news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

after mr. fan (pseudonym) passed away, mr. yang (pseudonym), who was over 90 years old, went to the bank to withdraw the 300,000 yuan savings certificate issued by mr. fan. mr. yang said that this was the legacy left to him by his old classmate mr. fan. however, the bank could not identify the reason and the authenticity of the will, and rejected mr. yang's withdrawal request.

why did mr. fan leave his inheritance to his classmates? and why did the bank refuse to handle business for the old man?

the old man brought the deposit slip left by his classmate

bank withdrawal was rejected

in the 1950s, mr. yang and mr. fan were classmates in college.

in the 1980s, mr. yang returned to shanghai and had close contact with mr. fan. he recalled: "because mr. fan had no one at home, he would discuss everything with me and work with me, including moving twice, finding a house, selling a house, etc. it is said that he had a brother who joined the army, but later in the 1950s he was said to have passed away. i have never met him. his parents also passed away in the 1960s and 1970s, so he was alone."

mr. yang said in court that in march 2016, mr. fan made a handwritten will, which stated: "the remaining money will be used for the rest of my life. after my death, the remaining money will be handed over to my guardian, dr. yang (editor's note: mr. yang), and he will be in full control of it..."

in march 2019, mr. fan issued a statement, which stated: "i, mr. fan, am an elderly person living alone with no immediate relatives in shanghai. for many years, i have asked my classmate, dr. yang, to be my guardian. for this reason, when i entered a nursing home in 2015, dr. yang continued to be my guardian. now that i am old, my physical strength is declining, and i have multiple diseases. to prevent any accidents, i hereby declare the following: 'before i die, please ask my guardian, dr. yang, to be present to notify my relatives outside the city and handle all my personal belongings. if i have any savings and financial products, please ask my guardian, dr. yang, to keep them confidential according to my separate will.'"

mr. yang said that, accordingly, he was designated as the executor of mr. fan's will and had the right to withdraw all of mr. fan's bank deposits and distribute his estate in accordance with mr. fan's will or in accordance with the law. however, as the executor of mr. fan's will, mr. yang went to the counter of the defendant bank with the savings certificate involved in the case to handle related business, but was rejected by the staff. this made it impossible for mr. yang to perform his duties as an executor of the will, and he was unable to manage and distribute mr. fan's estate.

based on the above facts, mr. yang believes that mr. fan personally wrote the entire contents of the above will. when it was signed, mr. fan was a person with full civil capacity. mr. fan signed the will and stated the date of signing. the will is legal and valid. in october 2018, mr. fan deposited the money into the defendant bank, and a savings deposit contract was established between the two parties. now that mr. fan has passed away, as the executor of mr. fan's will and the legatee of mr. fan's estate, mr. yang shall bear the rights and obligations of the savings deposit contract between mr. fan and the defendant bank. therefore, he has the right to withdraw the principal and interest of 300,000 yuan in mr. fan's account in the defendant.

in summary, the plaintiff mr. yang requested the court to order the defendant bank to pay the principal of rmb 300,000 and interest in the account opened by the deceased mr. fan with the defendant.

bank: unable to identify the authenticity of the will

the defendant's branch of a certain company argued that the defendant bank did not participate in the signing process of the will and could not distinguish the authenticity of the will, and asked the court to review it according to law. if the court supports the plaintiff's claim, the defendant will hand over all the principal and interest recorded in the system to the plaintiff.

during the trial, the plaintiff mr. yang submitted mr. fan's handwritten will, statement, bank deposit slips, lawyer's letter and express delivery records, mr. fan's death certificate, notarized will, unmarried certificate, no marriage registration certificate, statement from the nursing home and other evidence in accordance with the law in support of his litigation request.

the defendant bank stated that it confirmed the authenticity of the above evidence, but was unable to confirm whether the handwritten will was written by mr. fan himself.

court: recognition of handwritten will

the bank should pay the corresponding amount

after trial, the court found out that mr. fan had written several wills during his lifetime.

in december 2013, mr. fan’s notarized will made arrangements for the inheritance of his house after his death.

in march 2016, mr. fan wrote "my will" by hand. in the will, mr. fan stated that he was conscious when he wrote it. he also stated that he would give 1 million yuan to his cousin and 1 million yuan to his cousin from the money from the sale of his property in shanghai to thank his uncle's family for their help to his family over the past decades. the remaining money would be used for the rest of his life as an old man. after his death, he would give the remaining money to his guardian, dr. yang, and ask him to handle it with full authority. he also stated that he would revoke the notarized will made in december 2013.

in march 2019, mr. fan wrote another handwritten statement: "i, mr. fan, am an elderly person living alone with no close relatives in shanghai. for many years, i have asked my classmate mr. yang to be my guardian. for this reason, when i entered a nursing home in 2015, dr. yang continued to be my guardian. now i am old, my physical strength is declining, and i have many diseases. to prevent any accidents, i hereby declare the following matters: ... before i die, please ask my guardian, dr. yang, to be present to notify my relatives outside the city and handle all my personal belongings. if i have any savings and financial products, please ask my guardian, dr. yang, to keep them confidential according to my separate will..."

in april 2019, mr. fan wrote a handwritten will: "after my death, my belongings (including financial products, cash, etc.) will be entrusted to my guardian, dr. yang, for full disposal. no other person has the right to interfere or deal with them. the 2 million yuan i gave to my cousin and cousin has been transferred to my cousin through a certain bank."

mr. fan passed away in august 2019. the "resident death medical certificate" stated that his marital status was single, his registered address and current residence were both nursing homes, and the names, addresses or phone numbers of family members who could be contacted were unknown.

it was also found that in october 2004, mr. fan’s former unit issued a “certificate of unmarriedness”, indicating that mr. fan had never registered for marriage (including de facto marriage) as of the date of the certificate and currently had no direct relatives.

on october 26, 2007, a marriage registration office in shanghai issued a "certificate of no marriage registration record", proving that the office's files did not find any record of mr. fan's marriage registration with others from 2001 to 2007. mr. fan's previous "household registration form" also showed that the head of the household was mr. fan's father; the head of the household's wife was mr. fan's mother, and the head of the household's son was mr. fan, who was unmarried. no other people were registered in the registration form.

regarding the will and statement written by mr. fan, mr. yang said that he was present when they were written and they were all written in the nursing home. the statement in march 2019 was also given to the leader of the nursing home unit and filed in the nursing home. during the trial, the nursing home staff showed the court the filed statement.

the court held that mr. fan opened the account involved in the case at the defendant bank, and the two parties formed a savings deposit contract relationship, and mr. fan had a creditor's right to the funds in the above account. after mr. fan's death, his right to request payment of the funds in the account constituted his estate. natural persons can dispose of personal property in a will according to the law.

the handwritten will signed by mr. fan in april 2019 has clear handwriting and fluent expression. there is no evidence to prove that it was not written by him. it meets the formal requirements of a handwritten will. there is also no evidence to prove that the will is not the true intention of the testator or that there are other circumstances that make the will invalid. therefore, the court recognizes this handwritten will.

the will clearly states that "the remaining property (including financial products, cash, etc.) is entrusted to my guardian, dr. yang, to handle at his sole discretion." therefore, the plaintiff, mr. yang, has the right to legally require the defendant to pay the funds in the account, and the defendant should pay the plaintiff the deposit and interest in the testator's deposit certificate. after the plaintiff obtains the funds, he should handle them according to the will.

final,the court ruled that the defendant bank should pay the plaintiff mr. yang the principal of 300,000 yuan and interest in the account involved within ten days from the date of effectiveness of this judgment.