If the mother-in-law dies during the cooling-off period of divorce, can the daughter-in-law inherit her estate?

produced by: marriage and Family Magazine

ID:hunyinyujiating99

Chen Xingliang and Kong Pingyao married in September 2016 and gave birth to a son named Chen Hao. At the beginning of the marriage, the relationship between the two was OK, but it gradually faded, and they began to separate in February 2018.

on September 9, 2022, Chen Xingliang and Kong Pingyao went to the Civil Affairs Bureau for an agreed divorce. On the same day, the staff of the Civil Affairs Bureau examined the "divorce Agreement" and issued a "divorce Registration Application acceptance form" to both parties, informing them that from October 10, 2022 to November 8, 2022, both parties should jointly apply for a "divorce certificate" with valid documents (original), divorce agreement and relevant materials on the working days of the marriage registration authority; if they do not apply, they shall be deemed to withdraw the divorce registration application.

on October 10, 2022, Chen Xingliang and Kong Pingyao received a "divorce certificate" and signed a "divorce agreement" at the scene of the Civil Affairs Bureau, agreeing that his son Chen Hao would live with Kong Pingyao after divorce, and Chen Xingliang would pay 500000 yuan in child support in a lump sum.

after the divorce, Kong Pingyao inadvertently learned that her mother-in-law died during the cooling-off period of her divorce with Chen Xingliang, leaving behind a property in Chaoyang District of Beijing. Subsequently, Chen Xingliang and his father notarized the right of inheritance and sold the property in Chaoyang District, each with a share of 4.36 million yuan.

in December 2022, Kong Pingyao filed a property dispute lawsuit with the court after divorce. She believes that when her mother-in-law died, she and Chen Xingliang were not divorced. Chen Xingliang inherited her mother-in-law's property should belong to the common property of both husband and wife, and she was entitled to 50% of the money for the sale of Chen Xingliang's inherited house.

Chen Xingliang disagrees with this.

first of all, during her separation, Kong Pingyao never took care of or visited her mother. As a daughter-in-law, she did not do her duty to support the elderly, so she had no right to share any inheritance.

secondly, there is no blood relationship between her mother and Kong Pingyao, and the relationship between them was not harmonious before her death, so it was impossible for her mother to express the intention that Kong Pingyao would inherit the estate.

it can be seen that Kong Pingyao inherits all of her inheritance by default, so she no longer needs to pay any compensation to her.

after hearing, the court held that according to Article 1062 of the Civil Code,

the property inherited during the duration of the marital relationship shall belong to the joint property of both husband and wife

. When Chen Xingliang's mother died, the marriage between Chen Xingliang and Kong Pingyao had not yet been dissolved, so the property inherited by Chen Xingliang during this period was still the joint property of both husband and wife. Now, Chen Xingliang will sell the house, Kong Pingyao has the right to share the corresponding sale money.

as mentioned by Chen Xingliang, Kong Pingyao did not fulfill her obligation to support her mother-in-law and could not share the house sales, because the legal basis for Kong Pingyao's request for the sale was Article 1062 of the Civil Code. the property inherited during the marriage belongs to the common property of husband and wife, not directly based on the inheritance of Chen Xingliang's mother's estate, so the court did not accept the defense. In the end, the court ruled that Chen Xingliang paid Kong Pingyao a discount of more than 2.18 million yuan.

lawyer analysis:

1. During the cooling-off period of divorce, does the property acquired by Chen Xingliang as a result of inheritance belong to the joint property of husband and wife?

1. During the cooling-off period of divorce, the marriage relationship between the two parties was not dissolved

Article 1080 of the Civil Code stipulates that the marriage relationship shall be dissolved after the completion of divorce registration or the entry into force of divorce judgment or mediation statement.

according to the above-mentioned legal provisions, as long as the two parties do not obtain a "divorce certificate" or the divorce judgment or mediation statement does not take effect, the marriage relationship will not be dissolved. Therefore, the cooling-off period of divorce still belongs to the period of marital relationship.

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2. During the duration of the marriage, if the decedent does not make a will, the property inherited by the heir belongs to the joint property of husband and wife

according to the provisions of articles 1062 and 1063 of the Civil Code, during the existence of the marital relationship, the property inherited or donated by the husband and wife shall be the common property of the husband and wife and shall be jointly owned by the husband and wife. however, the property that belongs to only one party as determined in the will or gift contract shall be the personal property of one party.

in this case, Chen Xingliang's mother died during the cooling-off period of divorce, when the marriage between the two parties was not dissolved.

because Chen's mother did not make a will before her death, according to Article 1062 of the Civil Code, the property inherited by Chen Xingliang should belong to the common property of husband and wife

Kong Pingyao has the right to receive 50% of Chen Xingliang's share of sales for inheriting property in Chaoyang District, and the court also upheld Kong Pingyao's claim.

2. What can Chen Xingliang or his family do to prevent Kong Pingyao from taking the sale money?

1. Chen Xingliang's mother made a will and made it clear in the will that the house in Chaoyang District was inherited by Chen Xingliang personally and had nothing to do with his spouse

according to Article 1063 of the Civil Code, only the property belonging to one party is determined in the will or gift contract to be the personal property of the husband and wife. Therefore, mother Chen should be left behind.It is clear in the order that the real estate in Chaoyang District is only owned by Chen Xingliang, which belongs to Chen Xingliang's personal property and has nothing to do with his spouse.

can be expressed as follows: "after my death, all my share of the house (property certificate number: XXX) in a certain district of a certain city is inherited by my son XXX alone, which belongs to the property owned only by his son XXX, and has nothing to do with his spouse."

2. If Chen Xingliang's mother did not make a will, after his death, Chen Xingliang first gave up inheriting his mother's estate, and then Chen Xingliang's father made a separate will to leave all the property to his son's exclusive

in this case, because Mother Chen did not have a will before her death, in accordance with the provisions of Article 1123 of the Civil Code, in the absence of a bequest and maintenance agreement, it was dealt with in accordance with legal succession. If Chen Xingliang actually inherits the corresponding share of real estate, in the absence of a will, the share of inheritance should be the joint property of husband and wife. The crux of the problem is that the relationship between Chen Xingliang and Kong Pingyao has broken up and is in a cooling-off period of divorce, so it is obvious that it was not Chen Xingliang's intention to let Kong Pingyao split her mother's share of the inheritance.

Article 1124 of the Civil Code stipulates that if an heir renounces inheritance after the commencement of succession, he shall, before the disposition of the estate, make a written declaration of renunciation; if he fails to do so, he shall be deemed to have accepted the inheritance.

therefore, if Chen Xingliang does not want Kong Pingyao to take away any property, he can issue a "declaration of waiver of inheritance" to the notary office, the court or other heirs. In the case of Chen Xingliang giving up the inheritance, the total share of the property belonging to Chen's mother should be inherited by the father of another heir, Chen Xingliang. In this way, Chen Fu enjoys all the rights and interests in the possession, use and income of houses in Chaoyang District.

after Chen Xingliang divorced Kong Pingyao, Chen Xingliang's father can make a separate will in accordance with Article 1063 of the Civil Code, making it clear that after his death, all the property in Chaoyang District will be owned by Chen Xingliang. and exclude the rights of Chen Xingliang's spouse.

3. How to handle the property disputes during the cooling-off period of divorce?

1. During the cooling-off period of divorce, try not to dispose of husband and wife's common property privately

Article 1092 of the Civil Code stipulates that if one husband and wife conceals, transfers, sells, destroys or squanders the common property of the husband and wife, or falsifies the joint debts of the husband and wife in an attempt to encroach on the property of the other party, when divorce divides the joint property of the husband and wife, the party may be divided less or not.

if the other party discovers the above-mentioned acts after the divorce, he may file a lawsuit with the people's court and request that the husband and wife's joint property be divided again.

during the cooling-off period of divorce, the marriage relationship between the two parties has not been dissolved, and either party may withdraw the application for divorce registration. Therefore, the lawyer suggested that during this sensitive period, the parties should not dispose of the husband and wife's common property at will, especially for houses, cars and other high-value property, so as to avoid being recognized by the court as the transfer of husband and wife's common property.

of course, if the other party is suspected of transferring the husband and wife's common property during this period, he can also directly file a divorce lawsuit with the court and request the court to divide all the husband and wife's joint property in accordance with the law. and the court will determine whether the other party's actions constitute the transfer of the husband and wife's joint property.

2. When signing the divorce Agreement, an agreement may be made on the disposal of property or debts acquired during the cooling-off period of divorce