No will, no heir? Dealing with life after death

If a person dies without an heir or a will, what happens to their life savings, and if that person had unpaid debts, who can creditors turn to?

These are not abstract legal puzzles. They became a stark reality in late 2025, when a 46-year-old woman in Shanghai, surnamed Jiang, passed away. She had no spouse, no children, and had lost both parents. After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in October, she was cared for by a distant relative in her final weeks.

Her case gripped the nation, exposing anxiousness about a common issue: how does a rapidly aging society, with more people living alone, manage the final affairs of those who have no apparent next of kin?

The law, however, had already foreseen such a moment.

When China's Civil Code took effect in January 2021, it introduced a groundbreaking measure: the estate administrator system. This mechanism is designed to ensure that no estate is abandoned, no debt is left unpaid, and no valid claim falls into a legal void simply because there is no one to step forward.

The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, has since reiterated the system's importance, calling it a vital tool to tackle an "estate left unmanaged, assets being damaged or lost, and challenges posed by an aging population".

In Jiang's case, the court in Hongkou district — finding she had no legal heirs, no will, and no support agreement — ultimately appointed the local civil affairs bureau as her estate administrator at the end of 2025, as per the code's provisions.

Chen Yifang, chief judge of the top court's First Civil Division, recently warned against heirs who renounce an inheritance — whether to avoid managing the estate or to evade the deceased's debts — but who in practice continue to possess or dispose of the estate's assets.

The renunciation is invalid and such behavior "must not be tolerated", the judge said.

To guide judges in applying the system more accurately and to bring greater clarity to the public, the top court recently provided clear answers through a series of landmark cases on how to interpret the system, specifying who can serve as an estate administrator and what duties the role entails.

Meanwhile, grassroots court judges are also calling for more tailored rules — particularly for civil affairs departments that handle the deceased's property — and for additional measures to address the growing challenge of digital assets in the fast-evolving internet era.

Choosing an administrator

As demographic patterns shift and more people choose to live alone or stay single, the estate administrator system provides a much-needed legal solution for handling their posthumous affairs, according to Jiang Zhen, a judge from Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court.

"The system closes the gap that once left creditors with no one to pursue, and guarantees that estates without heirs are safeguarded from dissipation or depreciation," she said.

Citing the code, she noted that if the deceased had clearly designated in their will who should handle the estate, that arrangement must be respected. "This means that the executor named in the will, whether an individual or a third-party institution, can be given priority in being named as the estate administrator," she explained.

"It is important to say, however, that an estate administrator is not necessarily an heir," she added. "For instance, a law firm can be appointed an executor of a deceased person's will, but it doesn't have to be filled by an heir."

If no executor was named, the heirs should choose an administrator, said Chen, from the top court. If they cannot reach an agreement, all heirs must serve as joint administrators.

"Only when there is genuinely no heir or when all heirs have validly renounced their rights should civil authorities step in," Chen added.

If an heir provides a written renunciation of an inheritance, whether to avoid managing the estate or to evade the deceased's debts, but continues to possess or dispose of the estate's assets in reality, that renunciation is invalid.

One of the cases disclosed by the top court illustrates this point. An individual surnamed Yang died in 2024, owing 100,000 yuan ($14,788) to two people surnamed Hua and Ma. The creditors sued Yang's father, mother and daughter, trying to recover the money.

During the trial, the three heirs submitted written renunciations of their inheritance, so the local court refused the creditors' claims.

But after the ruling, the three heirs were discovered to have collected over 200,000 yuan in funeral subsidies, pension benefits and social insurance payments belonging to Yang. The creditors requested the court to name the local civil affairs bureau as the estate administrator, as the heirs had renounced their inheritance rights.

The local court said that the heirs had in fact taken control of the deceased's assets, although they had formally given up their inheritance. "In this situation, the renunciation was invalid, meaning the three must repay the debt," it said, adding the civil affairs bureau could not step in as a fall-back administrator.

Chen said the case was an example of "fake renunciation to evade real debt", warning that the provision in the code allowing civil affairs bodies or village committees to act as administrators should not be abused. She underscored the necessity of such an arrangement, but described it as a form of public service and an alternative option.

Roles and duties

Being named an estate administrator is not a ceremonial role. The code spells out clear duties including taking inventory of the estate, listing all assets and debts, and providing a full and accurate accounting to heirs, banks, property registration authorities and creditors, Chen said.

She noted that administrators must also take reasonable measures to protect the assets from damage or loss — for example, by securing a vacant house or liquidating perishable property.

In another case disclosed by the top court, a man surnamed Liu took out a 550,000-yuan bank loan with a 10-year term, secured against his apartment in July 2020. When he died in March 2023, all his heirs renounced their inheritance. The bank then applied to the local court, which appointed the district civil affairs bureau as estate administrator to clear Liu's debts.

The local court also made it clear that costs arising from the administrator's work, including appraisals, auctions, and legal fees take priority. When Liu's apartment was sold, those reasonable expenses were deducted first, with the remainder going to repay the bank.

Jiang, from Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court, said specific requirements for estate administrators' duties are essential to ensure the deceased's assets can be protected. But, in practice, there were challenges for civil affairs authorities such as the difficulty of locating all assets.

The estate administrator system is not only relevant to singles, childless couples, those living alone, and bereaved parents who have lost their only child, but also to people with complex family structures, such as those who have been married multiple times or have many children, and those whose estates consist of diverse types of assets.

"For instance, some people own overseas property or company shares, which are not easy for civil affairs departments to track down," Jiang explained.

She suggested that civil authorities develop a comprehensive understanding of property registries and financial institutions to ensure that no asset is overlooked during the inventory process.

In November 2025, Beijing Haidian District People's Court issued a guideline on procedures for appointing estate administrators.

Lin Zhi, a judge from the court, said it summarizes the practical achievements over the five years since the code came into force, further introduces it to the public, and builds stronger legal consensus.

She said that the guideline clarifies for the public the role of estate administrators and the pathways for appointing them, whether through the courts or directly via civil affairs departments.

"For issues such as guardianship and healthcare that may arise during the aging process, it's significant to plan ahead," Lin said. "For example, by purchasing insurance to minimize the risk of being left without adequate care, and ultimately to ensure a better quality of life."

She called on residents to educate themselves about wills and to arrange for the disposal of their property in advance to reduce unnecessary disputes in the future.

Digital obstacles

Jiang said as digital technology becomes deeply embedded in every aspect of daily life, the governance of digital estates is emerging as a pressing issue that demands urgent attention.

Data released by the China Internet Network Information Center in February showed that China had approximately 1.1 billion netizens by the end of 2025. Almost every one of them is a video user, with 573 million playing online games.

Deceased internet users leave behind not only personal bonds and memories, but also vast and silent digital content: WeChat and Alipay balances, gaming accounts, social media profiles, chat records and cloud photo albums, according to Jiang.

Digital estate disputes can center on the inheritance of online shop operations and gaming assets, as well as access to data like chat logs and photos, she said, adding she and her colleagues had to deal with them on a case-by-case basis because there are no specific rules on digital estate settlement.

The Civil Code upholds the principle of protecting digital or virtual assets. But in reality, platform policies differ — some allow inheritance, while others retain ownership.

Last year, a Shanghai college student surnamed Zhou took an online platform to court after it refused to let him inherit his late mother's WeChat public account.

"She had put so much effort into it, and it was about to be shut down," Zhou said. "The bank card linked to it had been canceled upon my mom's death, meaning any future advertising revenue couldn't be collected."

Zhou said he filed the lawsuit to draw more attention to the digital estate inheritance issue. In the end, the platform proposed mediation to shift the account to Zhou's name.

The valuation of some digital assets also lacks clear legal provisions, making it difficult to determine in judicial practice.

Wang Qi, an associate professor at Beihang University's Law School, said that the value of assets, such as in-game items and social media accounts, is heavily influenced by market conditions, policies, and user engagement. With no open or legitimate trading market, there is no standard for valuation.

On the technical side, inheriting digital accounts faces hurdles such as login verification and encryption, Wang added. For example, if a short-video platform was inherited, it would require multiple layers of authentication, including passwords, mobile verification codes, and facial recognition.

As the number of digital "natives" continues to surge, judges and legal experts agree that clearer rules are urgently needed. They recommend that lawmakers and platforms move swiftly to establish standardized regulations on the use, transfer, and inheritance of digital property. Without such measures, millions of online assets will remain in legal limbo — a gap that the fast-evolving digital age has opened, and that the law has yet to close.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn