遗产债务制度研究

【作者】 杜江涌；

【导师】 陈苇；

【作者基本信息】 西南政法大学 ， 民商法， 2006， 博士

【摘要】 继承法是民法的重要组成部分，既与一国的政治、经济制度有关，又与一国的文化传统、婚姻家庭有密切联系。继承制度关系到公民财产所有权的保护和法的安全价值的体现，因此，继承法在社会生活中有着重要的地位和作用，基于此，各国无不通过立法对其予以规制。“法的关系正像国家的形式一样，既不能从它们本身来理解，也不能从所谓人类精神的一般发展来理解，相反，它们根源于物质的生活关系。”上世纪80年代中期，我国商品经济不发达，特别是个体及私有经济并不活跃，个人资产额也不多，同时受“宜粗不宜细”立法指导思想的影响，1985年颁行的继承法条文过于简单，可操作性不强。随着社会经济的发展，便日益显现出它的不适应性。尤其在遗产债务问题上，无法充分发挥法的规范和导向功能，甚至在一定程度上造成了人们认识的混乱。基于此，笔者拟在前人研究成果的基础上，试就遗产债务制度进行探讨，分析其不足，提出立法建议，既可为继承法的修改与完善提供重要参考，也可以为司法实践提供理论指导，以求对法治国家的建立有所裨益。全文共分为五个部分，约19万字。引言部分该部分主要说明四个方面的问题：一、阐释了本选题的理论意义和实践价值(一)遗产债务制度的确立，有助于保护公民个人财产所有权1、遗产债务制度的内容受到经济基础的制约，确立了继承人及利害关系人对遗产进行支配的根本规则，是一个国家经济基础的法律化，决定了一个社会的基本遗产继承和债务清偿秩序；2、在人欲无穷而物质有限的资源稀缺型社会，遗产债务的基本功能在于规范债的履行，从而达到定纷止争的作用。(二)遗产债务制度的确立，有助于法的安全价值的体现债的关系的畅顺是社会稳定的重要因素。债权人利益保护问题从根本上说是一个社会经济秩序问题。这个问题存在于社会经济生活的各个领域。随着财产继承制度的确立，其在财产继承领域表现尤为突出。一个具有以信用为基础的经济制度的社会，不能依靠曾被接受的债务同死者一起消亡的原则运行。法为保证遗留债务能适当偿付，必须有所约束。(三)遗产债务制度的完善，有助于和谐社会的构建在建设社会主义和谐社会的进程中，我们应当充分认识法律手段在解决人民内部矛盾中的重要作用，妥善处理各方面的利益关系，从而维护社会的安定团结。时至今日，我国的社会经济条件发生了巨大的变化，现行继承制度受其产生的历史条件、经济背景的制约，遗产债务的相关内容没有规定或规定的不明确、不具体，而且日益难堪重负。因此，对现行遗产债务制度加以完善是当务之急。(四)遗产债务制度的完善，有助于民法典内容的科学化遗产债务制度，作为继承法的重要组成部分，其内容的完善与否，关系到继承法及整部民法典的质量。另一方面，继承法，作为市民社会调整家庭关系的基本法之一，其内容的科学与否，关系到法本身的生命力。二、介绍了国内外关于“遗产债务制度”的研究概况，分析了目前该领域在理论和实务研究方面存在的不足近年来，对遗产债务制度的研究方兴未艾，相关的著作和论文也比较多，并在一些基础性问题上取得了较为一致的意见。但从总体来看，主要存在以下三个方面的问题：(一)重视理论问题的探讨，对公众继承习惯的民情调查尚显不足(二)重视实体问题的研究，对遗产债务特殊程序的设计滞后(三)重视对国外制度的移植，对本国原有规定价值的挖掘不够三、从实体制度和程序制度两个层面概括了本文所要解决的问题(一)关于遗产债务实体制度之难点问题1、关于继承的接受和放弃(1)现行无条件的限定继承原则缺乏可操作性(2)忽视概括继承制度存在的价值(3)没有对接受和放弃继承规定明确的期限2、关于遗产和遗产债务的界定(1)遗产范围的定位不能反映现实(2)遗产债务的范围没有明确界定3、关于遗产的处理(1)遗产的分配时间没有规制(2)遗产管理制度规定的非常简单4、关于遗产债务清偿体系(1)未规定遗产债务的清偿时间问题(2)未规定清理遗产债务的公告制度(3)未规定遗产债务的清偿方法(4)多种遗产转移方式并存时对遗产债务的清偿责任分配不合理5、关于遗产之债的保全(1)对于被继承人生前行为，造成被继承人遗产的实际价值不足以清偿其债务而损害债权人利益的情况，我国继承法没有相应的规定加以规制(2)对于被继承人死后继承人危及遗产债权人利益的行为，我国继承法没有相应的规定加以规制(二)关于遗产债务程序制度之难点问题1、关于遗产债权人行使诉权的规定我国现行继承法及诉讼法没有对遗产债权人如何行使诉权作出具体规定。2、关于遗产债务清偿的特殊程序性规定(1)无完善的遗产清算制度(2)无遗产破产制度(3)无遗产债务的清偿顺序制度四、从研究方法的采用、制度的设计等方面阐述了本文的特色(一)就研究方法而言1、实证调查的研究方法为制度设计提供了真实的民情基础2、比较法学的研究方法贯穿始终(二)就制度设计而言1、重新审视概括继承制度存在的价值，并予以条文设计。2、通过对“公民”、“自然人”内涵与外延的分析，对遗产的内涵作了新的界定。从民众对遗产概念的理解、现行法律的规定以及比较法的角度等方面论证了将遗产局限于财产权利的合理性。在立法技术上，建议对遗产范围的规定应采用概括规定与排除式相结合的立法方式。此外，还就归扣制度(包括发生条件、主体、客体、方法、法律责任等方面)进行了设计。3、本文认为，遗产债务是指被继承人生前因其行为所产生的应当由个人负担的债务和遗产应负担的费用。对于现行继承法第14条规定的酌分遗产之债，认为应根据请求权人、权利基础及立法宗旨的不同而区分为无因管理之债和酌分请求之债。4、根据“共益费用”随时清偿、最必要性、先有偿后无偿等原则，本文确立了遗产债务的清偿顺序。5、兼顾实体制度与程序制度对遗产债务的规制，赋予了遗产债权人一套较为完整的救济体系。(1)就实体制度而言：赋予遗产债权人以遗产管理请求权、撤销权和代位权。(2)就程序制度而言：基于遗产债权人的申请可以启动遗产债权保护程序；债权人可以请求法院实施诉前财产保全；同时基于遗产债权人的申请，可以启动遗产清册和遗产破产程序。第一部分遗产债务制度基本理论探讨基于体例安排之考量，本部分仅就遗产范围之界定、遗产债务范围之界定以及遗产债务的清偿顺序等三个问题予以比较研究，并就遗产债务的清偿责任问题进行制度分析。一、遗产范围之界定(一)遗产范围界定的方式遗产是财产继承法律制度中至关重要、不可或缺的一个因素。纵观各国立法例，对于遗产范围的界定有三种方式。其一是列举式；其二是排除式；其三是采用列举式与排除式相结合的方法。(二)遗产的范围关于遗产的范围，大陆法系国家与英美法系国家的法律规定明显不同。大陆法系国家多秉承罗马法上的“总括继承原则”，在继承立法中将被继承人所遗留的各种权利和义务均纳入遗产的范畴，并将其区分为积极财产即财产权利，和消极财产即债务两大类。而英美法系国家由于在遗产继承中实行遗产信托制度，被继承人生前所负债务不属于遗产，被继承人所遗留的财产首先扣除其债务，其余部分才交付继承人，用于遗嘱继承或法定继承，因而遗产只包括财产权利，而不包括债务。我国大陆地区《继承法》以列举的方式明确了属于遗产的个人财产的范围，包括了法律允许公民所有的生产资料和其他合法财产都属于遗产，而将消极财产排斥在外。值得注意的是，2005年修订的《公司法》新增了关于死亡股东的继承人继承股东资格的规定，确立了股权的遗产地位。我国台湾地区的民法采取列举规定遗产的消极范围的做法，即不属于遗产的权利义务，消极范围之外的都属于遗产。我国澳门地区的民法认为，遗产表现为被继承人生前之积极财产，以及其等价交换物。受英美法系的立法传统的影响，我国香港地区遗产只包括财产权利，而不包括债务。此外，我国的澳门、台湾均继受采用了生前特定赠与“归扣”制度。(三)与遗产制度相关的问题探讨1、关于遗体的性质笔者认为，遗体虽然属于民法上的物，但遗体不属于遗产。(1)从属性来看，遗体不具有遗产的财产性特征。(2)从现实生活来看，“尸体之所有在于祭祀”，火化、埋葬，不成立所有权，不应当属于遗产。(3)从各国的立法实践来看，死者生前关于其遗骸处分的合同或遗嘱以及死者的亲属(继承人)对遗体的处分都受到严格限制，实际上否定了遗体的遗产性质。2、关于捐献遗体所得补偿金的性质在笔者看来，死者生前通过遗嘱捐献遗体所得补偿金如果指定了受益人的，则不宜纳入遗产的范畴；反之，可视为遗产。3、关于承包人死亡后继承人继续承包问题笔者认为，在我国物权法的制订中，应把农村土地承包经营权的性质定为用益物权，在农地使用权人死亡后，该农地使用权作为用益物权应允许其继承人继承。二、遗产债务范围之界定从各国立法来看，遗产债务可以分为以下三类：继承开始前产生的债务；继承开始时产生的债务(包括因遗赠、遗产酌给请求权和特留份产生的债务)；继承开始后产生的债务(主要指继承费用。继承费用是指在被继承人死亡后，因料理其后事、处理继承的相关事务而产生的费用，包括丧葬费用、遗产管理费用、死亡宣告费用、公示催告费用、遗产清算费用、遗嘱执行费用、诉讼费用等等)。大陆、港、澳、台地区遗产债务的范围主要包括被继承人生前所欠债务，以及继承开始时和继承开始后产生的费用。对于殡葬费用，香港地区《无遗嘱者遗产条例》明确规定为遗产债务，大陆地区学者认为，殡葬费用应由继承人用其个人财产负责清偿，而不能作为被继承人的债务用其遗产清偿。三、遗产债务的清偿顺序通过各国相关立法的比较可以看出，遗产债务一般按以下顺序清偿：1、继承开始后产生的债务；2、继承开始前产生的债务；3、继承开始时产生的债务。司法实务中，根据《继承法》第33条和《民事诉讼法》第204条的规定来看，大陆地区对遗产债务的清偿顺序为：第一顺序是被继承人生前所欠他人的工资和劳保费用；第二顺序是被继承人生前所欠的国家税款；第三顺序是普通债权；最后为遗赠之债。台湾民法按照“优先债权人——普通债权人——遗产酌给请求权人——受遗赠人”顺序进行。《澳门民法典》规定，遗产之债权人及受遗赠人较继承人之个人债权优先，而遗产债权人之优先权则较受遗赠人优先。遗产之负担须按第1906条所指之顺序支付。香港地区实行的是“间接继承”制度，即继承开始后，遗产并不直接归属于继承人，而是由遗产管理人在清理遗产债务、扣除遗产税、交付遗赠以后，再将剩余财产授予继承人，如果遗产中的消极财产超过积极财产，则应按照破产程序处理。四、遗产债务的清偿责任(一)遗产债务清偿责任的确立被继承人生前，作为享有权利能力和行为能力的独立的民事主体，以其所有的财物或财产权利对债务人履行义务。在债务人死亡后，所遗留的积极财产在性上发生了转化，执行起保证债权人实现其利益的功能。所以，继承开始后，继承人在取得被继承人遗留得财产权利的同时，必须承担被继承人所负担的财产义务。(二)遗产债务清偿责任之立法例根据用以承担责任的财产范围不同来划分，遗产债务的清偿责任可分为有限责任与无限责任。1、遗产债务清偿的无限责任罗马法起初实行继承人的无限责任原则，这与我国古代“父债子还”的习俗相呼应。在当代，遗产债务无限责任的承担有其严格的适用前提。2、遗产债务清偿的有限责任有限责任原则日益发展成为一个普遍适用的原则。对于该问题，本文从遗产债务清偿有限责任的确立、遗产债务清偿有限责任合理性的经济分析、遗产债务清偿有限责任的例外等方面进行了阐释。3、遗产债务清偿中共同继承人间的责任承担世界各国的继承法在共同继承人所负的清偿死者债务的责任问题上，有三种不同的立法例。第一种立法例是分割责任主义。第二种立法例为共同责任主义或连带责任主义。第三种立法例介乎上述两种立法例之间。在遗产分割前，采取共同责任主义或连带责任主义，但在遗产分割后，采取分割责任主义。第二部分被继承人之债权人权益的法律保护该部分主要是对国外直接继承制度和间接继承制度下债权人利益的保护机制和我国继承法对遗产债权人利益之保护制度进行介绍和分析。(一)直接继承之债权人权益的保护直接继承必须要解决两大问题：一是要保证继承人不因继承遗产债务而受到损害；二是要保证遗产债权人的利益不因继承的发生而受到影响。这就要求被继承人的遗产首先用于清偿被继承人的债务，对此，各国尽管采取的措施有所不同，但都把保护遗产债权人的利益放在十分重要的位置。1、法定继承之遗产债务清偿制度在概括继承之下，继承人接受被继承人全部遗产，且不以被继承人的遗产价值为限，对被继承人生前所欠债务负全部清偿责任。在限定继承之下，继承人以继承所得的遗产价值为限清偿被继承人的债务。2、遗嘱继承之遗产债务清偿制度遗嘱继承中遗产债务清偿可能有以下几种情况：其一，遗嘱中已作安排的遗产债务清偿。如果被继承人在遗嘱中不仅分配了遗产归谁所有，而且分配了债务怎样负担，只要遗嘱合法有效，那么遗嘱继承人按遗嘱承担遗产债务的清偿责任。其二，遗嘱中未作安排的遗产债务清偿。如果被继承人在遗嘱中就遗产债务未作任何安排或者未就全部的遗产债务进行安排，并且只有遗嘱继承的情况下，未作安排的遗产债务应由各遗嘱继承人按继承分额的比例负担。其三，遗嘱继承与法定继承并存时，按照继承法的一般原理，遗嘱继承优先于法定继承，后者当然应优先清偿债务。3、无人继承之遗产债务清偿制度无人继承主要包括以下几种情况：一是继承人下落不明，二是所有继承人均已抛弃继承，三是所有继承人均已丧失继承权，四是被继承人死亡时既未用遗嘱方式指定继承人或者受遗赠人，也没有法定继承人，对于第一种情况，遗产的处理一般按以下程序进行：搜寻继承人；遗产管理；交付遗产；对于后三种情况，因为继承人的状况已经确定，所以无需进行寻找继承人的工作，直接进入遗产管理程序，而后向国家交付剩余遗产即可。无人继承的遗产最终一般收归国库，国库只可能就遗产的范围清偿遗产债务，因此无人继承的遗产管理与限定继承的程序相似。4、受遗赠人对遗产债务的清偿(二)间接继承之债权人权益的保护间接继承是英美法系国家采取的继承制度。按照这一制度，继承开始后，遗产不是直接转归继承人，而是作为独立的遗产法人，由遗嘱执行人或者遗产管理人负责管理。在这种制度下，被继承人的债务由遗产法人承担，遗产管理人在缴纳税款、清偿债务后，依照法律规定或遗嘱的指定，将剩余遗产分配给继承人。在间接继承制度下，继承人既不对被继承人的债务负责，也不会产生对债权人利益的侵犯问题。(三)我国继承法对遗产债权人权益之保护大陆现行的继承法律规范对遗产债务的制度设计主要有：遗产债务的无条件有限清偿原则；遗产的保管；共同继承人对遗产债务的清偿责任。我国台湾地区对被遗产债务的制度设计主要有：遗产债务的概括继承无限清偿、有条件有限清偿原则；遗产管理；共同继承人对遗产债务的清偿责任；无人继承时的遗产债务清偿。我国澳门地区对被遗产债务的制度设计主要有：遗产之接受；遗产之管理；共同继承人清偿遗产债务的责任；无人继承时的遗产债务清偿。我国香港地区对被遗产债务的制度设计主要有：偿债的一般原则；遗产管理人制度。第三部分我国遗产债务制度缺憾之审视与解读笔者在前人研究成果基础之上，结合自己的调查与思考，对现行《继承法》中遗产债务制度方面存在的缺憾及其产生原因予以阐析。一、我国遗产债务制度的缺陷我国遗产债务制度的缺陷主要表现在以下几个方面：(一)相关实体制度设计的不完备为侵犯遗产债权人利益埋下伏笔1、无条件的限定继承原则弊端凸现2、忽视概括继承制度存在的价值3、没有对接受和放弃继承规定明确的期限4、遗产范围的定位不能反映现实5、遗产债务的范围没有明确界定6、遗产的处理体系不完善(遗产的分配时间没有规制；遗产管理制度规定的非常简单)7、遗产债务清偿体系不完善(未规定遗产债务的清偿时间问题；未规定清理遗产债务的公告制度；未规定遗产债务的清偿方法；多种遗产转移方式并存时对遗产债务的清偿责任分配不合理)8、在现行法律制度之下，如果被继承人生前或继承人的行为已经或有可能损害债权人的利益，遗产债权人缺乏有效的救济手段(二)相关程序制度设计的缺位使遗产债权人失去行使权利的条件1、没有对遗产债权人如何行使诉权作出具体规定2、没有完善的遗产清算制度3、没有遗产破产制度4、没有规定遗产债务的清偿顺序二、我国遗产债务制度缺憾之原因解读(一)当时社会生产力水平的制约(二)立法指导思想的影响(三)继承法理论研究的不足第四部分反思与重塑：我国遗产债务制度的完善在该部分，首先阐释了遗产债务制度的发展趋势。随着科技发展带动下生产力的极大提高和经济组织样式的极大丰富，以及更为宽容的社会学观念和“社会本位”相对于“个人本位”的提升，现代法对遗产债权的保护呈现出以下的发展态势：私法自治理念的贯彻；遗产债务当事人利益保护制度设计的趋同化；遗产破产制度的引入对遗产债务制度的丰富。就我国遗产债务实体制度的完善而言，本文提出了如下思考：一、关于继承的接受与放弃(一)继承人自由选择权的行使为了保护各当事人的合法权益，继承关系必须在较短的时间内确定下来，不允许长时间悬而不决。基于此，笔者同意张玉敏教授的观点，认为，放弃继承、接受继承，应当规定在一定的时间内以明示方式予以表示。(二)规定概括继承制度实行概括继承制度，主要考虑到其在我国存在的可行性：概括继承是我国的立法传统；我国不具备实行绝对的限定继承的条件。笔者认为，可用以下条文规定概括继承制度：继承人向其他继承人或利害关系人作出愿意概括接受继承的意思表示后，即须无限承受被继承人财产上的权利义务。下列情况视为继承人概括接受继承：(一)经过表示放弃继承的期限后继承人未作任何意思表示的；(二)继承人虽已作出限定接受继承或者放弃继承的意思表示，但隐匿遗产的全部或者一部，或者私自消费遗产，或者故意对遗产清册作不实记载。(三)确立有条件的限定继承制度为了公平合理地保护遗产债权人的利益，我国继承法应改无条件的限定继承制度为有条件的限定继承制度。对于此，本文从设立的条件、期限、主管机关等方面进行了制度设计。二、关于遗产的界定通过对“公民”、“自然人”内涵与外延的分析，对遗产的内涵作了新的界定：遗产是自然人死亡时遗留的个人合法财产。从民众对遗产概念的理解、现行法律的规定以及比较法的角度等方面论证了将遗产局限于财产权利的合理性。在立法技术上，建议对遗产范围的规定应采用概括规定与排除式相结合的立法方式，即一方面从正面规定“遗产由被继承人死亡时遗留的个人合法财产及财产权利构成”，另一方面，同时规定“与被继承人紧密联系不可分割的权利不能构成遗产”。此外，还就归扣制度(包括发生条件、主体、客体、方法、法律责任等方面)进行了设计。三、关于遗产的管理遗产管理人制度便于实现遗产管理的连贯性。各国法对遗产管理人的范围均规定得比较宽泛，除无行为能力人、受破产宣告未复权者、被剥夺公权尚未复权者外，继承人和第三人均可担任遗产管理人。从我国实际情况出发，遗嘱执行人、继承人、被继承人生前所在地的居民委员会或村民委员会均可以充当遗产管理人，并赋予其相应的职责。四、关于遗产债务清偿体系(一)遗产债务的范围笔者认为，遗产债务是指被继承人生前因其行为所产生的应当由个人负担的债务和遗产应负担的费用。具体来看，包括以下几个方面：1、被继承人所遗留的债务(包括合同之债，侵权、不当得利、无因管理之债，遗赠之债，因违法犯罪行为所受之罚款、罚金，因经营所欠国家税款，被继承人生前因其他行为引起的债务)；2、遗产应负担的费用(包括继承费用、酌给遗产之债和特留份之债)。(二)遗产债务清偿责任在借鉴澳门立法的基础上，笔者就共同继承人清偿遗产债务时的责任提出以下构想：遗产分割前，共同继承人应发出公示催告程序，催告债权人于法定期间内申报债权。该法定期间以6个月为妥，自公告期满后起算。债权人在法定期间内或期限虽满但遗产尚未分割前申报了债权，各共同继承人应承担连带清偿责任。任何继承人不得以超出应继份比例为由拒绝清偿。继承人清偿债务超过自己应继份比例的，对超过的部分可按其他继承人应继份比例向其他继承人追偿。遗产分割后，各继承人对遗产债务应按各自比例承担按份责任。对超过应继份比例的遗产债务，各继承人负连带清偿之义务。如果个体继承人在未对遗产债权人进行公示催告之前分割了遗产，其分割无效。各继承人仍对债权人承担连带责任。在此无效分割中，有限继承人如果有隐匿遗产或拒不返还遗产之行为的，经债权人申请，负责有限继承申请登记的机关可以撤销该登记，该继承人即不再受有限继承的保护，应对债权人承担无限清偿责任。(三)遗产债务的清偿时间继承开始后，继承人或遗产管理人在清点完遗产之后，应当及时通知债权人申报债权，以便于继承人清偿债务。对于已到期的债务，继承人应当及时清偿，对于未到期的债务，继承人经债权人同意后可提前清偿，也可以在分割遗产时保留与债务数额相等的遗产数额，或分配给某一继承人负责清偿。(四)遗产债务的清偿方法遗产债务清偿可以统一清偿为原则，分别清偿为例外。五、关于遗产债权人的权利赋予遗产债权人以遗产管理请求权，把保护权利的武器交给权利人自己，由权利人根据具体情况决定是否采取某种法律措施保护自己的合法权益；对于被继承人或继承人的危及债权人债权的财产行为，赋予债权人以撤销权；在遗产为第三人占有或第三人对被继承人负有债务时，赋予债权人以代位权。就我国遗产债务程序制度的完善而言，本文提出了如下思考：一、遗产债权人行使诉权制度1、利害关系人基于下列原因可以提起遗产债务清偿程序：(1)继承人的申请；(2)遗产债权人的申请；(3)遗产管理人的申请；(4)利害关系人请求遗产分离而启动；(5)部分遗产债权人以继承人为被告，要求清偿债务，人民法院受理后，发现尚有其他遗产债务未予清偿，由人民法院通知遗产债权人参加诉讼，启动遗产清偿程序。2、债务人死亡案件牵涉到继承人、受遗赠人、继承参与人和他们相互之间以及他们与原告(债权人)、集体组织、其他公民之间所发生的析产、遗产管理、清偿债务、继承、遗赠等权利义务关系。具体诉讼中适格的被告是谁，应具体情况具体分析。3、债权人为保证将来生效判决得以执行，顺利实现其债权，可以请求法院实施诉前财产保全。二、遗产清册制度要确认遗产之状况并使之保持独立之目的，笔者认为完全可以借鉴大多数大陆国家的做法——设立遗产清册制度，并从清理人的选任、清理人的职责、遗产清册制作的期限、遗产清册的内容、遗产清册公告制度、遗产清册的异议与补正等方面进行设计。三、遗产破产还债程序主要从设立遗产破产还债程序的必要性；设立遗产破产还债程序的法理学基础；设立遗产破产还债程序的可行性；遗产破产的制度设计(遗产破产的主体、原因、申请主体、目的、破产财产的范围、破产债权的范围、遗产破产的受理、清偿行为的无效)；继承人、遗产管理人申请破产之补救等方面进行了论证。四、关于遗产债务的清偿顺序当一笔财产上有多项债权同时存在时，哪一项应优先受偿，哪一项应次之，这对保障债权人的利益是相当重要的。在笔者看来，确定遗产债务清偿顺序的原则为：“共益费用”随时清偿原则；最必要性原则；先有偿后无偿原则。基于此理念，遗产债务的清偿顺序为：第一顺序：共益费用；第二顺序：确为维持生存所需要的特留份、酌给遗产；第三顺序：遗赠扶养协议之债：第四顺序：劳动债权；第五顺序：死者生前所欠的第三、第四顺序以外的债务；第六顺序：遗赠。更多还原

【Abstract】 Succession law plays an important role in the whole system of civil law. It hasestablished close relationship with political, economic institutions of one country andcultural tradition, marriage and family of that country. The system of succession lawcomes down to the protection of private property and embodiment of safe value of law.Therefore, its role of succession law in society is also very important. As aconsequence, law in every country has regulated succession."Relationship of law like the form of country, it can not be understood on basisof its nature, meanwhile, on basis of general development of human spirit. On thecontrary, it originates in the material life." In the middle period of 1980’s, in China,commodity economy was not developed; individual and private economy especiallywas not active. The amount of private asset was not large also. The ideology of "wideis better than detailed" was the prevailing legislative guiding ideology in that time.Hence, the Succession Law 1985 only had several sections that not with enoughmaneuverability. With the development of society and economy, many defects in theSuccession Law 1985 have emerged gradually. In particular, the rules on estate debtcould not make the most of the functions of regulation and guidance of law. To someextent, it had even led to mess of people’s understanding about law. As a consequence,this paper tries to analyze the system of estate debt, find out its defects and bringforward some legislative suggestions. By this way, the paper will make valuablecontributions for establishing a country rule by law through providing not only someimportant reference for the amendment and perfection of the Succession Law 1985,but also theoretical guidance for judicial practice.There are five parts in this paper about 190,000 words.IntroductionThis part includes mainly four aspects as following:I Expounding the theoretical meaning and practical value of this selection(ⅰ) The establishing of the system of estate debt is beneficial to the protection ofcitizens’ individual property rightsA. The contents of the system of estate debt that set up the fundamental rulesused to decide how to allocate between the heirs and interested persons are definedaccording to economic base. These contents legalize the economic base of one nationand determine the basic rules about how to success and pay off debts in one society. B. In a limited resource but unlimited requirements society, the basic function ofestate debt is to regulate the fulfilling obligations and settle disputes.(ⅱ) The establishing of the system of estate debt is beneficial to realize the valueof safety of lawThe smoothing of fulfilling obligations is one important factor for realizingsocial stability. Radically, the protection of the creditors’ interests is one problem ofsocial and economic order. We can find its track in social economic life anywhere.With the establishing of the system of property succession, it plays a more importantrole in this field. In a society based on credits, the rule that the debt eliminatedfollowing the death of debtor is off time. The law must do something in order tosecure the debt could be paid off properly.(ⅲ) The perfection of estate debt is beneficial to the construction of harmonioussociety.In the process of constructing socialist harmonious society, we should realize thefunction of legal means to settle the contradictions among the people and solve theinterest relationship among different groups promptly and properly in order to upholdsocial unity and stability. Until now, with China experiencing a great change in thefield of social economy, many regulations in the present succession law could notadapt to market economy. Therefore, the law must be reformed.(ⅳ) The perfection of estate debt is beneficial to increase the scientificness of theCivil Code.The succession law, as one important part in the whole civil law, the content of itis perfect or not is related to the quality of the Civil Code. On the other hand, as onebasic law regulating the family relationship in civil society, the contents of thesuccession law is scientific or not is related to the vitality of law itself.ⅡThe General Situation of research of the System of Estate Debt home andabroad and the insufficiencies of research on theory and practices in this fieldIn recent years, researches on the system of estate debt are in the ascendant inmany countries. Meanwhile, lots of works and theses had been produced. Thescholars had reached a consensus on some basic problems. However, as a whole, thereare still three problems as following:(ⅰ) Paying more attention on theories but less on customs and traditions(ⅱ) Paying more attention on substantive matters but less on the design of specialprocedure of estate debt (ⅲ) Paying more attention on transplantation of foreign law but less onrediscovering the native legal traditionⅢGeneralizing the problems will be settled in this paper from two levels aboutsubstantive system and procedural system(ⅰ) The cruxes existing in substantive systemA. Acceptance and Disclamation of succession1. The present rule of unconditional entailment lacking of maneuverability2. Ignoring the value of universal succession3. No specific deadline for acceptance and disclamation of successionB. Definition of estate and estate debt1. The position of the scope of estate can not reflect reality.2. Current definition of estate debt unclearC. The partition of estate1. Time of partition of estate ambiguous2. The regulations about administration are too simpleD. System of redemption of estate debts1. No rules about the time of redemption of estate debts;2. No rules about proclamation of clearing up debts;3. No rules about the means of redemption of estate debts;4. It is unreasonable mean to distribute duty of paying off estate debts providedthat there are many ways to transfer estate at the same time.E. Preservation of estate debt1. The inter vivos civil legal acts resulted in the actual value of estate thatinherited by heirs is not equal to the creditors’ rights are not included in the presentsuccession law.2. The civil legal acts rnortis causa done by heirs damaged the interests ofcreditors are not included in the present succession law.(ⅱ) The cruxes in the procedural system of estate debtA. Rules about creditor exercising right of actionThe Succession Law 1985 and the Civil Procedure Law 1991did not regulateconcretely exercising the right of action by creditors.B. Special procedural regulations of redemption1. No perfect system of liquidation of estate2. No estate bankruptcy system 3. No Sequence of paymentⅣThe research means and design of institution embody the characteristics ofthis paper(ⅰ) As concerning research meansA. Authentic investigation provides the true people’s conditions and customs forthe design of institutionB. Comparative study runs through the whole analyzing process(ⅱ) As concerning the design of institutionA. Examine closely the value of universal succession to exist in again andprovide some designsB. Redefining the intention of estate through analyzing the intention anddenotation of "citizen" and "natural person". The rationality of confining the estatewithin property could be proved through three aspects: the understanding of citizenabout the concept of estate, the present regulation and the perspective of comparativelaw. This paper suggests that we should take the legislative mode of combininggeneral regulation and exclusion clause as the mode to define the scope of estate.Finally, this part provides some suggestions about collatio (e.g. condition, subject,object, approach, legal liability).C. In this paper, estate debts refer to the debts should be bore by deceasedpersonally because of his act before death and the fee should be paid by estate. For thesection 14 about the debt of distributing estate as one sees fit regulated in presentsuccession law 1985, this paper suggests that the debt should be divided into twokinds (i.e. negotiorum gestio obligation and obligation claimed as one sees fit) inaccordance with the difference of claimer, the base of rights and legislative purpose.D. This paper suggests that the rule of devisees with obligation for dischargingestate debts should be supplemented.E. This paper confirms the sequence of paying off debts in accordance with theseprinciples for "fee of common interest" that paying off at any time, supremeimportance and compensated debts first and gratuitous debts after.F.This paper provides a integrated relief system for the creditors with taking intoaccount both substantive institution and procedural institution.As concerning the substantive institution: This paper grants the right ofrequesting administration, the right of recalling and the right of subrogation.As concerning the procedural institution: This paper provides that the procedure of protecting credit could be initiated by the claims of the creditors; the creditorscould require the court to initiate the procedure of attachment of property before theinitiation of an action; the court could initiate the procedure of making inventory ofestate and estate bankruptcy.Part OneBasle theory of the institution of estate debtThis part only makes comparative studies on the scope of estate, the scope ofestate debt and the sequence of paying off based on the assignment of stylerequirement. Meanwhile, the obligation of paying off will be discuss.ⅠThe definition of the scope of estate(ⅰ) The way to define the scope of estateThe estate is one most important factor in the system of property succession.There are three ways to define in the world such as the doctrine of enumeration, thedoctrine of exclusion and the doctrine combining the aforesaid two ways.(ⅱ) The scope of estateIt is obviously different between the regulations of civil law system countries andthat of common law system countries. Most of civil law system countries follow the"full inheritance" principle of Roman law. They pocket every kind of right and duty ofdeceased into the scope of estate. Meanwhile, these rights and duties had been dividedinto two kinds that positive property and negative property. But, in the common lawsystem countries, since they established the system of estate trust in the field ofinheritance, the scope of estate does not include the debt of deceased. Therefore, onlythe rights can be included in the scope of estate.In China, the Succession Law 1985 defined the scope of estate and removed thenegative property from the legal scope of estate. It is worthy to be noted that, the newCompany Law 2005 increased the rules about the succession of shareholderqualification and set up the legal position of share as one kind of estate. In Taiwandistrict, the Civil Code here enumerated the scope of negative property. In Macaodistrict, the Civil Code here adopted the contrary mean to define the estate as thepositive property and equivalents. In Hong Kong district, the estate refers to theproperty right except for debt. The Civil Code in Macao and Taiwan districts hadadopted the collatio system.(ⅲ) Discussion about related problems to the system of estateA. The character of the remains of the dead The remains of the dead do not belong to the estate. First, it does not have theproperty character as the estate. Second, the function of it is to be cremated and buried.Finally, the agreement or will about the disposition of the remains and the actionsdepositing the remains taken by the relatives had been limited strictly.B. The character of the indemnity for donation of the remainsThe indemnity should be given to the appointed beneficiary if the will made thisrequirement. It should not be regarded as the estate.C. The renewal of contract of land after the contractor deadThe jus rerem should define the contracted management rights of land asusufruct. After the contractor dead, the heirs should be allowed to inherit themanagements rights.ⅢThe sequence of paying offThe general sequence of payment is: debts come into being after successionoccupying the first place; the second one is debts come into being before succession;the third or the last one is debts come into being when succession.In spite of the section 33 of Succession Law 1985 only makes a generalregulation, we can conclude the sequence of payment in Chinese Mainland inaccordance with the section 204 of Civil Procedure Law 1991: the first place is salaryand fee of labor insurance; the second one is tax; the third one is common credits; thelast one is the obligation of demise. In Taiwan district, the sequence of paying off isset as the thread of preferential creditor-common creditor-the obligee of the right ofclaiming for legacy distribution-devisee-heir. In Macao district, the right of creditor toestate has precedence over other rights. In Hong Kong, the institution of "indirectsuccession" is in force.ⅣThe obligation of paying off(ⅰ) Setting up the obligation of paying offBefore death, the deceased should bear the burden to fulfill the obligation withall assets as an individual civil subject. After death, the positive property would beused to secure the creditor’s interest. Therefore, after the beginning of succession, theheirs must bear the burden to fulfill the obligation when they receive the estate.(ⅱ) The legislation modesThe obligation of paying off could be divided into two kinds in accordance withthe estate used to bear the burden.A. Unlimited obligation The principle of unlimited obligation was originated from the Roman law period.This mode is seemed to the Chinese local custom that "when a man dies, his debts areto be repaid by his son". Nowadays, the application of this principle has been limitedstrictly.B. Limited obligationThe principle of limited obligation has been adopted wildly now. This papermakes a detailed explanation about it from several perspectives.C. The obligation among the joint heirsThere are three modes about the obligation among the joint heirs. They are theseparate liability doctrine, the joint and several liability doctrine and the doctrinecombining the aforesaid two modes.Part TwoThe legal protection for the interests of the deceased’s creditorsThis part mainly introduces and analyses the different protection system for theinterests of the deceased’s creditors under the direct or indirect succession institutionin foreign countries and in China.ⅠThe protection for the creditors’ interests under the direct succession institutionThere are two major problems shall be solved above all under this institution.One is the original interests shall be secured against the damage due to succession.The other one is the interests of creditor shall be secured. Hence, the estate would beused to pay off the debt owed by the deceased first. The protection for the interests ofcreditor holds an important position in the whole succession institution in manycountries.(ⅰ) The redemption of debt in intestate succession institutionThe debt will be paid off by the property owed by the heirs and the estateinherited from the deceased under the universal succession institution. On the contrary,the estate is the only resource for the redemption of debt under the entailmentinstitution.(ⅱ) The redemption of debt in testate succession institutionThere are some different cases under this institution:A. The will has already made the assignment about how to pay off the debts.B. The will did not make this assignment.C. The testate succession has precedence over the intestate succession when theyexist side by side. (ⅲ) The redemption of debt when estate in abeyanceThe estate in abeyance includes several cases: heir is missing; all heirs renouncetheir rights; all heirs lose the right of succession; no heir or devisee be appointedthrough the will when death and no heir at law.If all heirs are missing, we should do these things as follows: search the heir;make administration; deliver the estate. As far as the other cases concerned, we couldopen the procedure of administration. Then, the residual estate should be delivered tothe national treasury.(ⅳ) The redemption of debt made by the deviseeⅡThe protection for the creditors’ interests under the indirect successioninstitutionThe indirect succession institution is the institution adopted by the common lawcountries. According to this institution, after the beginning of succession, the executoror administrator will administrate the estate. The estate will pay off all the debts. Atlast, the heirs will get the remainder. It means that the heir has no duty.ⅣThe protection for the creditors’ interests in ChinaIn Mainland, the protection institution includes some rules: unconditional limitedobligation, storage of estate, and the burden to bear the debt by joint heirs.In Taiwan district, they are: universal succession unlimited obligation,conditional limited obligation, administration etc.In Macao district, they are: reception of estate, administration, and the burden tobear the debt by joint heirs etc.In Hong Kong district, they are: general principle of paying off, the administratorinstitution etc.Part ThreeExamining and decoding the defects of the system of estate debt in ChinaThis part examines the defects in the system of estate debt and the reasons.ⅠDefects of the system of estate debtIn particular, there are several main defects as following:(ⅰ) The imperfection of related regulations leads to damage to the creditor’srightsA. Malpractices in the unconditional limited succession institution come intobeingB. The value of existing of universal succession has been neglected. C. No specific deadline for acceptance and disclamation of successionD. The position of the scope of estate does not reflect the reality.E. The system of disposition of estate is not perfect.F. The system of paying off debt is not perfect.G. The creditor cannot get effective relief when the inter vivos behavior done bythe deceased has already or maybe done harm to his interests under the presentinstitution.(ⅱ) The defects in the procedural institution lead to damage to the creditor’sinterestsA. No regulations about the creditors how to exercise the right of actionB. No perfect institution of liquidation of estateC. No estate bankruptcy systemⅡDecoding the reasons of these defects(ⅰ) Being restricted by the level of productive forces(ⅱ) Being influenced by the legislative ideology(ⅲ) Relative researches on succession was not enoughPart FourReflection and reconstructionIn this part, this paper explains the tendency of development of succession law atfirst. With the progress of productive forces and other social factors, the tendency ofdevelopment of succession law is: setting up the idea of autonomy of private law; thedesign of protection for the creditor tends towards convergence; the introduction ofestate bankruptcy system.This paper puts forwards several suggestions as follows:ⅠAcceptance and Disclamation of succession(ⅰ) Heirs exercising free choice rightIn order to protect the interests of parties, succession relationship should bedefined in short period. Hence, heirs exercising the right of acceptance ordisclamation of succession in a limited period in express behavior will be a paramountchoice.(ⅱ) Setting up the universal succession institutionThe legal tradition is the main reason for us to set up the universal successioninstitution.The section of this institution may be read as "After the heir expresses the intent of receive the estate universally, he or she must bear the unlimited burden to pay offdebts. In these following situations, the same intent could be deduced: (1) no anydeclaration of will after the period of expressing the intent to give up succession ismature; (2) the heir conceal all of or parts of estate, or consume the estate secretly, ormake disloyal recordation on the inventory of estate intently, even if the heir hasalready made declaration of will about accepting or giving up succession."(ⅲ) Establishing conditional entailment systemThe conditional entailment system shall take place of unconditional one incurrent succession law in order to protect the interests of creditors just and reasonably.This paper puts forward some suggestions about conditions, period and competentagencies etc.ⅡDefinition of estateAfter analyzing of the intention and denotation of "citizen" and "natural person",this paper make a new definition, the estate refers to the legal individual propertyremained until death.The reasonability of confining the estate to property right has been demonstratedfrom several aspects: the understanding of citizen about the concept of estate, thepresent regulation and the perspective of comparative law.The legislative mode of combining general regulation and exclusion clause canbe taken to define the scope of estate.Finally, this part provides some suggestions about collatio (e.g. condition, subject,object, approach, legal liability).ⅢAdministration of estateThe administrator system is benefit to realize the consistency of administrationof estate. In most countries, every one could be appointed as administrator except fordisabled person, disfranchised person and be announced bankrupt person. Accordingto the situation of China, executives, heirs, domiciled neighborhood or villagecommittee of deceased can fulfill this function.ⅣSystem of redemption of estate debt(ⅰ) Coverage of estate debtThe author believed, estate debt referred to debts out of the deceased acts beforehis death that should be paid by the deceases, and fees that should be taken out fromthe estate. To put it clearly, they include the following aspects: 1. Debts left behind bythe deceased (including contractual obligation, obligation of tort, obligation of unjust enrichment, obligation of voluntary service, obligation of legacy, fines out of violationof law, taxes, other obligations out of the deceased before-death acts); 2. Fees coveredby the estate (including fees paid for estate, obligation of giving estate at discretion,and obligation of legal portion).(ⅱ) Liability to pay estate debtA. The author put forward the following ideas on liabilities afforded by thecoheirs when paying estate debts with some reference to laws in Macao:Before the estate being divided, coheirs should commence the procedure ofpublic summons for exhortation, urging the creditors declaring their rights withinlegal period. This legal period Should be limited to 6 months after the termination ofthe duration of publication. The coheirs should afford joint liabilities for payment, ifthe creditors declared their rights within legal period or before the estate beingdivided after the termination of legal period. None of the coheirs should refuse to paythe debts for the reason that whose coverage was beyond his inherited share. Anycoheir had the right to ask other coheirs to compensate his excess payment inaccordance with the percentage of estate inherited by the other coheirs.After the estate was divided, each heir should pay estate debt in accordance withhis shares in the estate. As to part of estate debts exceeding estate, the coheirs shouldafford joint liabilities for payment.If any heir divided the estate before commencing the procedure of publicsummons for exhortation, the act of dividing was invalid. The coheirs still shouldassume joint liability for payment for the creditors. In the process of void division, ifheirs with limited conditions concealed estate or refused to return estate, theadministration in charge of limited inheritance could cancel this registration inaccordance with the creditors’ application. The heir should not be protected by limitedinheritance any more, who should assume the unlimited liabilities for payment for thecreditor.B. The following provisions should be added to make clear the liabilities of thedevisees to assume estate debts when accepting the estate.If the estate debt was a normal one, the devisees need not assume estate debtunless the deceased made it clear in his legacy. Otherwise, the devisees could onlyassume the liabilities in accordance with their shares in the estate when the shares oflegal heirs could not pay cover estate debts.(ⅲ) Time to pay estate debts After the heirs or estate keeper checked the amount of the estate when theheritance began, the creditors should be noticed to declare credits in order to be paidby the heirs. As to due debts, the heirs should pay off in time. As to debts undue debts,the heirs could pay off in advance under the agreement of the creditors, or left thesame amount of estate as the debts when dividing the estate, or agree to some heir toassume the debts.(ⅳ) Approach to pay off estate debtsIn principle, estate debts should be paid in uniform, for exception they may bepaid separately.ⅤRights concerning estate creditorsThe estate creditors should be endowed with the claim to attend estatemanagement, and with the weapon to protect their own rights in hand; the creditorscould decide at discretion whether to adopt to protect their own legal interests inaccordance with practical conditions. To deal with the acts concerning property ofheirs or the deceased, which may damage the creditor’s credit, the creditors should beendowed with right of revocation. When the third party occupied the estate or thethird party owed debts to the deceased, the creditor should be endowed with the rightof subrogation.As to the improvement of China’s estate debt procedure system, the author putforward the following consideration.(ⅰ) System concerning rights to commence a law suits by the estate creditorsA. Interested persons could commence a lawsuit for the following reasons:1. The heirs’ application;2. The estate creditors’ application;3. The estate administrator’s application;4. The interested persons’ request for the separation of estate;5. Some estate creditors launching a lawsuit against the heirs to pay off debtsaccepted by the court which found there were other estate debts uncovered, and thecourt commencing estate payment procedure by noticing the estate creditors attendingthe suit.B. There involved rights and obligations relationship concerning propertydivision, estate administration, debts payment, inheritance and legacy between heirs,devisees, inheritance participants, plaintiff (creditors), collective organizations andother citizens. Who would be the qualified respondent should be analyzed in accordance with the practical conditions.C. The creditors could apply the court to execute attachment before commencinga lawsuit in order to secure the performance of the adjudication effective in future,and to realize their credits.(ⅱ) Estate list systemFor the purpose of making clear the estate and keeping it independently, theauthor believed that the estate list system applied in most civil law countries could beused for reference, whose design should include the selection of estate settlers, theduty of settlers, the duration to make the estate list, the content of the estate list, estatelist publication System, and the objection and reparation of the estate list.(ⅲ) Estate bankruptcy liquidation procedureThe author reasoned the procedure form the following aspects: the necessity toestablish the procedure; the jurisprudential basis to establish the procedure; feasibility;system design (subjects of estate bankruptcy, reasons, applying bodies, purposes, thescope of bankruptcy, the accepting and hearing of estate bankruptcy, the frustration ofpayment); and the bankruptcy remedy applied by the heirs and estate administrators.(ⅳ) The order to pay off estate debtsWhen there is many credits existed in one property, it is very important for theprotection of the creditors’ interests to decide which one should be paid first andwhich one should be paid second.The author believed the principles to decide the order to pay the estate creditswere the following: the principle of paying the fees for common interests; theprinciple of necessity; the principle of first paid onerous debts and second paid debtswithout consideration. Based on the above reason, the order the estate debts paidshould be the following:First place: fees paid for common interests;Second place: legal portion and estate delivered at discretion, which was exactlyused for maintaining the living;Third place: obligations of legacy and support agreement;Forth place: labor obligation;Fifth place: debts owed by the deceased beyond the third and forth place;Sixth place: legacy.更多还原