On March 21, the China Will Registration Center released the 2023 "China Will Registration Center White Paper." The white paper shows that as of December 31, 2023, the China Will Registration Center had provided will consultations to 478,850 person-times and had registered and safekept 311,868 wills, reflecting a growing demand among the public for making wills.

　　Number of wills by young and middle-aged people surges, up 24-fold in ten years

　　Comparing the average age of testators recorded over the years, the white paper found that the average age of those making wills has continued to decline. According to data published in this year's white paper, the average age of testators has fallen from 77.43 years as recorded in 2018 to 67.82 years as recorded in 2023, showing a very clear trend toward younger testators.

　　At the same time, the number of young and middle-aged people making wills at the China Will Registration Center is also increasing, and wills are being accepted by more and more young people.

　　In 2017, the number of young and middle-aged people who consulted the China Will Registration Center about wills was 931, while by 2023 the number of consultations had reached 17,101, an increase of 17.3 times. Similarly, in 2017 the number of young and middle-aged people who deposited wills with the China Will Registration Center was 279, and in 2023 this number reached 7,124, an increase of 24.5 times over seven years.

　　In addition, from 2017 to 2023, the number of "post-80s" people making wills at the China Will Registration Center increased 21.5-fold, and the number of "post-90s" people making wills increased 11.2-fold. Likewise, the number of "post-00s" people making wills is also rising steadily. According to white paper statistics, a total of 167 "post-00s" people made wills at the China Will Registration Center in 2023, a growth rate of 24.62% compared with 2020.

　　Average assets per testator household reach 7.44 million yuan; property ownership draws the most attention from older people

　　Benefiting from the continued deepening of reform and opening up and economic development, Chinese households have continued to accumulate wealth over the past decades. Against this backdrop, wills, as a tool for distributing family property, are receiving increasing attention.

　　White paper data shows that over the past three years, the average assets per will-maker household have grown markedly, rising from 6.265 million yuan in 2021 to 7.441 million yuan in 2023, a rate of increase as high as 18.8%.

　　At the same time, the types of property in wills are showing a trend toward diversification. According to white paper data, the main types of property of the middle-aged and older group aged 60 and above include: real estate, bank deposits, company equity, securities and funds, wealth management contracts, and valuable collectibles. Among these, real estate is the main type of property, accounting for as much as 99.78% in 2023, followed by bank deposits at 15.82%.

　　Among young and middle-aged people, the main types of property are: real estate, bank deposits, company equity, wealth management contracts, securities and funds, insurance policies, vehicles, and so on. According to 2023 statistics, real estate accounts for 97.14% of the types of property registered in wills by young and middle-aged people, followed again by bank deposits at 35.54%.

　　Number of unmarried people making wills continues to rise; women account for nearly 70%

　　At present, influenced by the social environment and cultural factors, more and more people's views on marriage are changing. Marriage is no longer a "necessity" in life, and the number of unmarried and non-marrying people is gradually increasing.

　　According to white paper statistics, since 2017, the number of unmarried and non-marrying people registering and depositing wills with the China Will Registration Center each year has shown a marked growth trend. As of December 31, 2023, a total of 2,077 unmarried and non-marrying people had registered and deposited wills with the China Will Registration Center. Among them, women had the highest proportion of making wills, reaching 69.86%, while men accounted for only 30.14%.

　　Virtual property can be included in wills

　　With the deep popularization and development of the Internet, virtual property has gradually become an indispensable part of people's lives. When making wills, including virtual property and distributing it reasonably has become the choice of more and more people.

　　According to white paper statistics, from 2017 to 2023, the China Will Registration Center received a total of 488 wills involving virtual property. Among them, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong had the largest numbers, reaching 162, 147, and 129 respectively, accounting for more than 89% of the total.

　　WeChat accounts, QQ, Alipay, game accounts, and various virtual currencies have become important assets for people making wills. How to protect virtual property has become an issue of extremely high concern.

　　Number of estate donations increases; 80% of recipients are public welfare organizations

　　The white paper also compiled statistics on data related to estate donations. Since 2021, the China Will Registration Center has launched an estate donation service. As of December 31, 2023, a total of 381 people had decided in their wills to donate property to charity. Among all recipients, public welfare organizations accounted for more than 80%, and other recipients also included Party organizations, enterprises and public institutions, and grassroots organizations.

　　Number of WeChat wills reaches 97,000

　　Since the launch of the WeChat will-making service in March 2020, as of December 31, 2023, the China Will Registration Center had received a total of 97,347 WeChat wills. At the peak, the "Happiness Message Mini Program" received thousands of WeChat wills in a single day.

　　An analysis of the content of WeChat wills found that 34.89% of citizens were expressing their love to their partners or spouses; 36.15% were writing blessings and prayers for their partners and families in their wills; and another 18.41% wrote down their life experiences and expectations for the future. In addition, 71.13% of citizens attached photos of themselves with their partners and families to their WeChat wills.

　　According to statistics, those making "WeChat wills" are mostly young people. Among them, those under 20 accounted for 26.06%, those aged 20 to 29 accounted for 35.04%, and those aged 30 to 39 accounted for 22.44%.

　　Looking at the recipients of WeChat wills, 38.51% were written to partners, the highest proportion. Next were those written to children and parents, accounting for 25.81% and 21.52% respectively. Through the in-depth analysis in the white paper, most young people under 20 left messages to their parents through WeChat wills, expressing gratitude for their parents' upbringing. Most of the 20-to-29 group left messages to their partners, expressing that they cherish their love for each other. Another 4.14% of people in WeChat wills wrote messages to their "future selves," mostly expressing the hope that through hard work, their future selves will become better.