Legacy is not all when people go draw up a final will in China.
There's a notable change in the way people are drafting such wills. In addition to legal paper testaments, more people have started to go on the internet to write down words that they would say to their relatives or family members in the future. The China Will Registration Center, a public welfare organization will help people store the wills and mail them out in the time specified by testators.
People can make their emotion will after registration via China Will Registration Center's digital will app. /Screenshot
People can make their emotion will after registration via China Will Registration Center's digital will app. /Screenshot
To create such digital wills, testators have to register with their real name, gender and identity document. Then they can write down a maximum of 3,000 words and upload six digital files, including audio, video and photos. Once completed, the system will prompt the testator to choose a form of delivery and a mailing date, which could be after death or any other specified time.
According to the center, the online will is not allowed to contain information concerning assets or house property because law of the country has not yet included it in the new type of will. All wills are verified by the center.
Making a will is no longer seen as taboo, as "the emotion testament" is being more widely accepted. More importantly, these statements help people unbosom themselves, making of the will a more touching and warming gesture that adds to one's legacy.
"Thanks for your company, dear. We have come through difficulties and hardships together. [I] did not bring admiring happiness to you but have felt happy being with you every day. Once I pass away, I wish you won't complain about what I leave in haste. I hope that you can take care of our children. I gift all to our children by will and wish they can be all kind and happy, and be of one heart." Beijing News cited a user as saying in a digital will.
Some people feel relieved because the will helps them overcome shyness and are able to express what they otherwise couldn't face to face. A user writes "Thank you. Mom, I have owed too much to both of you. I have grown up and had my own family. You worry that I'm too tired to have time for the children so you come and help me. Dad, you are not talkative but I can feel the love from you which is more than the love from anyone else. No words can express my gratitude to you. Love you all for the good.”
"The emotion will" is also taken as a mentally healing therapy by some netizens. Everyone after registration can open his heart without their name revealed to the public and every word comes out with real feelings. "Life is always variable. I feel more relieved after making the will and my mind is at rest. I am not scared by future or death," another testator said.
China Will Registration Center publishes a white paper on March 28. /China Will Registration Center
China Will Registration Center publishes a white paper on March 28. /China Will Registration Center
As new styles of wills have emerged, like digital wills and the like, an increasing number of people in China would like to draw up their will with the help of a professional consultation service. The China Will Registration Center released a white paper in March, showing a total of 165,000 wills were registered at the center and 781 took effect by the end of 2019. The average testator age has gone from 77.43 years old in 2013 to 71.26 in 2018, while the number of people born in the 1990s increased to 344 in 2019 from 55 in 2017, the paper said.