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Ningbo has made several wills, which one counts? The Withdrawal and Alteration of Wills and the Validity of Several Wills

Ningbo Author：LuXu WANG

was doing the reception of housework cases in Ningbo, we often encountered such a scene: after the death of the old man, the children rummaged through the boxes and found several wills-some were a handwritten note, some were bound by the notary office, and some were printed and signed manuscripts. Several wills name different heirs, and even the same apartment has been bequeathed to different individuals. So the siblings gathered around the table and all asked the same question: With so many copies, which one is the official one?

This issue may seem complicated, but the law provides a straightforward answer: in cases of conflicting provisions, the most recently executed document shall prevail. However, “the last will prevails” is merely a conclusion; what truly determines whether a will will be recognized by the court is whether it complies with the required formalities, reflects the testator’s true intentions, and avoids any invalidating legal pitfalls. The following is a case of "several wills" in the light of common family situations in Ningbo.

1. If several wills contain conflicting provisions, the "last will" shall prevail.

Let’s start with the most basic rules. Article 1142 of the Civil Code provides: The testator may revoke or amend the will he or she has made; if there are multiple wills with conflicting provisions, the latest will shall prevail. This sentence condenses the conflict of the effectiveness of "several wills" into a timeline: do not look at the form, do not look at the number, only look at the order.

Among the clients I have received in Ningbo, there is often a misunderstanding of the word “last.” Some people believe that “the first one drawn up is the only one that counts,” others think that “only the notarized version is valid,” and still others assume that “the one with more written provisions wins.” None of these are correct. The law recognizes only the last one. For example, an old man in Ningbo first made a self-written will, leaving a set of real estate in the city to his eldest son; two years later, he made a self-written will, which was inherited by the second son, and stated in the second one that "the previous will is invalid". As long as the latter document is legally valid and reflects the true intent, it shall prevail.

Also, pay attention to the four characters “content conflict.” If several wills deal with different property separately and do not conflict with each other, then each is in charge of its own, and there is no need to compare the order; only when their disposition of the same property conflicts, the order needs to be arranged, and the last one has the final say. Therefore, properly preserving each will and carefully verifying the dates specified on each one is the first step in determining its validity—and the very first task that must be undertaken when handling such disputes in Ningbo.

In practice, determining “which one came later” is not always as straightforward as simply checking the dates. Some wills only specify the year and month, without indicating the exact day; in other cases, several wills bear dates that are very close to one another, and the family members cannot clearly determine their chronological order. In such cases, the court will comprehensively determine the date of execution by considering evidence including the handwriting and paper used in the will, witness testimony, and the prevailing circumstances at the time. Therefore, when drafting a will, it is by no means a trivial matter to clearly and completely specify the year, month, and day; doing so directly determines whether the “last will prevails” rule can be effectively implemented in practice.

2. "Notarized wills no longer take precedence" -- the most important rule change that needs clarification.

This is the most important point in this section, and also the one that isMost easily misunderstood.; it must be stated accurately. Before the implementation of the Civil Code, the old law did have the rule of "the validity of notarized wills takes precedence": in the past, it was generally believed that notarized wills could not be easily overturned by later wills such as self-writing and proxy, and notarized wills seemed to have a halo of "highest effectiveness. However, the Civil Code has abolished the provision that gives notarized wills priority in effect.

In other words, from now on, notarized wills and other forms of wills—such as handwritten, dictated, or typed wills—will be treated equally; none will automatically take precedence over the others. The criterion for determination has reverted to a single statement: the last will shall prevail, regardless of its form. Therefore, as long as there is a newer, legally valid will in the family—even if it is merely handwritten—it may supersede the previously notarized will.

It should be noted that “notarial wills no longer have priority” does not mean that notarization has become useless. On the contrary, notarized wills are executed by professional institutions, which can effectively document the testator’s mental state, expression of intent, and the time of execution. Consequently, should disputes over their authenticity arise later, their evidentiary force remains strong. However, when it comes to the question of “which of several wills ultimately prevails,” notarization no longer serves as an absolute safeguard; time alone holds the final authority.

Then, if an "old notarized will" before the implementation of the Civil Code and a new will after the implementation coexist, how to deal with it? Article 23 of the provisions on the temporal validity of the Civil Code specifically connects: if the decedent has made a notarized will before the implementation of the Civil Code, and a new will has been made after the implementation of the Civil Code, and if there is a dispute over the contents of several wills after his death, the third paragraph of Article 1142 of the Civil Code shall apply, that is, the last will shall prevail. This article, it is "notarized wills no longer priority" in the period across the old and new law on the landing. Many elderly people in Ningbo had notarized wills before 2021, and then handwritten or printed new wills. The handling of such cases falls on this article.

3. How can a will be “revoked” or “amended”? Three scenarios.

Now that you’ve understood the principle of “the latest shall prevail,” you also need to clarify how a will can be declared “invalid.” A will is not set in stone once it’s signed. The law gives the testator full freedom of withdrawal and change, which can be summarized in three main situations.

  1. Make a new will. This is the most common way. If the testator executes a new, valid will making different provisions for the same property, the later will supersedes the earlier one. The aforementioned case of the elderly resident of Ningbo, whose estate was inherited by his second son, followed this very path.
  2. Express withdrawal. The testator may expressly revoke any previously executed will, for example, by stating in the new will that “all prior wills are hereby null and void,” or by issuing a separate written declaration and destroying the old will.
  3. Performing a contrary civil legal act shall be deemed as withdrawal.This is a type that is easily overlooked. Article 1142 of the Civil Code stipulates that after making a will, if the testator performs a civil legal act contrary to the content of the will, it shall be regarded as a withdrawal of the relevant content of the will. For example, if it is stated in the will that a certain suite is left to his daughter, and the old man later sells the house himself or transfers the ownership to his son, then the contents of the will about the suite are deemed to be withdrawn and no longer executed.

Here’s a common mistake made by many families in Ningbo: they change their minds and rewrite their will, but neither destroy the old one nor include a clause in the new will stating that the previous will is null and void. As a result, after the old man left, the old will was turned out, and the family quarreled over "which one counts. The safest way is to withdraw all previous wills in black and white in the new will, and try to recover and invalidate the old original to cut off the dispute from the source.

4. six forms of wills, where are their "life gates"

The law prescribes six statutory forms for wills. Articles 1134 to 1139 of the Civil Code correspond respectively to six types of wills: handwritten, prepared by another person, typed, recorded in audio or video, oral, and notarized. The form may vary, but each type has its own strict requirements; omit even one of them, and the entire will could be rendered invalid.

  • Self-written will (section 1134): Written and signed by the testator, indicating the year, month and day. The key word is “handwritten”—the entire document must be written by hand; it cannot be typed or simply signed. The date must be written in full.
  • Holographic Will (Article 1135): There should be more than two witnesses present to witness, and one of them should sign the book on behalf of the testator, the proxy and other witnesses, indicating the year, month and day. Heirs, legatees, and their interested parties may not serve as witnesses.
  • Print a will (section 1136): There shall be at least two witnesses present to witness the execution of the will. The testator and the witnesses shall sign each page of the will and indicate the year, month, and day. The key phrase is “every page”; signing only the last page is a common mistake.
  • Holographic Will (Article 1137): There shall be two or more witnesses present to witness the execution, and a record shall be made of the testator’s and the witnesses’ names or likenesses, as well as the year, month, and day.
  • Oral Will (Article 1138): It is only valid when there are two or more witnesses in the presence of the emergency; after the emergency is eliminated, if the testator can make a will in writing or in the form of audio or video recording, the oral will is invalid.
  • Notarized Will (Article 1139): by the testator through a notary public. This procedure is the most rigorous and yields the strongest evidentiary force; however, as mentioned earlier, it is no longer given priority.

When it comes to witnesses, the "forbidden zone" drawn by the law is wider than many people think. In addition to the heirs and beneficiaries themselves, any person with a vested interest in the matter may not serve as a witness; furthermore, persons who lack civil capacity or have limited civil capacity are also ineligible to act as witnesses. In Ningbo, some elderly people, in a bid for convenience, simply ask their spouses, children, or close neighbors to sign documents—appearing to have “witnesses” at first glance, but actually crossing a red line. Therefore, when choosing a witness, you might as well ask yourself first: does it have anything to do with who can get the inheritance? If the answer is "it doesn't matter", it is relatively safe.

When the six forms are examined together, two consistent “red lines” become apparent: first, the qualifications of witnesses; second, the recording of the date. In cases in Ningbo where notarized or typed wills have been deemed invalid, nine times out of ten the issue lies in these two points. For example: An elderly person asks his son and daughter-in-law to act as witnesses and draws up a notarial will bequeathing the house to his grandson. However, the son is, by law, a first‑order heir and thus falls within the category of witnesses expressly excluded under the law. As a result, the will was deemed invalid due to the disqualification of the witnesses, and the house ultimately had to be distributed according to the statutory inheritance rules.

5. what circumstances would make a will void or "partially void"

The principle of “the last will prevails” is subject to one prerequisite—namely, that the will itself must be valid. If the last will is entirely invalid, the court will not use it to override earlier wills; instead, it will seek another valid will or proceed with statutory succession. The invalidity or partial invalidity of a will depends mainly on the following types of circumstances.

  • The subject is not qualified. Article 1143 of the Civil Code provides that a will made by a person who lacks or has limited capacity for civil conduct is invalid. A will made when an old man suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is delirious is likely to be denied as a result.
  • The meaning is not true. The same provision invalidates a will made by fraud or coercion. The handprints held by the quilt women and frightened them were untenable.
  • Forgery, falsification. A forged will is invalid; if a will has been altered, the altered portion is invalid. It should be noted that only the “tampered portion” is invalid here; the remaining content may still be valid.
  • Disposition of the property of others. The interpretation of the Inheritance Code of the Civil Code is (I) clear, and if the testator disposes of the property of the State, the collective or another person by will, that part is invalid and does not affect the other parts. If you include your spouse’s half share or someone else’s house in your will, that portion is naturally invalid.
  • Not Reserved. Article 1141 of the Civil Code provides that a will shall reserve a necessary share of the estate for heirs who lack the capacity to work and have no source of livelihood. If this document is omitted, the relevant sections may be adjusted.

It can be seen that "invalid" does not mean "the whole copy is invalid". Most of the time, it is only partially invalid: the piece that disposes of other people's property does not count, the piece that has been tampered with does not count, and the rest remains the same. Therefore, in case of disputes, first "open the will" and distinguish which one is valid and which one is invalid, and then talk about distribution, which can often avoid detours.

Several Practical Concerns 6. Ningbo Families

In recent years in Ningbo, wills disputes have shown several distinctive features, which are worth reminding separately.

First, the property form is complicated. Ningbo's private economy is active. Many families have not only real estate in the old city, demolition and resettlement houses, but also equity and capital contributions of individual industrial and commercial households, township enterprises, and even the income distribution rights of fishing boats and joint-stock economic cooperatives. If the will only write a general sentence "property belongs to a son", to the division of the most easy to wrangle, it is best to write each property specific, write clearly.

Second, the boundary of the joint property of husband and wife. When many old people in Ningbo make wills, they write the whole set of the house registered in their own name, but actually shared with their wife after marriage. However, the portion belonging to the spouse cannot be disposed of by you; that part is invalid, and only your own share is valid. It is a step that cannot be bypassed to make a will to distinguish between personal property and common property.

Third, the convergence of the coexistence of old and new wills. As mentioned earlier, many elderly residents of Ningbo had executed notarized wills before 2021, and subsequently drafted new wills—either by hand or in typed form. Such cases fall into article 23 of the Time Effect Provisions of the Civil Code, which are handled on the basis of the last will and no longer enjoy exceptions because they are "old notaries.

Fourth, "oral confession at the deathbed" does not necessarily count. There is a situation in the countryside of Ningbo: when the old man was dying, he called his children to the bed to verbally explain who the house was left to, and several people heard it. If there is a critical situation at that time and more than two witnesses are present, the oral will may be established. However, once the critical situation is eliminated, the old man could have made a will in writing or in the form of audio and video recordings but did not, or the witness is unqualified, this oral statement often cannot be regarded as a will. Therefore, try not to leave your most important arrangements until the last minute and rely on verbal communication.

class case reference: in the case of inheritance dispute between zhang mou and equality v. xu mou and others, the inheritor had made several self-written wills before his life and the contents were contradictory.In accordance with the rule that "the last one shall prevail if the contents of several wills conflict", the court held that the last self-written will shall prevail, and that the estate shall be inherited by the remarried spouse and the young son designated by the will. Trial Court: People's Court of Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province Case No.:(2014) E Wuchang Min Chu Zi No. 02285

7. Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Is a notarized will the most effective, and other wills are no better than it?

A: No, this is the old concept that needs to be corrected most. The Civil Code has abolished the "priority of the effect of notarized wills". Notarized wills have rigorous procedures and strong proofs, but they have equal status with other legal wills. If the contents of several wills conflict, the last one shall prevail.

Question: Several wills have been made, is the earliest one prevail?

A: No, on the contrary. Article 1142 of the Civil Code clearly stipulates that if there are several wills, the contents of which conflict, the last will shall prevail. The key to judgment lies in the order of the time of the conclusion, not in the number of copies or in the form.

Q: If you change your mind, just write another one. Does it matter if you don't destroy the old will?

Answer: The risk is very high. If the old will is turned out and the content conflicts with the new one, it is easy to cause the dispute of "which one is the true meaning. It is prudent to withdraw all previous wills in the new will, and try to recycle and make old originals.

question: does the will still count when the house stated in the will was sold or transferred later?

A: Deemed to be withdrawn. Article 1142 of the Civil Code stipulates that if the testator performs a civil legal act contrary to the content of the will after making a will, it shall be regarded as a withdrawal of the relevant content of the will. Now that the house has been disposed of, that part of the will concerning it is no longer enforced.

Practical Experience of 8. Lawyer

When the old man left, his children turned out several wills-handwritten, notarized and printed, and the ones written were different. This kind of scene was too common in practice. Many people think that "notarization is the only way to count", "the first to set up is effective", "write more to win", these understandings are biased. The answer given by the law is very simple: if the content conflicts, the last one shall prevail, without looking at the form, the number of copies, and only the order. Therefore, it is not the "high level" that really needs to be taken seriously, but whether the last form is correct, the meaning is really not true, and whether it has stepped on the invalid red line.

In terms of operation, if the testator wants to change his mind, he can directly create a new will to withdraw or change the old one, and it is more secure for the new will to state "the previous one is invalid"; he can also withdraw it by actual behavior, such as selling the house to be given in the will. No matter what kind, the last copy should also abide by the formal requirements. Don't write it casually, don't note the date or find witnesses just because of "change it anyway. If there are already too many copies, it is suggested to do a clean-up to confirm which one shall prevail and whether the old one is still valid without conflict, so as to prevent the family behind from holding different opinions on a pile of documents that fight with each other.

When talking about this in the family, it is best to clarify the final will of the old man when he is alive, so as to reduce the suspicion behind him; but it is not necessary to spread every detail to the heirs to create tension. The old man himself should form the habit of regular inspection. If his will changes, he should repeat it according to the rules. Don't let the old and new wills be scattered everywhere. When multiple wills are found in conflict, first judge whether the contents really conflict and whether the last form is flawless, and then decide whether to negotiate or go through the procedure. When it comes to large-sum objects such as real estate, the validity of the last one should be confirmed, and other heirs should not wait for the transfer of ownership to come up with "another one" to stop it.