Many single Chinese women make wills.

After the sudden death of her mother, Hoa My, a single woman in Beijing, decided to make a will at the age of 40.

The main purpose of doing this is that she does not want to depend on others in her old age.

"I need someone I trust to be by my side and willing to be my guardian in the future," Hoa My said. Her niece is the choice she has carefully considered because of their closeness and family ties.

Recently, Hoa My had contracted influenza A and had to stay home to recuperate. For many days, she could not eat, but she did not receive any phone calls asking about her condition. Hoa My wondered if she would become like the lonely elderly people whose deaths were discovered a week later. Thinking about this, she could not help but feel heartbroken.

Making a will makes this woman feel more secure. According to her, the assets in the will are an acknowledgement of her own value while she is alive. In addition, she can decide who to give or not to give to as she wishes, and she will not feel any regrets when she dies.

Not only middle-aged women like Hoa My, but also more and more young unmarried women are starting to make wills.

Xiao Ba in Shanghai is one of them. Nearly two years ago, due to the stress of studying, the 21-year-old girl's heart was always beating fast. Worried about the possibility of sudden death, Xiao Ba thought about making a will.

As a post-2000 generation, this girl values things related to the virtual world such as personal accounts on Baidu Netdisk, WeChat or Bilibili, so she made a list to leave to her mother. In addition, she also has a patent, which is used in the university, so she also left it to her father.

As for her personal belongings, which mainly came from scholarships and part-time jobs, Xiao Ba left them to her best friend. Because she did not like traditional rituals, she wished to have her ashes scattered on the railway line connecting her father and mother's hometown, so that every time she returned home, her relatives could feel her presence.

"If I really do die early, I hope this will make my parents feel relieved about my death," said Tieu Ba.

Young people register their wills at a will registration center in Beijing, China. Photo: China daily — Young people register their wills at a will registration center in Beijing, China. Photo: *China daily*

In a report released by the China Will Registration Center in late March, more and more single people, especially women, are seeking will services to better manage their assets and avoid being inherited by people they do not like.

Nearly 2,100 single people registered their wills at the centre between 2017 and 2023, with the number increasing significantly each year. Notably, 70% of them were women.

In the 2023 annual report, nearly half of those who registered wills had a university degree and more than half held managerial positions in their workplace or were highly skilled professionals. The main reasons unmarried people wrote wills were to care for their parents (nearly 45%) and to avoid an unclear inheritance (nearly 30%).

Phan Trung Quyen, an employee at the China Will Registration Center, said more and more single women are coming to the center to plan for their future or death. In the past, making a will was often understood as a private right of the elderly and considered the end of life, but for many people now it is a new beginning.

"The reason why the rate of single women making wills is increasing is because their social status has improved and their lives have become more independent," he said.

According to Mr. Phan, the increasing trend of women registering wills shows that this group of people is increasingly aware of protecting personal assets and planning ahead. Moreover, making a will when single is easier because it does not require too many constraints in family relationships. Single women who agree to make a will early are also aware of reducing any disputes in case of unexpected events, because between the future and accidents, for them, they do not know which will come first.

For highly educated women and those holding executive positions in businesses, they may have more assets and a clearer awareness of laws and risks, said Mr. Tran Khai, project director of the China Will Registration Center.

"In the era of technology explosion, people easily access a lot of negative information, making them always feel like everything is happening right next to them. Over time, they will form the thought of encountering similar incidents and become worried, even anxious about death," said Mr. Tran Khai. Making a will is therefore welcomed with a more comfortable mentality, because it is a way for single women to reduce mental pressure.

Therefore, according to Mr. Tran, making a will early, especially for single women, is a good thing to do.

"Like the reminder on the electronic screen at the entrance of the Will Registration Center: Don't cry when making a will because it's fun," he said.

Trang Vy (According to The Paper, China daily )

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