More Millennial and Gen-Z Chinese Are Preparing Wills

While the concerns and contents of the estate are broadly similar to their senior counterparts, younger will-makers are also seeking to protect their digital assets

In February, 26-year-old Zhang Jun drafted a will. “I have registered for organ donation in my country, please contact the (responsible) agency. If international shipping is expensive, please donate (my remains) locally. If neither is convenient, please cremate (my remains) on site,” the document read.

Zhang, who is pursuing a PhD in social sciences in the U.S., also wrote in her will that she would not need a funeral, but wanted all her electronics destroyed after her death, except for her Kindle.

The doctoral student told Caixin that dozens of mass shootings in the U.S. in the first two months of the year, including the deadly attacks in Monterey Park, a majority Asian-American city in Los Angeles, and at Michigan State University, drove her to make succession plans. Amid a climate of fear, Zhang worried that she, too, could lose her life in a similar fashion.