遗嘱信托受益人权益保护问题研究

Study on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Beneficiaries in Testament Trust

遗嘱信托作为一种特殊的民事信托,融合了遗嘱制度和信托制度的特点,更好地保证了委托人意愿的实现,为公众提供了多样化处分遗产的选择。受益人权益保护是遗嘱信托的核心问题。从宏观来看,遗嘱信托受益人权益保护的完善能够提高实现制度目的的可能性,为公众提供一个健全的多元遗产管理方式,开阔遗嘱信托在我国的发展空间。从微观而言,遗嘱信托受益人权益保护方面的完善能够保障遗嘱信托受益人的利益实现,实现遗嘱信托目的,以满足委托人的真实意愿。然而,目前我国立法和司法关注更多的是营业信托,民事信托特别是遗嘱信托在过去一直未被过多探讨和重视。再加之遗嘱信托委托人的缺位以及弱势受益人权利行使能力不足等因素,导致遗嘱信托运行过程中存在着受益人权利行使效果不佳、受托人监督机制乏力、受益人权利救济机制不完善等问题,对受益人的权益造成极大隐患,进而无法实现遗嘱信托的目的。为解决遗嘱信托现存问题,应当从遗嘱信托受益人保护的立法现状和司法实践入手,关注与遗嘱信托受益人权益最密切的选任权和监督权的行使矛盾以及受益人权利救济的困境。并针对上述问题,从化解选任过程中的矛盾、完善监督机制的内外部缺陷、撤销权行使途径以及举证责任规则修正等方面探寻遗嘱信托受益人权益保护路径。从而有效地平衡受益人与受托人在遗嘱信托关系中地位,完善遗嘱信托制度规范的不足,减少遗嘱信托关系中的财产纠纷,促进遗嘱信托在我国的推广应用。

As a special type of civil trust, testamentary trust integrates the characteristics of the testamentary and trust systems, better ensuring the realization of the wishes of the client and providing the public with diverse options for disposing of the estate. The protection of beneficiary rights is the core issue of testamentary trusts. From a macro perspective, improving the protection of the rights and interests of beneficiaries in testamentary trusts can increase the possibility of achieving institutional goals, provide the public with a sound and diverse way of managing heritage, and broaden the development space of testamentary trusts in China. From a micro perspective, improving the protection of the rights and interests of beneficiaries in testamentary trusts can ensure the realization of their interests, achieve the purpose of testamentary trusts, and meet the true wishes of the client. However, currently in China, legislation and judiciary focus more on business trusts, while civil trusts, especially testamentary trusts, have not been extensively explored and valued in the past. In addition, factors such as the absence of the client of the testamentary trust and the insufficient ability of vulnerable beneficiaries to exercise their rights have led to problems in the operation of the testamentary trust, such as poor effectiveness in exercising the rights of beneficiaries, weak supervision mechanisms by trustees, and incomplete relief mechanisms for the rights of beneficiaries, which pose great risks to the rights and interests of beneficiaries and thus fail to achieve the purpose of the testamentary trust. To solve the existing problems of testamentary trust, we should start from the legislative status and judicial practice of protecting the beneficiaries of testamentary trust, and pay attention to the exercise of the most closely related selection and supervision rights, as well as the difficulties in the relief of beneficiary rights. And in response to the above issues, explore the path of protecting the rights and interests of beneficiaries of testamentary trusts from the aspects of resolving conflicts in the selection process, improving internal and external defects in the supervision mechanism, exercising revocation rights, and revising the burden of proof rules. Thus effectively balancing the status of beneficiaries and trustees in the testamentary trust relationship, improving the shortcomings of the testamentary trust system, reducing property disputes in testamentary trust relationships, and promoting the promotion and application of testamentary trust in China.