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In the complex field of legal affairs, inheritance disputes often bring a heavy burden to the parties. Recently, the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court concluded a legal succession dispute case, but due to the professionalism and diligence of JAVY law firm lawyers Cheng Zhongsheng, Yan Chengxue lawyers, deduced a highly efficient conflict resolution, to protect the rights and interests of the parties to a good story. The two lawyers with comprehensive legal solutions, leading to rapid mediation, only 2 months to let the lawsuit could have lasted a year in advance to a successful conclusion.

01Background of the case

The cause of the case began with the death of Ma Mou. 4 March 2022, Ma Mou died of illness, leaving many things behind, including the registration in his name of the Beijing bus belongs to the focus of family disputes. As early as 17 October 2024, Ma's wife Feng, Ma's son Xiao Ma and Ma's daughter had signed a written agreement that the ownership of the vehicle in question belonged to Xiao Ma. However, as the vehicle was registered in Ma's name, it became an inheritance upon Ma's passing away. According to Article 1123 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, when inheritance begins, it shall be handled in accordance with legal succession; if there is a will, it shall be handled in accordance with testamentary succession or bequest; if there is a bequest and support agreement, it shall be handled in accordance with the agreement. Because Ma did not leave a will, so the vehicle should go through the legal succession process.

To confirm the ownership of the vehicle to the name of Ma, there are usually two ways to notarise the inheritance and court decision to confirm the right. According to the Rules of Notarial Procedure, all legal heirs are required to participate in the notarisation process. However, Ma's parents have died in the 1960s, when the population of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region household registration system is not yet sound, the local public security household registration section can not provide any information on the deceased elderly, resulting in the inability to issue death certificates, which in turn makes the heir status is not known, the inheritance notarisation stalled. This obstacle puts the horse in a difficult situation, the vehicle not only can not be used normally, but also faces the risk of compulsory scrapping.

According to the ‘motor vehicle mandatory scrapping standards regulations’ Article 4, in the inspection expiry of three consecutive motor vehicle inspection cycle after the expiry of the motor vehicle inspection mark, should be mandatory scrapping. If the heir has not been dealt with vehicle transfer, subject to vehicle management and use, the vehicle will not be able to normal annual inspection, once the above conditions are met, the vehicle will face mandatory scrapping, the licence plate number will be scrapped. In Beijing, the ‘Beijing licence plate’ indicator is a scarce resource, which undoubtedly puts Ma in an inheritance impasse. In the end, he decided to seek the help of a professional lawyer.

02 professional lawyers to help break the situation

After many consultations with lawyers from different law firms, Xiao Ma finally chose the lawyers Cheng Zhongsheng and Yan Chengxue as his attorneys. These two lawyers received the case, the first time on the case for a comprehensive and in-depth analysis. The two lawyers know that the road to litigation is often long and winding, according to the Chaoyang Court case normal scheduling time, this case may take a year to conclude. For the horse, time is money, but also the vehicle and licence plate number of the ‘lifesaving straw’, every day of delay, the vehicle mandatory scrapping and licence plate number of the risk of nullification will increase one point.

The two lawyers decided to break away from the norm, not to take the pure litigation path, but to adopt a comprehensive legal solution, with mediation as a priority strategy. The two lawyers understand that mediation not only saves time, but also maximises the chance of repairing the family relationship between the parties and avoiding intensifying family conflicts. However, mediation is not an easy task, and needs to accurately grasp the interests and psychological bottom line of each party.

The two lawyers first studied in detail the information provided by Xiao Ma, including the key written agreement. From a legal professional point of view, based on the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China on the validity of the contract, the validity of the agreement in-depth argumentation, confirmed that the agreement in the legal level of the rights and interests of the horse has a strong support. After fully understand the facts and legal basis of the case, the two lawyers began to communicate with the defendant Ma's wife Feng Mou and Ma's daughter.

Communication, the two lawyers patiently listen to the defendant's ideas and concerns, stand in the defendant's point of view to analyse the problem, trying to find a balance between the interests of both sides. The two lawyers use professional legal knowledge, in plain language to explain the law to the defendant, according to the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the contract and inheritance of the relevant provisions of the section, so that the defendant understands the legal effect of the written agreement. At the same time, they also emphasised the importance of family love, reminding the defendant that if he went to court because of this dispute, it would not only consume a lot of time and energy, but also may make the originally close family relationship become cold.

At the same time in the process of communication, the two lawyers found that the defendant on the ownership of the vehicle, not for the purpose of property, but on some details and legal provisions of misunderstanding. So, for the defendant's questions, the two lawyers based on specific legal provisions for detailed answers and explanations. Through communication again and again, both sides are willing to sit down and negotiate to solve the problem.

In response to the situation, the two lawyers quickly formulated a mediation programme, organised a face-to-face mediation meeting between the two parties. In the meeting, the two lawyers in a neutral, impartial attitude, guiding the two sides around the vehicle belongs to the discussion. The two lawyers fully respect the opinions of both sides, and encourage both sides to express their own demands and ideas. At the same time, also according to the legal provisions and the actual situation, put forward a reasonable solution, and strive to make both sides can be satisfied.

In the process of mediation, some differences and disputes will inevitably arise. Whenever this happens, the two lawyers will use their professional knowledge and rich experience to mediate and coordinate. By citing specific legal provisions of the facts, reasoning, so that both sides understand their respective rights and obligations, to guide both sides to make reasonable concessions. After negotiation and mediation, both parties finally reached an agreement.

Eventually, under the auspices of the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court, the two parties voluntarily reached a mediation agreement: registered in the name of the Beijing bus by the plaintiff Ma Ma inheritance of all the two parties on this case, no other disputes. This mediation results in a small horse hanging heart finally fell to the ground. From the case to get the mediation, only 2 months of time, which is expected to be a year than the litigation time is greatly reduced.

After getting the mediation, the horse is excited. He knew that without the professional help and unremitting efforts of the two lawyers, it would be difficult for him to solve the dispute in such a short time, and even more so, he could not avoid the crisis of compulsory scrapping of the vehicle and cancellation of the licence plate number. In order to express their gratitude, Ma specially made a banner, sent to JIA LAWYER law firm. The banner is embroidered with the words ‘quality service, for the people to solve the problem’, which is the most sincere thanks to the two lawyers.

03Lawyers' Testimonials

Lawyer Cheng Zhongsheng and Lawyer Yan Chengxue lamented that they felt very gratified to be able to help Xiao Ma resolve the dispute. Lawyer Cheng Zhongsheng said: ‘As lawyers, our duty is to safeguard the legal rights and interests of our clients. In this case, the pony was facing a huge risk of loss, and we had to find a way to solve the problem as soon as possible. Mediation is a good way to save time and repair family relationships. Although the process was difficult, it was worth all the effort to see the final mediation result.’ Lawyer Yan Chengxue also said, ‘The law is not just cold provisions, but also a tool to solve problems and maintain fairness and justice. In the process of dealing with cases, we not only need to use professional knowledge, but also focus on the emotional needs of the parties. Only in this way can we truly satisfy the parties and let the law play its due role.’

The successful mediation of this case not only reflects the professionalism and dedication of the two lawyers, but also provides valuable lessons for other legal practitioners. In dealing with legal disputes, can not be limited to the traditional litigation, but should be based on the specific circumstances of the case, the flexible use of a variety of legal means, to provide the parties with the best quality and most efficient legal services.

At the same time, this case has also sounded an alarm to the general public. When dealing with issues such as inheritance, it is important to plan ahead and sign legal and effective agreements to avoid unnecessary disputes. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter disputes, do not panic, but seek the help of a legal professional in a timely manner and solve the problem through legal means.

In the future work, JIA LAWYER will continue to uphold a professional, responsible attitude, for more parties to solve legal problems, with practical action interpretation of the mission and responsibility of lawyers, to build a harmonious society to contribute their strength.