Article 1132
The heirs shall, in the spirit of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation, harmony and unity, negotiate and handle the issue of inheritance. The time, method and share of the division of the estate shall be determined by the heirs through consultation; if the negotiation fails, the people's mediation committee may mediate or file a lawsuit in the people's court.
1. The main purpose of this article
This article deals with the spirit of dealing with the question of inheritance and the manner in which the estate is divided.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
This article follows the provisions of Article 15 of the original Inheritance Law and has not been changed.
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This article is about the determination of the method of inheritance of the estate. The basic methods for determining the treatment of inheritance are:
(1) The heirs shall negotiate the inheritance in the spirit of mutual understanding, mutual accommodation, harmony and unity
Issue. This is the general principle, through negotiation and handling, so that the inheritance can be achieved in a fair and reasonable manner, and properly resolved.
(2) The time, method and share of the division of the estate may be determined by the heirs through consultation, and the inheritance shall be divided according to the time, method and share determined through consultation.
(3) If the heirs fail to reach an agreement through negotiation, the people's mediation committee may mediate or file a lawsuit in the people's court. Where the people's mediation committee mediates and a mediation plan is reached, the inheritance dispute shall be handled in accordance with the mediation plan. After the people's court accepts the inheritance case, it shall also conduct mediation, and if the mediation fails, it shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Part VI of the Civil Code, "Inheritance".
4. Cases
Yan Moutai et al. v. Yan Mou Equality Inheritance Dispute
Facts: Yan Moutai et al. and Yan Mouping are both grandchildren and descendants of Yan and Li. Yan died without a will. When Li died, he left a will, stating that his house would be sold and the inheritance share would be distributed. After Li's death, Yan Mouping sued the court as a subrogated heir, requesting confirmation that the will was invalid. After the trial, the court found that the will was true and valid. Later, Yan Moutai and others organized family meetings many times to negotiate the sale of real estate, but Yan Mouping adopted a non-cooperative attitude, resulting in the inability to sell the real estate. Yan Moutai and others then sued the court, requesting the court to order Yan to perform the will equally and distribute the estate according to the will. The court held that the parties to the dispute recognized the validity of the will and were only unwilling to cooperate with the performance of the will, so the mediation method should be given priority to try the case, and through persuasion and education, it would be more conducive to the resolution of the dispute to adopt the housing realization plan recommended by the heirs to the buyer.
5. Analysis
In this case, the decedent is a local celebrity in Shanghai, and the heirs are numerous and separated from all over the world, which is full of contradictions and disputes for a long time, and it is very difficult to handle. When dealing with the issue of the distribution of the inheritance in this case, the court strictly abided by the basic methods that should be observed in handling the inheritance as clearly stipulated in the Inheritance Law in force at the time of the case, and tried to let the heirs coordinate and handle the dispute in the spirit of mutual understanding, mutual concession, harmony and unity. The court started from family affection, patiently explained the law and guided, aroused the memories and yearning of all parties for a harmonious family, and used the relatives of the parties to do persuasion and education work, so as to emotionally understand the parties and eliminate the antagonism between the parties, laying a solid foundation for the success of mediation. At the same time, the court accurately grasped the two difficulties of determining the inheritance share and the realization and distribution of the huge real estate estate, and innovatively and successfully realized the house to ensure the success of the mediation. The court's mediation and resolution of disputes not only maximizes the inheritance rights of the parties, but also safeguards the higher "interests" of family affection and family harmony, and at the same time promotes the family ethics and social value of "harmony is precious".