According to US Today, the world’s most populous nation has the second-largest economy, one of the highest savings rates and mushrooming wealth. Yet virtually no one has a will to pass on an estate. And now it’s become a huge problem.
Thirty years after communist China embarked on a course that allowed individuals to accumulate wealth, members of the first generation to benefit are starting to die, creating a spike in inheritance disputes that are clogging up the courts and turning families against each other.
The problem has gotten so bad that even the ruling Communist Party — previously no fan of inherited wealth — is concerned.
“When people die without a will their children scramble for their property, damaging family ties and having a negative effect on society,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency has warned.
Only 1% of China’s 220 million seniors have drawn up inheritance plans, according to the best estimates. The reason is cultural: talking about death is taboo and writing a will is akin to putting a curse on yourself.
You can read the full article here https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/01/02/chinese-wills-savings-beijing/95750124/
