First, about the validity of marriage.
In this case, China citizen Dong myung Kim and American citizen Tao Simao were legally and effectively married in the United States. Litigation about marriage relationship is legal and effective in both American courts and China courts. According to the laws of the United States, the marriage concluded by both parties in the United States is legal and valid. If a lawsuit is filed in a Chinese court, according to the provisions of the applicable law for foreign-related civil relations in China, the marriage relationship also conforms to the provisions of the law on the substantive and formal elements of marriage. Article 21 of the Law on the Application of Laws in Foreign-related Civil Relations stipulates that the marriage conditions shall be governed by the laws of the parties' habitual residence; If * * * does not have the same habitual residence, the law of the country of nationality of * * * shall apply; If one party does not have the same nationality and gets married in the country of habitual residence or nationality, the law of the place of marriage shall apply. Article 22 stipulates that the marriage formalities shall be valid if they conform to the laws of the place of marriage, the laws of the habitual residence of one party or the laws of the country of nationality. Therefore, it is legal and effective for marriage to apply the law of the place where marriage is concluded, that is, the law of the United States.
Second, about inheritance.
First of all, the division and inheritance of heritage should be governed by the laws of China. The reasons are as follows: First, after Dong Mingjin went to the United States as an international student, he married Tao Simao and returned to China. The decedent's legacy is mainly concentrated in China. In the theory and practice of private international law, the inheritance of real estate mainly applies to the law of the location of real estate. Other property inheritance mainly applies to the laws of the decedent's domicile or habitual residence at the time of his death. In this case, the decedent's property and domicile or habitual residence at the time of his death were all in China. In addition, the application of laws in China also conforms to the principle of closest connection. Secondly, judging from the recognition and enforcement of the judgment, the application of China law is beneficial to the recognition and enforcement of the judgment, because the property to be executed is mainly in China. China and the United States have not signed an agreement to recognize bilateral judicial enforcement, so it is difficult to enforce a judgment made by applying American law in China.
Secondly, in this case, his wife Tao Simao and Dong Mingjin's parents are the first legal heirs. Article 31 of China's Law on the Application of Laws in Foreign-related Civil Relations stipulates that the law of the decedent's habitual residence at the time of his death shall apply to legal inheritance, but the law of the place where the real estate is located shall apply to legal inheritance. That is to say, China law applies, and Dong Mingjin's personal heritage is divided by Tao Simao and Dong Mingjin's parents according to legal inheritance.
Third, about the limitation of action.
First of all, in the theory of private international law, the limitation of action is mostly divided into substantive issues, because it is closely related to a country's sovereignty and the norms of court activities. According to the principle of closest connection and the actual needs of handling cases, the applicable law should be selected according to the conflict norms pointed by the legal relationship. In this case, Article 7 of China's Law on the Application of Laws to Foreign-related Civil Relations stipulates the conflict norm, that is, the statute of limitations, and the applicable law should be applied to relevant foreign-related civil relations. Specific to this case, it is applicable to the relevant provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law of China. The time limit for bringing a lawsuit for inheritance disputes is two years, counting from the day when the heir knows or should know that his rights have been infringed. In this case, the dispute over inheritance rights should be counted as a two-year statute of limitations from the date when Tao Simao learned of her husband's death, so she can still bring a lawsuit, which is not beyond the scope of the statute of limitations.
Secondly, in our country, generally speaking, the heirs at the place where inheritance begins (that is, the place where the deceased's last residence or main property is located) are responsible for informing other heirs who are not at the place of inheritance of the fact that the decedent died and bequeathing it to the donee and executor; The person who preserves the heritage shall be responsible for keeping it properly and shall not dispose of it, conceal it or misappropriate it without authorization. In this case, it is inappropriate for Jin Mu to conceal the truth that his son has died in Tao Simiao.
PS: Double degree, a classmate of D?