How do I make a will for my property in China, and will it hold up?

By June Zhang, PRC lawyer in Xiamen · Licence no. 13502199911278128 (how to check it) · Updated 29 October 2026

Which forms of will does Chinese law accept?

Chinese law accepts six forms of will: handwritten, written by another person, printed, audio or video, oral, and notarised (Civil Code arts. 1134 to 1139).

Your heirs, anyone the will benefits, anyone without full legal capacity, and anyone with an interest in an heir or beneficiary cannot be a witness (art. 1140). That includes an heir's creditors, debtors and business partners (Supreme People's Court Interpretation (I) on the Inheritance Book of the Civil Code, "Interpretation (I)", art. 24). Choose two adults who gain nothing from the will.

Which will counts if there is more than one?

Where wills conflict, the last one prevails (art. 1142), even against a notarised will made before 2021 (Supreme People's Court Provisions on the Time Effect of the Civil Code art. 23). You can withdraw or change a will at any time, and selling an asset after making the will withdraws the part that gives it away (art. 1142).

This matters if you also have a will at home. A later home will that revokes "all earlier wills" could be read as withdrawing your China will, so each will should say which assets it covers and leave the other in place.

Do I need a separate will for my property in China?

A will made abroad can be valid in China, so a separate will for property in China is optional. Chinese conflict-of-laws rules accept the form of a will if it meets the law of your habitual residence or nationality, at the time you make the will or at death, or the law of the place where you make it (Law on the Application of Law to Foreign-related Civil Relations art. 32). The effect of the will is governed by the law of your habitual residence or nationality (art. 33). Estate administration follows the law of the place where the estate is (art. 34).

The case for a separate will is practical. With a will made abroad, a Chinese notary or court may first have to look at foreign law and a translated document. A will made to Chinese requirements, with a Chinese text, can be checked against Chinese law directly. Whether foreign law still comes into it depends on your nationality and where you live; a review answers that.

Why draft it in two languages?

A notary, a property registry or a court reads the Chinese text, and foreign-language documents filed in a Chinese court need a Chinese translation (Civil Procedure Law art. 73). The English text lets you check every clause. The will should say which text prevails, and give each person's name as it appears on their identity document, with any Chinese name.

Should the will be notarised?

A will does not have to be notarised to be valid. A handwritten or printed will that meets the rules in the table is valid too (arts. 1134 and 1136). A notarised will has no priority over a later will (art. 1142). Its value is proof. You must apply in person (Notarization Law art. 26), at the notary office or, if that is difficult, at your home or where you are staying. Two notary staff normally handle it together (Rules on Notarisation of Wills arts. 5 and 6). If you live abroad, plan it for a visit to China. June Zhang can attend the notarisation with you, for USD 950 added to the drafting fee.

Without a notary, the risk is proof: a missing date, an unsigned page or an unsuitable witness gives another heir something to attack.

Should I name an executor?

A will can name an executor (art. 1133), and after your death the executor acts as estate administrator (art. 1145). The administrator lists the estate, protects the property, deals with debts and divides the estate under the will (art. 1147), and may be paid (art. 1149). Without an executor, the heirs choose an administrator, and if they disagree, the court may be asked to appoint one (arts. 1145 and 1146). June Zhang can act as executor, for from USD 7,500.

Can I leave someone out of my will?

A will in China can leave out any heir except one who cannot work and has no income, for whom it must keep a necessary share (arts. 1133 and 1141). You can leave your property to any heir, or to someone outside the family (art. 1133). If the will does not keep that share, it is set aside first, and the will applies to the rest. Whether an heir is in that position is judged when the will takes effect, which is at your death (Interpretation (I) art. 25). If a family member may be in that position, the will should provide for it.

What makes a will fail?

A will fails, in whole or in part, in these cases:

• You lacked full capacity when you made it (art. 1143). Losing capacity later does not undo a will made with full capacity (Interpretation (I) art. 28).
• It was made under fraud or duress, or it is forged. An altered part is void (art. 1143).
• It gives away property that was not yours. When a married person dies, half of the couple's joint property goes to the spouse first, unless they agreed otherwise, so the will can only pass the other half (art. 1153; Interpretation (I) art. 26).
• The form is wrong: a missing date, a signature missing from a page, an heir as witness, or a video without the witnesses on record.
• It conflicts with a legacy-for-support agreement you signed, in which case the agreement prevails (art. 1123; Interpretation (I) art. 3).

Anything the will does not validly cover passes under the default rules (art. 1154). The same happens when an heir named in the will gives up the gift; see giving up an inheritance in China.

If you already have a will, in China or at home, send a few lines on where it was made and what it covers. A review (from USD 1,250) tells you whether it works for your property in China.

Planning beyond the will

• Voluntary guardianship agreement. An adult with full capacity can choose, in writing, who will act as guardian if they later lose capacity (art. 33). Fee from USD 2,500.
• Legacy-for-support agreement. An agreement with a person or organisation outside your heirs, who takes on your lifelong care and funeral and receives property in return (art. 1158). Fee from USD 2,500.

Your heirs will later need to deal with the estate itself; see how to inherit property in China when you live abroad. A will that names each property with its city, and each bank, also spares them a search city by city and bank by bank; see finding a deceased parent's bank accounts and property in China.

What does it cost?

Notary fees, translation and travel outside Xiamen are charged at cost. See how the fees work.

Selected matters

Names, places, dates and amounts have been removed. These show the type of work involved and do not promise any outcome.

What should I send first?

Tell us where you live and your nationality, what you own in China and in which city, whether you already have a will anywhere, and who you would like to benefit. Please name your close family so that we can check for conflicts. Leave documents until June Zhang asks for them. Enquiries are answered within one working day (Beijing time; weekends and Chinese public holidays not counted).

Send a short summary