Intestacy and Inequality Under China's Revised Succession Law.

This article examines how China’s 2020 Revised Succession Law, particularly its Intestacy Rules, influences wealth inequality by prioritizing testamentary freedom and intrafamilial wealth preservation over redistribution. Given China’s lack of estate or gift taxes and the prevalence of intestate succession due to limited estate planning, these rules significantly shape intergenerational wealth transmission but mainly redistribute wealth within family units rather than across socioeconomic strata. The article highlights that while the law incorporates protections for needy and caregiving successors, its overall design reinforces existing inequalities by favoring close kin and preserving family wealth. It proposes modest reforms—such as broadening statutory successors to include non-kin caregivers, empowering judicial discretion to adjust shares for redistribution, and enhancing protections for indigent heirs—that align with Chinese cultural norms and could incrementally address inequality in the absence of estate taxation.