Four Houses Given to Son Become Jointly Owned by Siblings? Father's Failure to Do 'This' Before Death Leads to Sisters' Legal Counterattack

A father's wish to bequeath four houses solely to his son has led to a complex inheritance dispute, with his four daughters legally challenging the distribution. The situation arose because the father, despite verbally expressing his intention to give all the properties to his son, failed to execute a valid will before his passing.

Initially, the four daughters respected their father's wishes after their mother's death two years prior, allowing their brother to inherit their mother's sole property. However, when the father passed away, the daughters did not cooperate with the son's inheritance registration for the four houses. Six months later, the son received a notice from the land office, revealing that the houses had been registered under "joint ownership" (公同共有) by all siblings.

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Experts remind that parents who want to leave more inheritance to a specific child can make good use of lifetime gifts, trusts, or wills to avoid family disputes after their death.

This outcome occurred because, without a valid will, inheritance is governed by civil law. Before the estate is formally divided, all legal heirs have a co-ownership claim to the entire estate. Consequently, the son, who was intended to be the sole beneficiary, now shares ownership with his sisters, with each sister holding a potential four-fifths stake and the son only one-fifth.

Experts emphasize the critical importance of executing a valid will to ensure one's final wishes are legally honored. In this case, the sisters are legally within their rights. However, the situation deviates significantly from the parents' original intentions. The father's failure to formalize his wishes through a will has created a potentially lengthy and contentious legal battle over the inheritance, highlighting the need for proactive estate planning.

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If the father had a valid will in the first place, the son could have taken the will to the National Taxation Bureau to declare inheritance tax. After paying the tax, he could have gone to the land office to handle the inheritance registration. According to supplementary regulations for inheritance registration, point 78: 'When a will violates the provisions of the Civil Code regarding the compulsory share, whether the heir has exercised the right of reduction is not something the land administration authority can interfere with.' After the inheritance registration is completed, he can then deal with the compulsory shares with his sisters separately. This means that as long as the son holds the will, he has the initiative to handle the registration alone.