A 90-Year-Old in China Who Promised a Caregiver "I Will Leave You the Apartment" Changes Attitude After Remarriage

Caregiver Lawsuit, Court Rules "Can Inherit Apartment"

A man in his 90s in China who had left his apartment to his caregiver filed a lawsuit demanding the return of his property after remarrying. The court ruled in favor of the caregiver.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and others on the 2nd (local time), Mr. Tan (99) sued Mr. Gu, who had cared for him for over 10 years, demanding the return of his property.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

In 2005, Mr. Tan promised Mr. Gu and his family that if they took care of him, he would give them the apartment he owned as compensation. The conditions at the time included frequent phone calls, weekly visits, buying clothes and groceries, and caring for him when he was sick.

Mr. Tan had a poor relationship with his children. He specified in his will that he would leave his apartment and furniture to Mr. Gu instead of his children. He wrote, "Mr. Gu and his family took care of me more than my real family," and "They helped me overcome illness and pain and made my life happy."

He demanded 200,000 yuan (about 37 million KRW) to transfer the apartment. Mr. Gu did not pay the money. Mr. Tan also did not move out, so their contract was merely formal.

After remarrying in 2018, Mr. Tan regretted his decision. In 2019 and 2021, he sued Mr. Gu, demanding the cancellation of the apartment contract and the return of his property.

Mr. Gu presented photos and messages from when they traveled together to prove that he had cared for Mr. Tan. He also claimed that it was Mr. Tan who cut off contact, not him.

The Shanghai court held Mr. Tan responsible. It noted that he had never expressed dissatisfaction while receiving care from Mr. Gu for over 10 years. The court found Mr. Tan's claims difficult to understand and ruled that after Mr. Tan's death, Mr. Gu could inherit the apartment.

Similar cases are not uncommon in China. In May, a solitary elderly person left property equivalent to five apartments to a caregiver who had cared for them for 12 years before passing away. In October of the previous year, the elderly person received compensation equivalent to five apartments when their land was included in a real estate development. Converted to market value, this amounted to millions of dollars.

Seven months later, the elderly person passed away at the age of 93. A legal dispute arose between the elderly person's siblings and the caregiver. The court found that the siblings had rarely visited the elderly person during their lifetime and ruled in favor of the caregiver.