Article 1160
Inheritance that has not been inherited or bequeathed by no one shall be owned by the State and used for public welfare;
1. The main purpose of this article
This article deals with the disposition of uninherited estates.
II. Evolution of the Provisions
Article 32 of the original Inheritance Law stipulates: "An inheritance that has not been inherited or bequeathed by no one shall be owned by the State; This provision is amended on the basis of Article 32 of the original Inheritance Law, and unlike Article 32 of the original Inheritance Law, this provision clarifies the use of the inheritance of no one and no one bequeathed to the State after it is owned by the State, and clearly stipulates that the inheritance of the uninherited property owned by the State shall be used for public welfare. Under normal circumstances, property is possessed, used, benefited from and disposed of by the owner of the property, however, in special circumstances, the property may become ownerless property due to the separation from the subject. Under such circumstances, the adoption of legislation to determine the attribution of unclaimed property to the State or collective ownership organizations will help to manage and protect the property, so as to make the best use of the property and give better play to the utility of the property; The construction of social public facilities and other areas involving public interests provide support, which is conducive to promoting social development and progress, and maintaining the stability of social production and life.
3. Interpretation of Provisions
This section deals with inheritance that is not inherited and no one is bequeathed.
At the time of the death of the decedent, if there are no legal heirs, no testamentary heirs and legatees, or all of his heirs have renounced the inheritance, and the legatee indicates that he does not accept the bequest, the deceased's estate is an inheritance that no one inherits and no one has been lequeathed.
The reasons for the formation of an estate that is not inherited and bequeathed include: (1) there is no legal heir, testamentary heir and legatee, (2) the legal heir or testamentary heir renounces the inheritance, and the legatee renounces the bequest, and (3) the legal heir or testamentary heir loses the right of inheritance and the legatee loses the right to bequest.
Since there is no one to inherit and no one to bequeath, the inheritance left by the deceased is not inherited, so it should be owned by the State, which is used for public welfare;
4. Cases
A group of a village in Cangwu County v. Lin Jia et al., a dispute over the ownership of the estate
Facts: Lin XX was a villager of XX Village, Cangwu County, and died of injuries sustained in a traffic accident caused by Guo's youngest son on the evening of a certain day. During the rescue process, Lin Yi nursed for two nights. Guo paid the death compensation to the traffic police brigade (the money was later managed by the civil affairs office of a certain town in Cangwu County), and paid Lin Yi a compensation for lost work and a post-mortem processing fee. In the process of handling the aftermath for Lin, all the people present received an appropriate amount of labor fees. Lin Moumou was unmarried before his death, had no wife, children, brothers and sisters, and his parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents died before him. Lin Jia and Lin Moumou are three generations of collateral blood relatives. Lin Moumou lived a single life of self-reliance after the death of his mother. When Lin died, he left behind bank deposits and a house. The bank deposit certificate and the certificate of land use right of the house are managed by Lin Yi. A certain group in a certain village in Cangwu County filed a lawsuit with Lin Jia, Lin B and nine others as defendants, requesting that Lin XX's property be determined to be ownerless property in accordance with the law and that it be owned by this group. The court held that for an inheritance that no one inherited and no one bequeathed, if the deceased was a member of a collective ownership organization during his lifetime, it belonged to the collective ownership organization. The bank deposits, houses and other properties left by Lin Moumou belong to an inheritance that no one inherits and no one has bequeathed, so it should belong to the plaintiff.
5. Analysis
In this case, Lin Moumou was a villager of a certain group in a certain village in Cangwu County before his death, and he and Lin Jia were cousins of the same grandfather. He was unmarried, had no wife, children, siblings, and his parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents died before him. Since his mother's death, Lin Moumou has lived a single life of self-reliance. Lin Moumou did not form an adoption or support relationship with others before his death, nor did he establish a will or bequest maintenance agreement. These facts fully show that after Lin Moumou's death, there was neither a legal heir, nor a testamentary heir or legatee. Therefore, his estate should be considered to be uninherited and unbequeathed. According to the provisions of the "Inheritance Law" in effect at the time of the case on the handling of inheritance that no one inherits and no one bequeaths, Lin Moumou's estate should be owned by the collective ownership organization to which he belonged before his death, that is, a certain group in a certain village in Cangwu County.