Article 1130
The share of inheritance inherited by heirs in the same order shall generally be equal.
Heirs who have special difficulties in life and lack the ability to work shall be taken care of when distributing the inheritance.
Heirs who have fulfilled their primary obligation to support the decedent or who live with the decedent may receive an additional share of the estate when the estate is distributed.
If an heir who has the ability and the capacity to support does not fulfill his obligation to support, the inheritance shall be distributed without or less.
Where the heirs agree through consultation, it may also be unequal.
1. The main purpose of this article
This article is about the principle of distribution of the share of the estate in the legal succession.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
This article follows the provisions of article 13 of the original Inheritance Law. In the event of a legal inheritance, if there is only one legal heir in the scope of heirs in the same order of succession, there is no problem of estate distribution, and all the inheritance of the decedent belongs to the heir. If there are several legal heirs in the same order of succession, the question arises as to how the legal heirs in the same order will distribute the estate of the deceased. This article of the Civil Code follows the principle of distribution of the share of the estate in statutory inheritance in Article 13 of the original Inheritance Law, and the share of the inheritance inherited by the heirs in the same order shall generally be equal. In the event of special circumstances, the share of the inheritance of the heirs in the same order may be unequal.
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This article is about the method of dividing the estate among the legal heirs in the same order. The specific method of dividing the estate among the legal heirs in the same order is:
(1) If there are several legal heirs in the same order, the share of the inherited estate shall generally be equal, and may not be equal under special circumstances. The determination of the heir's share is not based on the time of the division of the estate, but on the basis of the total amount of the estate determined at the beginning of the inheritance.
(2) Heirs who have special difficulties in life and lack the ability to work shall be given appropriate care and appropriate shareholding.
(3) The heirs who have fulfilled the main obligation to support the decedent or live with the decedent may divide more of the property.
(4) For heirs who have the ability and conditions to support but do not fulfill their obligation to support, they may be given no or less shares.
(5) If the heirs agree to an unequal division through consultation, they may also be divided unequally.
In the distribution of the estate, the amount of inheritance of each heir shall be determined according to the method of division of the estate described above, depending on the circumstances.
4. Cases
Wang Jia et al. v. Wang Mou for inheritance disputes
Facts: Wang A, Wang B, Wang C, Wang Ding, and Wang Wu are all legitimate children of the decedent Wang Mouning and his ex-wife. Wang Mouning and Wang had no children after remarrying. The third person, Wang Geng, and his younger brother Wang Xin are both legitimate children of Wang and his ex-husband. Before Wang remarried, Wang Geng had moved to Hong Kong, China, to settle down, and Wang Xin had studied and lived in Japan. Wang Mouning died of illness in Hong Kong, China, and left no will. Wang Jia and the other five had a dispute with Wang for the division of the estate, and the court was requested to order Wang to lose the right of inheritance in accordance with the law, and Wang Jia and the other five people inherited the inheritance of the decedent in accordance with the law. The court held that Wang Jia's claim against Wang for abusing Wang Mouning and that he should lose his inheritance rights was not established because there was no evidence to support it. The legal heirs of this case only include the defendant Wang and the plaintiffs Wang A, Wang B, Wang C, Wang Ding, and Wang Wu. The third person, Wang Geng, and his younger brother Wang Xin did not form a support relationship with the decedent, so they could not be used as heirs. Defendant Wang lived with Wang Mouning during his lifetime until Wang Mouning's death, and in accordance with regulations, he may divide more of the inheritance. The estate of the deceased shall be divided among the six heirs in accordance with this rule.
5. Analysis
In this case, Wang A, Wang B, Wang C, Wang Ding, and Wang Wu are all biological children of the decedent Wang Mouning, and Wang is Wang Mouning's wife. The court did not support Wang Jia's claim that Wang Moumou abused Wang Mouning and should lose his inheritance rights, as well as Wang Moumou's claim that Wang Moumou and others should not divide or divide the inheritance without fulfilling their maintenance obligations, because they could not adduce corresponding evidence. The third person, Wang Geng, and his younger brother Wang Xin had gone to live in Hong Kong, China and Japan before Wang remarried, and there was no evidence to prove that a de facto relationship of support had been formed between the two and Wang Mouning, so they could not become Wang Mouning's heirs. Therefore, the decedent's estate should be inherited by his five children and his remarried wife Wang. Since Wang is an heir who has fulfilled the main obligation to support the decedent or lives with the decedent, when distributing the inheritance, he can divide more.