Seniors offered free, notarized wills

Notary offices in Shanghai will draft and notarize a last will and testament for residents over 80 years old for free from October 8 to October 31 in an effort to curb the growing problem of inheritance disputes, local media reported Thursday.

The program aims to help the city's growing population of senior citizens understand the importance of leaving behind a notarized will, said Yuan Jingen, vice president of the Shanghai Notary Association. "As home prices continue to rise, we have seen a rising number of inheritance disputes over real estate," Yuan told the Global Times. "Some cases are difficult to handle because the deceased person has not left a will for his or her surviving relatives."

The association has put more effort into publicizing the issue as the city's elderly population has grown. The number of Shanghai residents over the age of 80 surpassed 580,000 in 2010, according to the latest national census.

A notarized, written will takes precedence in court over wills that haven't been notarized, Yuan said.

This is important in cases where the deceased has left multiple wills, which is not uncommon in Shanghai.

"A notarized will is a legal document that can better protect the spouse of the deceased," Yuan said. "It can also ensure that the assets of the deceased end up distributed exactly as they intended."

The service will be available at 21 notary offices across the city, the Shanghai Evening Post reported. It is the first time the notary office has offered to draft and notarize wills for free.

Currently, notary offices charge 200 yuan ($32.67) for an official to draft the will, and 400 yuan to notarize the document. The office also charges to make copies of the will for other parties, Yuan said.

Eligible seniors ought to make appointments before going to the notary offices because they don't have enough space to accommodate walk-ins, according to a press release from the Shanghai Notary Association.

The notary offices will also offer residents over 60 years old a free service to store digital copies of their wills in a database that can be searched by next of kin or other interested parties.

The database, which the association launched in 2007, contains more than 80,000 wills.