Who Are the Legal Heirs in China?

Legal heirs are a statutory list — a favourite nephew is not an heir unless the will or a dependant-share rule says so.

Statutory heirs are defined by the Civil Code. First order: spouse, children (including legitimate, illegitimate and adopted in defined ways), and parents. A surviving spouse’s own property is not the estate. People who were dependants of the deceased, or who supported them, may receive a share even if not in the class. Step-children and in-laws are fact-specific. This page is the list. The intestate related guide is /who-inherits-without-a-will-china.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

Is there a spouse?

Marriage not yet dissolved.

Spouse

Children and parents alive?

First-order class.

First

Does this issue require separate analysis?

Second-order.

Second

Dependant or carer overlay?

Share adjustment.

Adjust

Working rule: Statutory heirs are defined by the Civil Code. First order: spouse, children (including legitimate, illegitimate and adopted in defined ways), and parents.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal

Ask the operating question

Why it changes the route

Girlfriend as widow

No marriage registration.

Not a spouse.

Disinherited by family meeting

Village vote.

Does not remove a statutory heir.

Broader Wills, Succession & Inheritance analysis needed

Same URL twice.

Additional facts can change the Wills, Succession & Inheritance route, evidence and next step.

Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Marriage and birth certificatesWho is in the class.

02Adoption papersIf claimed.

03Support/dependant factsIf seeking an extra share.

Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Do step-children inherit?

If legally adopted, generally as children. Mere household living is not automatic.

Can a will cut out a child?

Wills can dispose of property, but reserved-share / dependant protections can still bite. Fact-specific.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Civil Code (NPC laws database)

Ministry of Justice / notary

Gov.cn

National laws database (NPC)