Photo: CFP

 
According to a white paper published on Tuesday, the majority of families in East China’s Zhejiang Province who make wills are those with only one child, accounting for 40 percent, as the parents mainly hope to reduce the risk of their children losing property if there is a divorce.

The Zhejiang Wills Library White Paper showed that parents of only children account for the largest proportion for parents who made a will, 40 percent, followed by families with two children, accounting for 30 percent.

The white paper also said the proportion of wills written by parents with only child in Zhejiang is rising, as many of them intend to keep their children away from the risk of divorce. In order to prevent the loss of family property in case of divorce, the will will be designated to the son or daughter alone, not as marital community property.

The consulting registration for making wills gradually increased from 42 percent to 80.15 percent from 2016 to 2021. Except for 2020, which was affected by COVID-19 epidemic, the proportion of registrations increased year by year.

As of Monday, the total number of consultation appointments has exceeded 60,000. 

Women are more likely to make a will than men, accounting for 55 percent. The elderly over 60 years old still dominate among those making wills in Zhejiang.

More and more young people are also beginning to make wills. These young testators often have accumulated a certain amount of personal wealth and have strong legal awareness. In order to avoid possible natural and other man-made disasters, they choose to make a will as a guarantee for their relatives.

According to the white paper, real property accounted the most, 90 percent, in testators’ disposal of property. Although the proportion of real property involved in young people's wills was low, there are other types of property, including virtual property such as online payment platform Alipay, WeChat, QQ and some in online games.