More young Chinese positive about writing wills

A young man surnamed Deng, born in 2000, was concerned about the eventual fate of his WeChat and QQ accounts until he listed the digital assets in his will, choosing to leave them to his younger brother.

Deng, who chose not to give his full name, visited the China Will Registration Center branch in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, to make a will.

"I want to do something meaningful when I'm young," Deng said. As he currently has no houses or cars, he said the only things he can leave for his brother are his digital assets.

Like Deng, an increasing number of young Chinese people are beginning to write their wills.

After analyzing 220,000 copies of wills, the China Will Registration Center, a public welfare project, found that the average age of individuals who had made a will decreased from 77.43 to 68.59 from 2013 to 2021. By 2021, 1,204 adults born after 1990 had made a will. People born after 2000 have even joined in on this trend.

Most wills are made to distribute physical property, such as real estate and bank deposits, to avoid unnecessary family disputes. However, unlike the wills of older generations, young people's wills focus more on digital assets, like Alipay, WeChat and gaming accounts.

"The younger generations in China have become more open-minded, and their wills are no longer associated with death, but are more about conveying love to family members and friends they care about," said Li Xinyue, director of the first service branch of the China Will Registration Center in south China's Guangdong Province.

"I finally got a copy of my will. It's so cool," Luo Wenya, who was born after 1990, wrote on one of her social media accounts after she successfully made a will at the registration center.

"I chose to make a will because I want my son to know that I love him very much, even if I pass away unexpectedly one day," said Luo, who counseled her son to be independent, brave and confident in a video attached to her will.

Li said she had been most impressed by a young male nurse, who chose to make a will to leave all his property to his mother after seeing patients die in hospital.

"It would be a great regret if I were to leave this world unexpectedly one day without leaving any words for my loved ones," the nurse said.

"Making a will is not the end, but a new beginning of life. A will can help you reflect on the past and better embark on a new journey," Li said. ■