'I trust my friend': Chinese teen's decision to leave ₹25 crore fortune to childhood friend goes viral

A 19-year-old student from Shanghai has triggered a debate on social media after reportedly making a notarised will that leaves his entire estate—worth 20 million yuan (approximately ₹25 crore)—to his childhood friend instead of his family.

The teenager, identified only by his surname, Li, said the decision was influenced by his family circumstances and concerns about who would ultimately inherit his assets if something were to happen to him.

According to reports, Li's estate includes a flat and savings worth millions of yuan, all of which he has chosen to leave to a childhood friend he says he trusts.

Teen says parents' remarriages influenced his decision

Li said his parents divorced and later remarried, leaving him feeling emotionally distant from them despite transferring property into his name.

He explained that although they had given him the assets he now owns, they were largely absent during his upbringing.

Li also described himself as an enthusiast of extreme sports, saying he regularly participates in activities that involve significant risk.

Because of that, he decided to make arrangements for his estate in case anything happened to him.

According to Li, he did not want his parents' current spouses—whom he described as strangers—to eventually benefit from inheriting his property.

Instead, he chose to leave his estate to a childhood friend with whom he grew up and whom he said he trusts.

Why he chose his childhood friend as sole beneficiary

Under China's Law of Succession, a person's spouse, children and parents are considered first in line to inherit their property.

According to the report, if Li's parents inherited his estate, their spouses could also gain rights to use or eventually inherit those assets.

However, Chinese law also allows individuals to make a will naming beneficiaries outside the statutory line of succession or to donate their property to the state or a collective.

Li completed the process by visiting the Shanghai office of the China Will Registration Centre, where he notarised his will.

Huang Haibo, manager of the office, said Li's childhood friend must legally accept the inheritance within 60 days. Otherwise, the friend would be considered to have forfeited the right to inherit the estate.

Officials say more young Chinese are writing wills

The China Will Registration Centre, a non-profit public welfare initiative launched by the China Ageing Development Foundation in 2013, said more than 400,000 wills have been registered with the organisation.

According to its latest annual report, the average age of people making wills has fallen from 77 to 67, indicating growing public acceptance of estate planning.

Huang said the organisation has also seen a steady increase in younger people choosing to prepare wills.

"An increasing number of people born in the 1980s, 90s and after 2000 have set up wills with us. Making wills is no longer a taboo, or just for the elderly."

Chen, a notary from Zhejiang province, told Ningbo Evening News that younger people in China often make wills after getting married to safeguard property acquired or inherited before marriage.

Another common situation, Chen said, involves single people without children choosing to decide in advance who should inherit their assets.

Li's decision to leave his entire estate to a childhood friend rather than his family has since generated widespread discussion online, with many debating inheritance, family relationships and the growing trend of young people preparing wills.