Jointly initiated by China Aging Development Foundation and Beijing Sunny Senior Health Foundation, the program named Happy Message opened its first registration center in Beijing.

 

　　A woman surnamed Zhang came to the center to make her registration when she got the news.

 

　　"I come here to register my will. I want to leave my estate to my son. I think it's good that my property can be distributed in accordance with my wishes."

 

　　Actually many elderly have the same concerns. Statistics from the Supreme People's Court of Beijing shows that more than 73 percent of property inheritance disputes are caused by the absence of a will. And more than 60 percent of the wills submitted to the court are ruled invalid. Therefore, property inheritance has become the harmony saboteur to many families.

 

　　Yan Qingchun, a senior officer of China Aging Development Foundation, says the will registration program aims to solve these problems.

 

　　"This program can promote harmony in each family and society at large. So it can help to avoid property inheritance disputes between family members after the elderly pass away. The property will be distributed according to the will, so there would be less problems and fights."

 

　　This program was given a big welcome. More than 200 people rushed to the center to make appointments the first morning it opened. The center served more than 400 in the next working day.

 

　　Elders can use the service at the center after registration with their ID cards. The center will keep an original copy of their wills. To ensure authenticity of wills, the program will scan, file and seal related documents as well as adopt fingerprint scanning, plus a lawyer as a witness if necessary.

 

　　Lawyer Chen Xu, the legal adviser to the program, says this fills in a blank in the law concerning wills in China.

 

　　"A lot of people came to me in the past, asking where they can put their will and who takes care of it. In foreign countries, it's lawyer who keeps the will. But in China, we really lack such an organization and a relevant mechanism. I think the establishment of this registration center will help to solve the problems in will storage and execution. So it has great significance."

 

　　The program provides paper tailor-made for writing important documents such as wills, which is mothproof and moisture-resistant and can be stored for a long period. Elders can change or update their will after registration.

 

　　Chen Kai, director general of Beijing Sunny Senior Health Foundation, says they will hold more activities to promote this program in order to reach more people.

 

　　"After we standardize the registration process following a period of trial operation, we will set up more registration centers in Beijing and all over the country, so that the residents can enjoy this service conveniently. Also we will hold some promotional activities in the communities with our legal counsels."

 

　　Yan Chunqing, the senior officer of China Aging Development Foundation, points out that the program can help to provide more services to the elderly.

 

　　"The program provides psychological counseling and legal guidance for those who have not made a will or those not familiar with the will-making process. All these services are free."

 

　　For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.