir or legatee shall perform the obligations." If he fails to perform his obligations without a legitimate reason, the people's court may cancel his right to receive the inheritance at the request of the relevant unit or individual".
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This article is about the provisions of the legacy.
A testamentary succession or bequest with a burden, or testamentary succession or bequest with obligations, refers to a requirement that the testator attach to the heirs or legatees in the will to perform an obligation. The "trust" in the bequest is the "entrustment" of the entrustment, that is, the entrustment of matters to the testamentary heir or legatee in the form of a will, but the "entrustment" of this entrustment is accompanied by the right to inherit the estate or accept the bequest. The most typical bequest is the bequest of a house, where the legatee has to take care of and support the testator's grandmother. In the legal relationship of bequest, the legatee is called the burden obligor, the counterparty is called the burden beneficiary, and both parties are the parties to the bequest relationship. This article does not use the term entrusted, but it is consistent.
The legal characteristics of a bequest are: (1) the bequest is made by will, (2) the bequest is an additional obligation of testamentary succession and bequest, and (3) the fulfillment of the bequest obligation is premised on the acceptance of the estate and the acceptance of the bequest.
The content of the burden set by the trust must be a certain payment that can be realized, and it does not necessarily have a monetary value. The content of the payment of the burden set by the trust must not be uncertain or illegal, and must not violate public order and good customs. Any burden that is uncertain, illegal, or contrary to public order and good morals shall be null and void.
The effectiveness of the testament is mainly manifested in the determination of the obligation of the testamentary heir to perform the burden when he inherits the estate. As long as the testator's will does not violate the law and social morality, does not violate the public interest, and can be performed, the testamentary heir or legatee who has accepted the estate must perform the obligations of the testament and cannot be exempted. Where a person fails to perform his obligations without a legitimate reason, the people's court may revoke his right to receive the inheritance at the request of the relevant unit or individual.
4. Cases
Zhang v. Cai, a bequest dispute
Facts: After Zhang Mou's sister and Zhang Mousheng got married, they gave birth to Zhang Moulan and Zhang Mousheng. After Zhang fell ill and died, Zhang Mouren remarried Zhang Moumei and gave birth to a son, Zhang Mouyuan. Therefore, Zhang Mousheng and Zhang Mouyuan are half-brothers. Zhang Moumei died in August 1999, and Zhang Mouren died in November 2009. In May 1999, Cai and Zhang Mouyuan lived together as husband and wife, and went through the marriage registration formalities on October 31, 2011, and the two parties had no children. On November 19, 2011, Zhang Mouyuan wrote a suicide note during his serious illness, and the will stated: After his death, the right to use the three buildings in the east belongs to his wife Cai, and the three bungalows in the west also belong to his wife Cai. The will has the signatures of multiple witnesses. The Zhang listed in the suicide note is the son of Zhang Mousheng and the nephew of Zhang Mouyuan. Zhang Mouyuan died on December 4, 2011, and lived with Cai in a two-story building and three bungalows. Zhang sued the court and asked the court to award the house to him. The court held that a citizen may make a will to dispose of personal property in accordance with the law, and may attach obligations to his heirs in respect of the will, provided that the attached obligations do not violate the basic spirit of the Constitution and the law. In the case, Zhang Mouyuan bequeathed the house to Zhang in a way that restricted the freedom of marriage of his spouse, which was a restriction on Cai's freedom to marry, and the attached conditions were invalid because they violated the Constitution and legal provisions, so the content involving Zhang's right to be bequeathed was invalid, and Zhang had no right to be bequeathed.
5. Analysis
If the heir or legatee wants to inherit the estate, he or she shall perform the corresponding obligations, and if he fails to perform his obligations without justifiable reasons, the court may cancel his right to accept part of the inheritance with obligations at the request of the interested party or relevant units, but the obligations set by the testator for the heirs or legatees shall not be illegal. In this case, the obligations attached to the will of the decedent Zhang Mouyuan restricted Cai's freedom to marry, which was contrary to the basic spirit of the Constitution and the law. Any matter that is uncertain, illegal, or contrary to public order and good morals as an additional obligation to a will or bequest shall be invalid. Therefore, Cai had a legitimate reason not to perform the obligation and did not lose the right to inherit the estate, and Zhang's request was naturally not supported by the court.